Gunsan Time Travel Festival
🗓️ 2026.10.02 ~ 2026.10.05
The Gunsan Time Travel Festival is a special journey through time, connecting the past, present, and future of Gunsan. Set against the backdrop of present-day Gunsan, a city that preserves the history of popular resistance and the fierce lives people led during the Japanese colonial period, the festival offers more than nostalgia. This year, it is operated as a festival created together by citizens and tourists through richer content and participatory programs.
A wide range of programs is planned, including a large-scale flash mob performance showcasing concentrated global content of the modern era with direct citizen participation; “All of Us 3.5 Manse,” which recreates the shouts of manse throughout the streets; and “Moa-Moa Time,” where participants can collect time to exchange for souvenirs, take part in various events, or exchange it for discount coupons. Alongside these participatory experiences, the festival includes nostalgic games and food carrying the 7080 sensibility, making it a festival the whole family can enjoy together.
With room for both historical reflection and plain enjoyment, the Gunsan Time Travel Festival is a representative festival of Gunsan that anyone can empathize with and participate in across generations and regions. For visitors, it promises a special time-travel experience.
Main Programs
- Global Modern Flash Mob: a large-scale flash mob performance showcasing concentrated global content of the modern era, with direct citizen participation.
- 1919 Taegeukgi Hoisting Operation
- All of Us 3.5 Manse: recreating the shouts of manse throughout the streets.
- Moa-Moa Time: collect time to exchange for souvenirs, participate in various events, or exchange for discount coupons.
- Gunsan Port Night Pier Concours
- etc.
Experience Programs
- Modern Costume Room
- Receive the Mission Public Phone
- Time-for-Time Travel Craft Workshop
- Citizen-Planned Programs
- Future Mailbox Containing Fragrance
- etc.
Side Events
- Street Yard
- Floor Graffiti Zone
- Find the K-Tourism Island
- Tumbler Coupon System
- Peddler Market
- Practical Free Market
- Promotion Booths
- Food Market
- Bang-ya Bang-ya
- Forest Adventure Playground
- Fashion Show
- etc.
Practical Information
📍 Address: Jungang-ro 1-ga, Gunsan-si, Jeonbuk State
🛏️ Accommodation near the event
💰 Fee: Free (some paid)
📞 Inquiry: 063-454-3300
⭐️ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gunsantour/
🖥️ Homepage: https://festival.gunsan.go.kr/
Gunsan is a port city on the western coast of South Korea, in North Jeolla Province. Its harbor faces the Yellow Sea and has been used for trade and passenger travel for more than a century. Gunsan was designated an open port in 1899 and grew quickly during the early 1900s as a commercial center, especially as a rice-exporting port. Many buildings and streets from that period survive: Japanese-style wooden houses, red-brick warehouses and banks, old railway tracks, and narrow alleys. They stand beside Korean traditional markets and temples, so the city offers a wider range of visible historical styles than most Korean cities.
For visitors, Gunsan offers a direct look at Korea’s modern history. Restored districts such as Gyeongam-dong are walkable residential and commercial areas from the early 20th century. The Gunsan Modern History Museum occupies a former bank building and covers the city’s colonial period and postwar changes. The old customs house and former Japanese consulate are also preserved.
The city is known for a few local foods: “Gunsan bread,” a sweet stuffed pastry, and fresh seafood sold near the harbor. During the annual Gunsan Time Travel Festival, the central streets become a setting for historical reenactment. Actors in period clothing walk around, vintage cars are displayed outside restored shopfronts, and visitors can explore the buildings. The festival is a straightforward way to see how the different periods of the city are present in the same streets.
