Gyeongju National Heritage Night Walk

🗓️ 2026.09.18 ~ 2026.09.20

From September 18 to 20, 2026, Gyeongju will hold its annual National Heritage Night, an event built around the city’s history and cultural sites after dark. The official subtitle, “Fragments – Preserved, and To Be Preserved,” describes an occasion that draws on the many national heritages and historical resources still found across Gyeongju. The main venues are the areas around Woljeonggyo Bridge, Gyerim Forest, Gyochon Village, and Gyeongju Eupseong Fortress.

Because these locations date from the Silla Dynasty and remain among Gyeongju’s most representative cultural heritage sites, using them as event spaces gives the festival a distinct identity. Visitors can view nighttime scenery against historic backdrops, take part in history and traditional culture programs, and explore heritage sites in an atmosphere unlike a daytime visit. Altogether, the event runs 45 programs across eight themed categories.

Night View (4 programs)

Programs centered on illuminated scenery and visual spectacles:

• Woljeonggyo Bridge shining on Muncheon Stream
• LED Drone Light Show
• Forest of Myths
• Gyeongju Eupseong where Moonlight Stays

Night Path (10 programs)

Walking, parade, and outdoor activity programs:

• Stepping Stones of Love
• National Heritage Night Walking with Pets
• Nongak (Farmers’ Music) Street Parade
• National Heritage Outing
• National Heritage Commentary for Children
• Gyeongju Exploration for Little People
• Hide-and-Seek with Donggyeong-i and Cheomseong-i
• Clearing the Night Path and Connecting History (National Heritage Plogging)
• Secret Royal Inspector Inspecting the Fortress
• Lantern Making Experience

Night Story (4 programs)

Performance and storytelling programs:

• Busking in Every Corner
• Silla Story Sand Art
• Mysterious Encounter of Time Travel – Goblin Guarding the Egg (Storytelling)
• Sungmundae Media Art

Night Flower (9 programs)

Hands-on activities and art experiences:

• Art Gallery
• Ice Kingdom
• Celestial Observation Constellation Stories
• Gyeongju Night Trip Four-Cut (Paid program)
• Colorful Coloring
• Traditional Culture Experience Playground
• Bojagi Knot Experience (Partially paid)
• Traditional Kite Flying Demonstration and Experience
• DOODLE GYEONGJU (Mr. Doodle Live Drawing)

Night History (12 programs)

Historical learning and traditional craft programs:

• Understanding the Gyeongju Choi Rich Family 100 Times More
• Twelve Zodiacs Grant My Wish
• Silla Jewel Beetle Story
• Gyeongju Humanities Talk Talk
• 4D Real National Heritage Experience (XR Bus)
• Drone Experience
• Silk Weaving (Silk Road History Experience)
• Stamp Tour
• Proving Myself (Hopae/Identification Tag Making)
• Here Comes the Secret Royal Inspector
• Night of Competing Wisdom Byeolsi
• Police and Thief

Night Food (3 programs)

Food and refreshment programs:

• Gyochon Night Snack
• King’s Refreshment Table
• Food Truck (Yongginae/Container Challenge)

Night Market (2 programs)

• Craft Market
• Gyeongju Eupseong Marketplace (Free Market)

Night Stay (1 program)

• Program linked with local accommodation businesses

Most of the event is free to enter, with some programs requiring payment, such as the Gyeongju Night Trip Four-Cut and the Bojagi Knot Experience. Visitors who want to extend their time in the city can use the Night Stay program, which connects them with local accommodation options.

📍 Address: 839-1 Inwang-dong, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do

🛏️ Accommodation near the event

💰 Fee: Free (Some programs are paid)

📞 Inquiry: 054-743-7182

⭐️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gjnighttrip/

🖥️ Homepage: http://www.경주문화유산야행.kr/

The Silla Kingdom was one of the three major polities of ancient Korea, alongside Goguryeo and Baekje. Its traditional founding date is 57 BCE, and it survived for roughly a millennium, making it one of the longest-lived dynasties in world history. In 676 CE, after a series of conflicts with the other Korean kingdoms and with Tang China, Silla unified most of the Korean Peninsula under its rule. The following centuries saw the consolidation of a centralized government, the development of Buddhist institutions, and a substantial body of artistic and architectural work.

The capital was Seorabeol, the city now known as Gyeongju. At the height of Silla’s power, it was a large urban center with palaces, temples, observatories, and royal tombs spread across the landscape. Many of these structures and burial mounds remain, which is why Gyeongju is sometimes called “the museum without walls.” The site known as the Gyeongju Historic Areas is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage property.

Silla’s cultural legacy is visible in the objects and monuments that have survived. Cheomseongdae, built in the seventh century, is one of East Asia’s oldest surviving astronomical observatories. The gold crowns and other regalia found in the royal tombs show the craftsmanship and trade connections of the Silla elite. Buddhism, adopted by the court and supported by the state, had a lasting influence on Korean thought, art, and ritual life.

The Gyeongju National Heritage Night program opens access to these places after dark, lighting the palace grounds, temples, and royal burial mounds. The lighting serves a practical purpose: it makes the monuments visible in the evening and allows visitors to see them in a different context. For anyone interested in the history of Korea, the event is a useful way to explore the physical remains of Silla’s capital and the civilization that built it.

Ara Gaya Cultural Festival

🗓️ 2026.09.18 ~ 2026.09.20

The Haman Ara Gaya Culture Festival is a representative local cultural festival designed to shed new light on the brilliant history and culture of Ara Gaya from a modern perspective. It also aims to discover various historical and cultural contents so that many people can experience the value of Ara Gaya easily and enjoyably. For three days, the festival transforms the area around the Marisan Tumuli in Haman-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, into a space where an ancient state and its living heritage take center stage.

What distinguishes this festival from the typical historical reenactment is the sheer degree of participation it offers. During the festival period, various performances and celebratory presentations themed around the history and culture of Ara Gaya are held, providing visitors with a rich array of sights. In particular, programs that anyone of all ages can participate in are prepared, including a historical experience course where one can directly feel the life and culture of Ara Gaya, as well as cavalry warrior experiences and procession experiences. These are not pageants to observe from a distance — they are activities to step into.

The festival also carries a distinctly youthful energy. The Marisan Healing series forms a core part of this. From Ye (Art) to Yo (Song), Bi (Fly), Mu (Dance), So (Stroll), Bo (Step), and Ui (Clothing), the series interprets Ara Gaya culture through a broad spectrum of creative media. Notably, the Marisan Healing Ye (Art) performance program is directly planned and executed by young people, while the Youth Orchestra, youth busking, and an AI Video Contest reinforce the same forward-looking spirit.

The festival’s historical narratives come to life through programs such as the World Intangible Heritage Festival, the Ara Gaya Royal Guard Changing Ceremony, and the King Ara Procession. Around the Marisan Tumuli area, a wide range of experience events for families and tourists are held, from hands-on crafts to food tastings. And as the highlight of the festival, the theme performance ‘Ara Hongryeon’ unfolds with spectacular fireworks, delivering a special emotion where the history and culture, as well as the tradition and modernity, of Ara Gaya harmonize. In the end, the Haman Ara Gaya Culture Festival is a venue for a living historical and cultural festival — one where visitors go beyond simply watching and instead enter into the history of Ara Gaya by seeing, hearing, and experiencing it firsthand.

Pre-event

The pre-event sets the stage with rituals and pageantry drawn from Ara Gaya’s spiritual and royal traditions:

• Ara Gaya Cheonshinje (Heavenly Ritual)
• King Ara Procession

Pre-event Celebration Performance

• Pre-event Celebration Performance

Opening Ceremony and Post-event

• Opening Ceremony
• VR Drawing Performance
• Fireworks, Ara Hongryeon
• Special Performance (Kim Soo-chan, Kim Ji-hyun)

Museum Programs

The museum programs span the widest range of activities, combining hands-on craft workshops, interactive play, and live performances:

• Fringe Performance (Balloons, Magic, Bubbles)
• Ara Gaya Traditional Play Yard
• World Intangible Heritage Festival: Youth, Meeting the Future of Intangible Heritage (Namsadang Nori, Tightrope Walking)
• Youth Orchestra
• Ara Gaya Musical Gala Show
• Marisan Healing Ui (Clothing): Wearing Ara Gaya
• AI Video Contest (Video Promotion Create)
• Marisan Healing Bo (Step)
• Making 3D Ara Gaya with Wood
• 3D Block Miniature Experience
• Making Ara Gaya Flame Leather Keyrings
• Namduyungseong Ring, Ara Hongryeon Deform Block, Clicker Keycap, Gilt-bronze Crown Shrinkles, Dreamcatcher, Ara Gaya Relic Mini Terrarium
• Ara Hongryeon Slime, Flame Pattern Worry Stone, Relic Polymer Clay Accessories, Marisan Tumuli The Ocean Diorama
• Haman-inspired Art Canvas Action Painting
• Containing the Treasures of Haman
• Making Ara Gaya Pottery Mini-book Keyrings
• Tasting Haman

Ara Gaya Experience Center Programs

• Sand Art Performance
• Ara Gaya History Experience Course: Ara Gaya Play-ground! 2
• Blacksmith Ironware Armor Making Experience
• Pony Feeding Experience

Marisan Tumuli Programs

The Marisan Tumuli programs unfold both day and night, with processions, performances, and interactive experiences set against the backdrop of the ancient burial mounds:

• Walking through the night of “Ara Gaya” (Ara Gaya Flame Garden)
• Marisan Healing Yo (Song): Open Festival, Youth Busking
• Marisan Healing Bi (Fly): The Dreams of Youth Flying Toward the Sky
• Marisan Healing Mu (Dance): Gestures of Youth, Dancing Ara Gaya
• Marisan Healing Ye (Art): World Heritage Awakened by Youth through Art
• Ara Gaya Cultural Experience (Costumes, Crowns, Goods)
• Ara Gaya Cavalry Warrior Experience
• Royal Guard ∙ Procession Experience
• Royal Guard Changing Ceremony
• Marisan Healing So (Stroll): Walking through the Ara Gaya Night

Promotion, Exhibition, and Food Events

Alongside the performances and hands-on experiences, the festival includes exhibition and market events that round out the visit:

• Engraving Gaya in Gold
• Promotion for Reducing the Use of Disposable Products
• Carbon Neutral Point Registration Promotion
• Multi-use Container Supply and Collection Center
• Youth Dining Table! The Taste of Ara Gaya!
• Ara Gaya Taste! Market Street

Linked Events

A set of linked events extends the festival’s reach, connecting Ara Gaya culture with seasonal traditions and local institutions:

• Chuseok Ara Gaya Market
• Goodwill Store Eco-friendly Program & Climate Crisis Promotion
• Gisan-hak Festival (Drone Experience)
• Masan University Local Growth Human Resource Training Program

📍 Address: 153-31 Gobun-gil, Gaya-eup, Haman-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do

🛏️ Accommodation near the event

💰 Fee: Free

📞 Inquiry: 055-585-9400

⭐️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aragaya_/

🖥️ Website: http://www.araje.or.kr/

Ara Gaya was a state within the Gaya confederacy, a group of polities that occupied the southern part of the Korean Peninsula from around the 1st to the 6th century CE. Its political center was in present-day Haman County, South Gyeongsang Province, and its territory extended toward the southern coast, where it made use of harbors along key maritime routes.

The state’s economy was based largely on iron production and trade. Excavations in the Haman area have recovered iron ingots, weapons, armor, and smelting-related materials, indicating that iron was both a local industry and an export. Pottery and other artifacts from neighboring regions also point to regular exchange with Baekje, Silla, and other Gaya polities, as well as with societies in China and Japan. Ara Gaya’s coastal position allowed it to participate in these networks, though its location between larger kingdoms also shaped its political options.

Archaeological sites in the region include earthen burial mounds and fortified hill settlements. These reveal a society with defined social roles and distinctive local craft traditions. Historical records and archaeological evidence together suggest that Ara Gaya maintained a degree of autonomy until it was absorbed by Silla in the mid-6th century.

This history is the basis of the Haman Ara Gaya Cultural Festival 2026. The program focuses on ironworking and pottery demonstrations, visits to the relevant archaeological sites, and exhibitions by contemporary artists whose work responds to the material culture of Ara Gaya. The festival presents the kingdom in terms of what is actually known about it, allowing visitors to engage with the evidence directly rather than through a simplified or dramatized version of the past.

Siheung Gatgol Festival

🗓️ 2026.09.18 ~ 2026.09.20

The Siheung Gaetgol Festival is an ecological festival held at the Siheung Gaetgol Ecological Park, located in Gyeonggi-do’s only inner-bay tidal creek. The festival is built on a natural environment where old salt farm sites and wetlands harmonize, and its programs are designed around that landscape rather than simply placed within it. Visitors can rest, learn, and play while surrounded by a setting shaped by tidal flows and salt-making history. To protect the ecological park’s environment, the festival is car-free, meaning the grounds are explored on foot at a slower, more deliberate pace. Visitors should plan to arrive without a vehicle and be prepared to walk between programs.

What distinguishes the festival from other outdoor events is the direct link between the land and the programs. The tidal creek, the old salt pans, and the wetlands around them are not just a backdrop. They are the subject of the festival’s signature performance, the material for its hands-on activities, and the inspiration for programs such as the Salt Warehouse Puppet Theater and the Salt Farm Experience.

Signature Program: Memory of Salt, Dance of Water

The festival’s representative program is “Memory of Salt, Dance of Water,” a salt pan performance that connects the site’s past as a working salt farm with the water that continues to shape the tidal creek landscape. It is the anchor of the festival and the program most strongly tied to the event’s identity.

Performance Programs

The performance lineup includes:

• Concert in Gaetgol — live music staged in the open wetland environment.
• Tree Forest Music Festival — musical performances set in the park’s wooded areas.
• Salt Warehouse Puppet Theater — puppet performances inside a former salt warehouse, a venue that links the festival’s theatrical side to its industrial heritage.
• Gaetgol Senior Runway — a fashion-show format that extends the festival’s performance program beyond music and theater.

Experience Programs

Experience programs focus on direct, hands-on engagement with the park and its materials:

• Fantasy Hot Air Balloon Experience — an aerial view of the park and the surrounding tidal landscape.
• Gaetgol Expedition — an exploration program that takes visitors through the tidal creek environment.
• Salt Play / Barefoot Salt Road — an opportunity to handle salt and walk barefoot on a salt road, made possible by the site’s salt-making heritage.
• SEA POOL Party — a water-based attraction within the festival grounds.

Collaboration and Family Programs

Several programs, organized with partner groups, are particularly suited to families:

• Hop-hop Insect Experience — insect-themed activities for children and adults.
• Salt Farm Experience — a hands-on introduction to salt production.
• Slow Post Office — a place to write and send letters at a relaxed pace, in keeping with the festival’s car-free, slow-paced format.
• Today Gaetgol is My Playground — an open play program that turns the park’s open spaces into a playground.
• “Let’s Walk Siheung” Walking Festival — a walking program that fits naturally alongside the car-free festival format.
• Siheung Salt Farm Salt Festival — a dedicated program focused on the area’s salt-farming heritage.

Other Programs

The remaining programs round out the festival’s offerings and spread activity across the park:

• Art Festival in the Street — art installations and performances placed along the festival’s paths.
• Gaetgol National Art Contest — a national art contest that invites participants to create works in and around the park.
• Gaetgol Memory Photo Studio — a photo studio where visitors can have pictures taken to remember their visit.
• Gaetgol Stamp Rally — a stamp-collecting activity that encourages visitors to move between different points across the festival site.

Practical Information

• 📍 Address: 287 Dongseo-ro, Siheung-si, Gyeonggi-do (Janggok-dong)
• 🛏️ Accommodations near the event
• 💰 Fee: Free (some experience programs have a fee)
• 📞 Inquiry: 031-310-2916, 2919~2920
• ⭐️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sgfestival
• 🖥️ Website: https://shggfestival.com/

What is Gaetgol?

Gaetgol (갯골) is a Korean term for the tidal creeks and channels that form in coastal mudflats as the tide moves in and out. These waterways appear and disappear with the tide, cutting through mud and salt marsh and leaving behind sediment and shallow pools. The name describes a specific kind of coastal terrain common along the Yellow Sea coast.

In Siheung, Gaetgol is the central feature of an area where freshwater streams meet seawater. The mix of fresh and salt water creates a brackish zone that supports a particular set of plants and animals. Migratory birds stop here to feed on the mudflats, and the channels provide habitat for fish and crustaceans. The tidal flats also have a history of human use. Salt makers used the sun and wind to evaporate seawater in shallow pans, a method that continued for generations and shaped the local economy.

The Siheung Gaetgol area is now maintained as an ecological park. Boardwalks allow visitors to cross the wetlands without disturbing them. Observation points are used for birdwatching, and the former salt pans are preserved as part of the site. It is an example of how coastal wetlands can support both wildlife and a human livelihood, and how the two can occupy the same land.

Korean Confucian Culture Festival

🗓️ 2026.09.18 ~ 2026.09.20

The 2026 Korean Confucian Culture Festival brings Confucian tradition into the everyday lives of modern visitors. Hosted by Chungcheongnam-do and Nonsan-si and organized by the Korean Confucian Culture Promotion Agency, the festival is built around the theme “Loyalty, Filial Piety, and Propriety Become My Daily Life.” Through performance, exhibition, experience, education, and academic programs, it connects core Confucian values to daily practice. The event runs from September 18 to 20, 2026, at the Korean Confucian Culture Promotion Agency and around Noseong-myeon, Nonsan-si.

The program is designed for a wide range of participants: children, families, adolescents, young adults, foreigners, and local residents. Highlights include the opening ceremony, the Chungcheong Spirit Provincial Resident Declaration, the Choi Tae-sung Humanities Book Concert, the K-Confucianism International Forum, performances and exhibitions, and participation-based competition and experience programs for families and youth. Through these programs, regional Confucian cultural assets and lifestyle culture can be experienced together, helping visitors understand and share the values of tradition in today’s life.

Main Programs

• Opening Ceremony
• Chungcheong Spirit Provincial Resident Declaration
• Choi Tae-sung Humanities Book Concert
• K-Confucianism International Forum
• K-Confucianism Concert
• Scholar Members’ Day

Side Programs

• Loyalty, Filial Piety, and Propriety Pop-up Exhibition
• Traditional Clothing Exhibition
• Special Exhibitions Related to Confucian Culture
• K-Pungryu Plaza
• Regional Cultural Performances

Consumer Participation Programs

• K-Confucianism English Speech Contest
• Writing and Drawing Contest
• Foreigner Scholar School
• Traditional Archery and Tea Ceremony Experience
• Scholar’s Table Cooking Class
• Family Experience Programs
• Stamp Tour

The participation programs are where the festival becomes most interactive. Visitors can try traditional archery and tea ceremony, join a Scholar’s Table cooking class, or follow the stamp tour through the festival grounds. The K-Confucianism English Speech Contest and the Foreigner Scholar School give international visitors a way into Confucian culture, while the writing and drawing contest and family experience programs offer younger participants and families a more hands-on entry point.

Other Details

• Participation programs for residents of Noseong-myeon and the Nonsan area
• Operation linked with local commercial districts and food

Practical Information

📍 Address: 10 Jonghak-gil, Noseong-myeon, Nonsan-si, Chungcheongnam-do

🛏️ Accommodations near the event

💰 Fee: Free admission (some experience programs have a fee)

📞 Inquiry: 041-981-9859

⭐️ Instagram: instagram.com/ikcc_official

🖥️ Website: kccexpo.co.kr

Korean Confucian culture refers to the ethical and social tradition that grew out of Confucianism on the Korean peninsula. Confucian ideas were known in Korea several centuries before the Joseon dynasty, with schools and texts appearing as early as the Three Kingdoms period. But it was in Joseon (1392–1910), when Neo-Confucianism became the official state ideology, that these ideas were systematically applied to government, family ritual, education, and everyday conduct.

Korean Confucianism draws on a set of core moral concepts: in (benevolence), ui (righteousness), ye (propriety), and ji (wisdom). These are not abstract ideals; they are expected to show up in concrete behavior. Filial piety, hyo, is the most familiar example. It includes caring for aging parents and observing the jesa memorial rites that honor deceased ancestors. Age-based respect is also embedded in ordinary life. Korean has a comprehensive system of honorifics, and forms of address, seating order, and even the decision to pour someone a drink can reflect one’s relative age and position.

The seonbi ideal reinforced this ethic. Seonbi were educated men who were supposed to act as models of integrity and self-cultivation, often choosing moral principle over office or wealth. The civil service examination system, which selected officials through rigorous study of classical texts, gave education a central place in Korean society. That legacy is still visible in the high value placed on schooling and in the status granted to teachers.

Modern Korea does not follow Confucian rules as a formal system. Most people do not govern family life according to the detailed ritual codes of the Joseon court. Yet the broader habits remain: the expectation that adult children will support their parents, the attention to hierarchy in workplaces and families, the preference for harmony in group settings, and the belief that education is the route to improvement. Some of these patterns are contested, especially when they clash with newer ideas about gender equality and individual autonomy, but they are still part of the ordinary background of Korean life.

For visitors, the Korean Confucian Culture Festival in Nonsan is less about viewing artifacts than about observing and participating in these ongoing practices. The rituals are not relics, but living conventions that continue to shape how many Koreans think about responsibility, respect, and relationships.

Gwangju Namhansanseong Cultural Festival

🗓️ 2026.09.18 ~ 2026.09.20

To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the construction of the Namhansanseong fortress walls, Gwangju City’s representative festival, the ‘Gwangju Namhansanseong Cultural Festival,’ which sheds new light on the value of Namhansanseong, where history and culture breathe, will be held for three days from September 18th to 20th at Namhansanseong Provincial Park.

This festival is a meaningful occasion to reflect on the historical significance and cultural value of Namhansanseong, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, together with citizens. During the festival period, various performances and stage programs where tradition and modernity harmonize, historical experience programs where one can directly experience the history and culture of Namhansanseong, participatory programs that citizens can join and enjoy together, and experiential art markets will be diversely presented.

What to see and do

The festival program includes performances, hands-on experiences, an art market, and a food zone, giving visitors a range of ways to engage with the fortress and its heritage. Since admission is free, it is easy to join for a single program or stay for a full day of events.

1. Opening Ceremony: An opening performance with citizens to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the construction of the Namhansanseong fortress walls.
2. Performances: Various performances featuring local art groups, busking, popular singers, etc.
3. Experience Programs: Experience programs to encounter and enjoy nature and history throughout Namhansanseong.
4. Art Market: Operation of an experiential art market linked with local workshops.
5. Food Zone: A food zone where you can enjoy the unique tastes and representative foods of Namhansanseong.
6. Visiting Library, Visiting Cinema: Meeting Namhansanseong closely through books and movies.

The mix of commemorative events, local artistic talent, and hands-on cultural activities gives the festival its own character within Gwangju’s annual calendar. Visitors can watch, participate, explore, and taste their way through the fortress site, all against the backdrop of a UNESCO-listed historic landscape.

Event details

📍 Address: 731 Namhansanseong-ro, Namhansanseong-myeon, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do

🛏️ Accommodation near the event

💰 Fee: Free

📞 Inquiry: 1522-0338

⭐️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gccf_festival/

🖥️ Website: https://www.nsart.or.kr/culture/business.do?act=detail&clbsId=163

Namhansanseong Fortress: History and Significance

Namhansanseong is a mountain fortress in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, built to guard the southern approach to Seoul. The site has defensive origins dating to the Three Kingdoms period, but the walls and structures that survive today were completed in 1626, during the Joseon dynasty. Its 400th anniversary will mark the completion of that construction in 2026.

The fortress was designed as an emergency capital for the Joseon royal family. It included palace buildings, military command posts, and storage facilities, and its fortifications combined natural terrain with masonry walls, gates, and watchtowers. The layout reflected the military engineering standards of the time and allowed a relatively small garrison to defend against a larger invading force.

Namhansanseong is best known for the siege of 1636, when King Injo and his court took refuge inside the fortress during a Manchu invasion. The garrison and refugees held out for nearly fifty days against a Qing army before Injo surrendered. The terms of that surrender affected Joseon’s relations with the Qing dynasty for decades afterward, and the event is a central episode in Korean political history.

The fortress was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014. The designation recognizes it as a significant example of East Asian military architecture and as a landscape shaped by Joseon-era political and philosophical ideas. Its walls, gates, and surviving buildings are preserved as historical evidence of that period.

Pyeongchang Nongak & Mountain Food Festival

🗓️ 2026.09.18 ~ 2026.09.20

The Pyeongchang Nongak & Mountain Food Festival is held annually in Yongpyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang-gun, the village where the Pyeongchang Dunjeonpyeong Nongak—a representative intangible cultural asset of Gangwon Province—is preserved and carried on. Nongak, Korea’s traditional farmers’ performance, is known for its driving percussion and communal dances, and this festival places that heritage at the center of a weekend of food, performance, and hands-on activities. Over the years, the festival has developed into an event visited by many tourists, since it offers something for people of all ages and genders.

This year’s festival marks its 6th anniversary under the theme “Delicious Sounds of Pyeongchang Love! The Delicious Mountain Food of Exciting Pyeongchang Nongak.” By combining regional mountain food with exciting performances and experiences centered on the Pyeongchang Dunjeonpyeong Nongak, this edition will present a more diverse and abundant range of attractions than before. The event is colorfully composed of various food programs including jar barbecue, skewer grilling experiences, and market-style soup (jangteogukbap), as well as traditional culture experiences and various performances such as madanggeuk (open-air plays). It offers everyone an unforgettable autumn atmosphere of Pyeongchang, where the exciting rhythms of Nongak blend with Pyeongchang’s delicious and generous hospitality.

The programs are organized into four categories:

1. Main Programs
Folk performances (Nongak, Gilnori, Madanggeuk, etc.) and singer performances.

2. Side Programs
Busking (traditional Korean music and fusion gugak, etc.).

3. Experience Programs
Straw craft, folk games, and playing folk instruments, etc.

4. Food
Jar barbecue, skewer grilling experience, etc.

📍 Address: 7 Galjeongji-gil, Yongpyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do

🛏️ Accommodations near the event

💰 Fee: Free (Food is paid)

📞 Inquiry: 033-332-4333

🖥️ Website: Website url

Nongak is a traditional Korean farmers’ performance art. It developed in rural areas as a way for villagers to coordinate labor, mark seasonal events, and maintain communal ties. The music is played on four instruments: the buk barrel drum, the kkwaenggwari small gong, the jing large gong, and the hourglass-shaped janggu. The kkwaenggwari leads the ensemble, while the other instruments maintain the rhythm and shape the pace of each piece.

The performance extends beyond the band. Dancers wear sangmo, caps fitted with long ribbon streamers, and move their heads to draw clean arcs and spirals in the air. Some sections feature staged comic exchanges, processional formations, and direct calls to the audience. These elements give nongak a theatrical character while preserving its origins as a village practice.

Nongak has been performed on stage for decades and was listed by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014. At the 2026 Pyeongchang Nongak & Mountain Food Festival, it will be programmed as a main attraction, with performances scheduled throughout the grounds. The presentation will keep the music and movement at the center, rather than using them as background for the food events.

Suseongmot Festival

The Suseongmot Festival provides citizens with artistic experiences against the backdrop of Suseongmot, the most frequently visited spot by Daegu citizens. It was selected as 1st place for two consecutive years in 2019 and 2020 in the “Daegu Metropolitan City Excellent Regional Festival Evaluation,” and it is one of the projects that represent the identity of the Suseong Cultural Foundation. The festival runs from September 18 to 20, 2026, and admission is free.

Program Highlights

This year’s official invited performances include K-Arts Fantasy, which contains the essence of Korean traditional orchestral music, song, dance, and music; the Floating Concert; the Floating Ball ‘Pa (Wave)’; and street art performances. The festival also includes the Suseong Happiness Concert, a large-scale choral performance in which citizens and artists participate. Musical fireworks shows will unfold at the beginning and end of the festival.

Visitors can also watch the National Youth Dance Competition performed by citizens, the Suseong-gu Elementary and Middle School Music Harmony Square, and the Intangible Heritage Festival, and participate in on-site experience programs such as the Drawing Contest and the Deulangil K-Food Festival.

Festival Programs

Main Programs

• K-Arts Fantasy
• Floating Concert
• Floating Ball ‘Pa (Wave)’
• Street Art Performances
• Suseong Happiness Concert
• Musical Fireworks Show

Side Programs

• Intangible Heritage Festival
• Deulang Art Mall & Suseong Local Bakery
• Suseongmot Drawing Contest
• Suseong-gu Elementary and Middle School Music Harmony Square
• National Youth Dance Competition
• Suseong-gu Taekwondo Association Demonstration Performance
• Taekwondo Flash Mob
• Suseong Living Art Club Competition
• Daegu International Opera Festival Fringe Concert
• Suseong-gu Village Band Concert

Consumer Participation Programs

• Food Booths
• Experience and Promotion Booths

Event Information

🗓️ 2026.09.18 ~ 2026.09.20

📍 Address: 112 Muhak-ro, Suseong-gu, Daegu (Dusan-dong)

🛏️ Accommodation near the event

💰 Fee: Free

📞 Inquiry: 053-668-1500

⭐️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suseong_festival

🖥️ Homepage: http://www.ssfestival.net/

What is Suseongmot?

Suseongmot is an artificial lake in Suseong-gu, Daegu, South Korea. It was built in 1925 as an agricultural reservoir and has since become a public leisure area. The name means “Suseong Pond” in Korean. It is one of the better-known landmarks in the eastern part of the city.

The lake is surrounded by a walking path, lawns, and a number of cafes and restaurants. Rental pedal boats and swan boats operate on the water during the day. Visitors can walk the full loop around the lake, sit on benches near the shore, or use the exercise equipment installed along parts of the route. In the evening, the path is lit, and the illuminated buildings on the opposite side are reflected in the water.

Suseongmot also hosts events. The annual Suseongmot Festival includes fireworks, concerts, and performances staged near the lake. At other times, the area is used for outdoor art displays and small cultural programs. These events draw residents from Daegu and visitors from elsewhere in the region, particularly during the warmer months.

Gamaksan Flower Star Travel

🗓️ 2026.09.18 ~ 2026.10.11

The 6th Gamaksan Flower Star Travel, Geochang-gun’s representative autumn festival, returns to Star Wind Hill at the summit of Gamaksan in Shinwon-myeon from September 18 to October 11, 2026. This year’s theme, A Purple Comma for Myself, frames the festival as a pause in the season’s rush, set against sweeping mountain views and the purple bloom of chrysanthemum fields.

The event officially opens on September 18 with pre-event performances, the main opening ceremony, and a guided walk through the Siberian chrysanthemum complex. Across the following three weeks, the program blends live music, family-oriented experiences, and regional food.

Viewing Course

Three outdoor spaces anchor the festival’s scenery:

• Aster Complex — 5ha planted with 300,000 aster chrysanthemums, featuring an observatory, a silver grass maze, and an experience center.
• Siberian Chrysanthemum Complex — 4ha of Siberian chrysanthemums, Aster koraiensis, and Aster tataricus, totaling 400,000 plants, with a deck shelter for resting mid-stroll.
• Barrier-Free Sharing Path — a 3.8km raised deck road linking the main sights, punctuated by three observatories. The wooden path keeps the high-altitude views accessible to wheelchairs and strollers alike.

Performance Program

The performance lineup runs throughout the festival period. Sunset Hill Concerts pair live sets with evening light over the ridgeline, while busking performances appear at scattered points along the walking routes. Congratulatory shows from the Geochang Music Association add a local note, and dedicated magic performances give younger visitors their own moment at center stage.

Experience Program

Visitors can take home more than photographs. Photo zones across the venue, a stamp tour, and SNS certification events each offer souvenirs for participation. The standout installation is the slow mailbox at Star Wind Hill: write a letter during the festival, and it will be delivered to you before next year’s event—an unusual memento that extends the festival’s reach long after the chrysanthemums have faded.

Sales and Food

• Flower Star Market — local farms and businesses offer Geochang specialties and processed regional products.
• Food market — operated by the women’s associations of Namsang-myeon and Shinwon-myeon, serving bibimbap, gukbap, jeon, and tofu kimchi at affordable prices.
• Food truck zone — a lighter-options corner with coffee, sikhye, and hot dogs.

📍 Address: 452 Yeonsusa-gil, Shinwon-myeon, Geochang-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do

🛏️ Accommodation near the event

💰 Fee: Paid (Shuttle bus fee 3,000 won)

📞 Inquiry: 055-940-8227

⭐️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/geochang_welcome/

🖥️ Website: https://starwindhill.com/

What is Gamaksan?

Gamaksan is a mountain in Geochang County, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It rises to about 962 meters as part of the Sobaek Mountain range. Its terrain is mostly granite, with exposed ridges, rocky summits, and forested slopes that vary with the season.

In autumn, large patches of purple chrysanthemums grow across the upper slopes. These flowers are the mountain’s main seasonal attraction and draw a steady number of visitors during their blooming period. At other times of year, the appeal is simpler: ridgeline views, quiet forest trails, and relative solitude. From the summit, hikers can see Geochang’s lowlands, the surrounding Sobaek peaks, and the valleys between them.

The trail network includes an established route from the base as well as longer ridgeline connections to neighboring mountains. The standard route is a steady climb, with some rocky sections that require care. There are no shops or facilities on the mountain, so hikers should carry their own water and food. The mountain can be visited as a half-day outing, but the full ridge route offers a longer, more demanding hike for those with time.