Chuncheon Makguksu and Dakgalbi Festival

🗓️ October 14–18, 2026

Chuncheon, often described as the representative gourmet city of Korea, hosts its annual Makguksu and Dakgalbi Festival along the scenic Gongjicheon Stream. The 2026 edition brings together the city’s two signature foods—Makguksu, or buckwheat noodles, and Dakgalbi, spicy stir-fried chicken—in a five-day celebration of taste, culture, and tourism. It is a gourmet festival built around local identity, with a program that includes restaurants, farms, breweries, local businesses, performances, and hands-on experiences.

The festival grounds stretch along the stream and offer visitors the chance to experience the taste, style, and warm atmosphere of Chuncheon with all five senses. Organizers intend for the event to become a representative K-gourmet festival, and the lineup reflects that goal: it promotes the region’s food culture and tourism resources while giving locals and visitors alike a reason to spend several days in Chuncheon. With content designed for families, friends, couples, and foreign tourists, it aims to create lasting autumn memories through food, culture, and shared activities.

Main Programs

The centerpiece of the festival is the Chuncheon Representative Dakgalbi & Makguksu Gourmet Hall, where visitors can sample dishes from some of the city’s best-known specialty shops.

Dakgalbi: 15 participating specialty shops, sold at 9,900 won per serving
Makguksu: 8 participating specialty shops, sold at 6,900 won per serving

These booths offer a practical way to compare the cooking styles of multiple famous restaurants in one place.

The Main Stage Cultural Performances run alongside the food halls. The schedule includes performances by Chuncheon local artists, invited celebrity performers, and stage programs that bring visitors into the show, adding a live entertainment layer to the gastronomic experience.

Side Programs

Beyond the two main dishes, the festival is a wider showcase of what Chuncheon produces.

Chuncheon Local Gourmet Content: A food sales zone featuring 25 local F&B businesses from the Chuncheon area, offering snacks, desserts, and beverages.
Chuncheon Traditional Liquor Promotion & Sales Hall: Eight breweries based in Chuncheon exhibit and sell traditional liquors and local alcoholic beverages.
Farmer’s Market: A direct-transaction market where consumers can buy fresh agricultural products and processed goods from farms in the Chuncheon area, meeting producers face to face.
Chuncheon Lake Garden: A relaxation and exhibition space themed around Chuncheon’s lakes and nature, with photo zones and shelters for visitors within the festival grounds.
Local Enterprise Promotion Hall: Booths introducing products and services from companies located in Chuncheon.
International Promotion Hall: International exchange and festival promotion booths for foreigners residing in Chuncheon and visiting tourists.

Consumer Participation Programs

The festival includes a variety of hands-on and digital activities for visitors who want to do more than taste.

Mak-Dak Photo Booth: Commemorative festival photos themed around Makguksu and Dakgalbi.
Old Brass Wood Playground: 20 types of eco-friendly wooden play content for families to enjoy together.
Augmented Reality Character Drawing: A digital experience that brings user drawings to life using augmented reality technology.
Magic Sand Sand Play: Tactile sand play for children and families.
Chuncheon Mak-Dak MBTI: A customized program that recommends a festival course based on your personality.
Bomnae Crew Doll Claw Machine: A claw machine event featuring Chuncheon Bomnae Crew character dolls.
Mak-Dak Let’s Ride: A special horseback riding experience run with the Korea Racing Authority.
Makguksu Experience Hall: A cooking experience where visitors can personally make Chuncheon’s representative buckwheat noodles.

Other Information

A gourmet festival where Chuncheon’s representative foods, Makguksu and Dakgalbi, can be tasted at reasonable prices.
A region-win-win festival involving local restaurants, farms, small business owners, breweries, and companies.
A family-friendly festival where food, performances, experiences, exhibitions, and relaxation content are available in one space.
Stay-over tourism content linking Chuncheon’s gourmet culture with its nature and tourism resources.
A program designed for a wide range of visitors: families, couples, friends, and foreign tourists.

Event Details

📍 Address: 586 Onui-dong, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do

🛏️ Accommodation near the event

💰 Fee: Free

📞 Inquiry: 070-7576-1657

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

🖥️ Website: https://mdfestival26.imweb.me/

What are makguksu and dakgalbi?

Makguksu is Chuncheon’s signature buckwheat noodle dish. The name is often translated as “coarse noodles” or “noodles eaten roughly,” and it points to the dish’s origins as a practical meal made from simple ingredients. Buckwheat flour gives the noodles a firm, slightly chewy texture and a flavor that is more earthy and nutty than that of wheat noodles. The noodles are served cold in a broth made from beef or anchovy stock, seasoned until it is tangy and savory. Standard toppings include shredded cabbage, cucumber, a slice of hard-boiled egg, and sometimes a spoonful of spicy mustard. The mustard is meant to be mixed into the broth, where its heat cuts against the cold of the noodles. Makguksu is especially popular in summer, but locals do not limit themselves to warm weather.

Dakgalbi is a stir-fried chicken dish. In Chuncheon, the chicken is cut into bite-size pieces and marinated in a sauce built on gochujang, with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. The chicken is then cooked at the table on a large round griddle with cabbage, sweet potatoes, rice cakes, and onions. As the liquid reduces, it forms a glossy coating on the chicken and vegetables. Toward the end of the meal, diners often add rice or noodles to the pan and stir them into the remaining sauce, which has by then concentrated beyond the flavor of the initial marinade.

These two dishes are what most people think of when they think of Chuncheon food. They are distinct in form—one cold, one hot—but they share a reliance on strong, direct seasoning and on cooking methods that suit shared meals. Makguksu is often ordered alongside other dishes for the table, and dakgalbi requires time at the griddle while it cooks. Neither dish is complicated in concept, and both have become standard references for the city’s cooking.