Korea festivals worth planning around

Curated list of major Korean festivals — confirmed dates, getting-there from Seoul, and what to know if you're not yet fluent in Korean. Refreshed when official dates change.

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Next 30 days

1 festival

Editor pick

LanternSeoul

Lotus Lantern Festival (Yeon Deung Hoe)

Buddhist lantern festival weekend around Buddha's Birthday, centered on Jongno in Seoul. Inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2020.

May 22 – 24, 2026· tentative· In 13 days

Showing 14 of 14 festivals.

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May 2026

This month1 festival

Editor pick

LanternSeoul

Lotus Lantern Festival (Yeon Deung Hoe)

Buddhist lantern festival weekend around Buddha's Birthday, centered on Jongno in Seoul. Inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2020.

May 22 – 24, 2026· tentative· In 13 days

June 2026

1 festival

Editor pick

Cultural heritageGangwon

Gangneung Danoje

A thousand-year-old shamanic and folk festival held around the lunar fifth day of the fifth month. Inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2005.

June 15 – 21, 2026· tentative· In 37 days

July 2026

2 festivals

Editor pick

SeasonalSouth Chungcheong

Boryeong Mud Festival

Korea's most internationally famous festival. Two weeks of mud baths, mud wrestling, and beach concerts at Daecheon Beach in mid-summer.

July 17 – 26, 2026· tentative

Editor pick

FoodDaegu

Daegu Chimac Festival

Five days of fried chicken (chi) and beer (mac) at Duryu Park in Daegu. The festival that made chimaek a Korean cultural export.

July 22 – 26, 2026· tentative

August 2026

1 festival

MCST Excellent

NatureNorth Jeolla

Muju Firefly Festival

Late-summer festival celebrating Muju's protected firefly populations, one of the few places in Korea where wild fireflies still appear in numbers.

August 29 – September 6, 2026· tentative

September 2026

1 festival

MCST Representative

Performing artsNorth Gyeongsang

Andong Mask Dance Festival

Ten days of traditional Korean mask dance (talchum) performances in Andong, the cultural capital of Korea's Confucian heartland.

September 25 – October 4, 2026· tentative

October 2026

2 festivals

Busan International Film Festival (BIFF)

Editor pick

FilmBusan

Busan International Film Festival (BIFF)

Asia's largest and most prestigious film festival. Ten days of premieres, retrospectives, and director Q&As at the Busan Cinema Center and surrounding venues.

October 1 – 10, 2026· tentative

MCST Representative

LanternSouth Gyeongsang

Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival

Thousands of handcrafted lanterns floated on the Namgang River in Jinju, commemorating a 16th-century battle. The most photographed lantern festival in Korea.

October 1 – 15, 2026· tentative

November 2026

1 festival

Editor pick

LanternSeoul

Seoul Lantern Festival

Two weeks of illuminated lanterns lining Cheonggyecheon stream in central Seoul. Free, walkable, and the easiest festival in this list to fit into a weeknight.

November 13 – 29, 2026· tentative

January 2027

1 festival

MCST Representative

NatureGangwon

Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival

Three weeks of ice fishing for sancheoneo (mountain trout) on a frozen river in Gangwon. CNN ranked it among the world's seven wonders of winter.

January 9 – 31, 2027· tentative

February 2027

1 festival

FoodNorth Gyeongsang

Yeongdeok Snow Crab Festival

Late-winter celebration of the daege (snow crab), peak season on Korea's east coast. Boat tours, on-the-spot crab markets, and steamed crab tastings.

February 25 – March 1, 2027· tentative

March 2027

1 festival

MCST Promising

SeasonalJeju

Jeju Fire Festival (Deulbul)

Controlled-burn festival on the slopes of Saebyeol Oreum in Jeju, originally a livestock-pasture renewal practice turned dramatic mass-spectacle.

March 6 – 8, 2027· tentative

April 2027

1 festival

Editor pick

SeasonalSouth Gyeongsang

Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival

Korea's most famous cherry blossom festival, hosted in the former naval port of Jinhae. Tens of thousands of trees line the Yeojwacheon stream and Gyeonghwa Station rail tracks.

April 1 – 10, 2027· tentative

May 2027

1 festival

MCST Excellent

NatureSouth Jeolla

Damyang Bamboo Festival

Five days of bamboo-themed crafts, food, and forest walks in Damyang, Korea's bamboo capital. Centered on the Juknokwon bamboo forest.

May 1 – 5, 2027· tentative