Chungcheongnam-do in October Festivals, dates and what's on

Chungcheongnam-do has 9 festivals in October: Hongseong Namdang Port King Prawn Festival (4 Sep – 8 Nov 2026), Janghang 1931 Night Tour (10–31 Oct 2026), Hongseong Global Barbecue Festival (29 Oct – 1 Nov 2026), Yesan Apple Festival (30–31 Oct 2026), Baekje Cultural Festival (expected Sep/Oct 2027), Cheonan World Dance Festival (expected Sep/Oct 2027), Geumsan World K-Insam Festival (expected Sep/Oct 2027), Seosan Haemieupseong Festival (expected Sep/Oct 2027), and Yesan Market Samguk Festival (expected Oct 2027). The Hongseong Namdang Port King Prawn Festival (홍성남당항 대하축제) is a two-month seafood festival at Namdang Port on Cheonsu Bay in Seobu-myeon, Hongseong, Chungcheongnam-do, where the port's restaurants and stalls sell in-season daeha prawns, usually salt-grilled, with weekend shows and bare-hand prawn catching.

Typical October weather (average high/low): Buyeo and Gongju 21/8 °C (71/46 °F); Cheonan 20/7 °C (69/45 °F); Geumsan 21/7 °C (69/44 °F). Source: KMA normals.

At a glance

FestivalDatesAdmissionNearest stationStatus
Hongseong Namdang Port King Prawn Festival홍성남당항 대하축제4 Sep – 8 Nov 2026Free entryHongseong StationHappening now
Janghang 1931 Night Tour장항 1931 밤의 기행10–31 Oct 2026Free entryJanghang StationHappening now
Hongseong Global Barbecue Festival홍성글로벌바비큐페스티벌29 Oct – 1 Nov 2026Free entryHongseong StationHappening now
Yesan Apple Festival예산사과축제30–31 Oct 2026Free entryYesan StationHappening now
Baekje Cultural Festival백제문화제Expected Sep/Oct 2027Free entryBuyeo Intercity Bus Terminal (no railway station in Buyeo); Gongju Bus Terminal for the Gongju programExpected
Cheonan World Dance Festival천안흥타령춤축제Expected Sep/Oct 2027Free entryCheonan StationExpected
Geumsan World K-Insam Festival금산세계인삼축제Expected Sep/Oct 2027Free + paid activitiesDaejeon Station (nearest rail; Geumsan has no railway)Expected
Seosan Haemieupseong Festival서산해미읍성축제Expected Sep/Oct 2027Free entrySee festival pageExpected
Yesan Market Samguk Festival예산장터 삼국축제Expected Oct 2027Free entryYesan StationExpected

Dates marked “expected” follow the organizer's usual pattern and are replaced when the official announcement comes. Each festival page lists the sources.

Weather in October

Festival townAverage highAverage lowRainMeasured at
Buyeo and Gongju21 °C 71 °F8 °C 46 °F64 mmBuyeo
Cheonan20 °C 69 °F7 °C 45 °F56 mmCheonanabout 15 km away
Geumsan21 °C 69 °F7 °C 44 °F56 mmGeumsan

What to wear. Mild days, cold evenings: a jacket for after dark.

Monthly averages, not a forecast. Source: Korea Meteorological Administration climate normals, 1991–2020, via the KMA-sourced climate tables for Buyeo, Cheonan, Geumsan. Where a festival town has no station with published normals, the nearest one is used and its distance shown.

The festivals

All festivals in Chungcheongnam-do
Deep-fried king prawns at the 2015 Namdang Port King Prawn Festival in Hongseong Happening now
Sep – Nov2026
4 –8
Fri–Sun
FoodHongseongFreeUntil 8 Nov

Hongseong Namdang Port King Prawn Festival

The Hongseong Namdang Port King Prawn Festival (홍성남당항 대하축제) is a two-month seafood festival at Namdang Port on Cheonsu Bay in Seobu-myeon, Hongseong, Chungcheongnam-do, where the port's restaurants and stalls sell in-season daeha prawns, usually salt-grilled, with weekend shows and bare-hand prawn catching. The 31st edition runs 4 September–8 November 2026, 09:00–24:00, with free entry; prawns are sold at one festival price of ₩45,000 per kg to take away or ₩60,000 per kg in restaurants.

Happening now
Oct2026
10 –31
Sat–Sat
ArtsSeocheonFreeEnds todayAbout 3 h 20 min from Seoul

Janghang 1931 Night Tour

Janghang 1931 Night Tour is a new evening culture event, first held in 2026, at the old Janghang Station in Seocheon County, South Chungcheong, a 1930 railway station that is now a culture space called Janghang Urban Exploration Station. It runs on four evenings only, 17:00–21:00 on 10, 17, 30 and 31 October 2026, each with its own theme drawn from the port town's modern history; the last two are Friday 30 October (old-style tearoom café night) and Saturday 31 October (food night).

A gate of Hongjueupseong, the old walled town in Hongseong where the festival is held Happening now
Oct – Nov2026
29 –1
Thu–Sun
FoodHongseongFreeEnds tomorrowAbout 2 h 10 min from Seoul

Hongseong Global Barbecue Festival

The Hongseong Global Barbecue Festival (홍성글로벌바비큐페스티벌) is a four-day barbecue and meat festival held in and around Hongju-eupseong, the walled old town in the centre of Hongseong, Chungcheongnam-do, with grill zones, visiting barbecue teams, discounted local beef and pork, and evening concerts. Hongseong County has confirmed the fourth edition for Thursday 29 October to Sunday 1 November 2026.

Sunrise over Yedang Reservoir, where the festival is held, seen from Bongsusan in October 2014 Happening now
Oct2026
30 –31
Fri–Sat
FoodYesanFreeEnds todayAbout 1 h 55 min from Seoul

Yesan Apple Festival

The Yesan Apple Festival (예산사과축제) is a free two-day harvest festival for the apples of Yesan, Chungcheongnam-do, held in 2026 around the Yedangho suspension bridge, a 402 m footbridge over Yedang Reservoir. The 23rd edition runs Friday 30 October (10:00–20:00) and Saturday 31 October 2026 (10:00–18:00), with a discounted growers' apple sale, apple games, music and fireworks over the lake.

Lights along the Geumgang River below Gongsanseong Fortress at night during the 70th Baekje Cultural Festival in Gongju Expected
Expected2027
Sep / Oct
usual window
TraditionBuyeo and GongjuFreeAbout 2 h 20 min from Seoul

Baekje Cultural Festival

The Baekje Cultural Festival is a nine- or ten-day heritage festival held at the same time in Buyeo and Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do, the two former capitals of the Baekje kingdom. The 72nd edition ran 3–11 October 2026 with free admission; Buyeo events ran 10:00–22:00 and Gongju 11:00–22:00.

Dancers in bright costumes in the street parade of the 2014 Cheonan Heungtaryeong Dance Festival Expected
Expected2027
Sep / Oct
usual window
ArtsCheonanFreeAbout 40 min from Seoul

Cheonan World Dance Festival

Cheonan World Dance Festival (천안흥타령춤축제) is a free five-day dance festival in Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, an hour south of Seoul, built around an international dance competition and an evening street parade. The 2026 edition ran 1–5 October at Cheonan Stadium and Cheonan Samgeori Park and drew 992,000 visitors; 2027 is expected in late September or early October.

Visitors filling the festival streets of the 2009 Geumsan Ginseng Festival, seen from above Expected
Expected2027
Sep / Oct
usual window
FoodGeumsanAbout 1 h 50 min from Seoul

Geumsan World K-Insam Festival

Geumsan World K-Insam Festival (금산세계인삼축제) is a free ten-day ginseng festival held each autumn at the World K-Insam Expo Square in Geumsan, Chungcheongnam-do, about 50 minutes by bus from Daejeon. The 2026 edition ran 2–11 October (10:00–21:00) and drew 1.17 million visitors; 2027 is expected in early October.

The main gate of Haemieupseong Fortress in Seosan, the festival's venue Expected
Expected2027
Sep / Oct
usual window
TraditionSeosanFreeAbout 1 h 35 min from Seoul

Seosan Haemieupseong Festival

The Seosan Haemieupseong Festival is a free history festival of three or four days inside Haemieupseong, a walled Joseon-era fortress town completed in 1421 in Haemi-myeon, Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do, with royal procession re-enactments, martial-arts shows, hands-on Joseon activities and night media art on the walls. The 23rd edition ran 9–11 October 2026; the 2027 dates are not announced, but the festival is usually held in late September or early to mid October.

Expected
Expected2027
Oct
usual window
FoodYesanFreeAbout 1 h 55 min from Seoul

Yesan Market Samguk Festival

The Yesan Market Samguk Festival (예산장터 삼국축제) is a free four-day food festival in and around Yesan Permanent Market in Yesan, Chungcheongnam-do, built on three things whose Korean names start with "guk": gukbap (rice soup), guksu (noodles) and gukhwa (chrysanthemums). The 10th edition runs 22–25 October 2026, 10:00–20:00 daily.

Listed · not checkedAlso listed, not checked yet4 more festivals listed by the Korea Tourism Organization

These come straight from the Korea Tourism Organization’s public festival database. We have not checked them against the organizer, so dates and details can be wrong or out of date. Confirm on the official page before you book.

All listed festivals →

October across Korea

All 106 festivals in October

October is the busiest month on the calendar, and the festival to plan a trip around is the Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival: sixteen nights of floating lanterns on the Namgang River below Jinju's fortress from the first Saturday of the month. The first half of October also brings the Busan International Film Festival, the Busan International Rock Festival on the first weekend, the Silla Culture Festival in Gyeongju, Anseong's Baudeogi festival of namsadang folk performance, Sejong's Hangeul festival from Hangeul Day (9 October), Yeongju's Punggi ginseng festival and fortress festivals at Seosan's Haemieupseong and Gochang's Moyangseong. Mid-month adds Jarasum Jazz, Icheon's rice festival, pine mushrooms and salmon in Yangyang, and silver grass on Haneul Park in Seoul and on Hwangmaesan. In the second half, the chrysanthemum shows open at Hampyeong and Iksan, Gangneung holds its coffee festival, Wonju fills its old downtown with dumpling stalls, and Busan marks UN Day (24 October) with the UN Peace Festival beside the UN Memorial Cemetery.

Tip. October weekends sell out hotels in Jinju and Busan a month ahead; the weekdays in between are the best time to visit.

Questions travelers ask

Is there a festival in Chungcheongnam-do in October?

Chungcheongnam-do has 9 festivals in October: Hongseong Namdang Port King Prawn Festival (4 Sep – 8 Nov 2026), Janghang 1931 Night Tour (10–31 Oct 2026), Hongseong Global Barbecue Festival (29 Oct – 1 Nov 2026), Yesan Apple Festival (30–31 Oct 2026), Baekje Cultural Festival (expected Sep/Oct 2027), Cheonan World Dance Festival (expected Sep/Oct 2027), Geumsan World K-Insam Festival (expected Sep/Oct 2027), Seosan Haemieupseong Festival (expected Sep/Oct 2027), and Yesan Market Samguk Festival (expected Oct 2027). The Hongseong Namdang Port King Prawn Festival (홍성남당항 대하축제) is a two-month seafood festival at Namdang Port on Cheonsu Bay in Seobu-myeon, Hongseong, Chungcheongnam-do, where the port's restaurants and stalls sell in-season daeha prawns, usually salt-grilled, with weekend shows and bare-hand prawn catching.

When is Hongseong Namdang Port King Prawn Festival 2026?

4 Sep – 8 Nov 2026. Happening now. Free entry. Nearest station: Hongseong Station. Dates are taken from the organizer's own notice.

When is Janghang 1931 Night Tour 2026?

10–31 Oct 2026. Happening now. Free entry. Nearest station: Janghang Station. Dates are taken from the organizer's own notice.

When is Hongseong Global Barbecue Festival 2026?

29 Oct – 1 Nov 2026. Happening now. Free entry. Nearest station: Hongseong Station. Dates are taken from the organizer's own notice.

What is the weather like in Chungcheongnam-do in October?

Buyeo and Gongju: Average high 21 °C (71 °F), low 8 °C (46 °F), 64 mm of rain (Buyeo station, KMA 1991–2020 normals). Mild days, cold evenings: a jacket for after dark. Cheonan: Average high 20 °C (69 °F), low 7 °C (45 °F), 56 mm of rain (Cheonan station, about 15 km away, KMA 1991–2020 normals). Mild days, cold evenings: a jacket for after dark. Geumsan: Average high 21 °C (69 °F), low 7 °C (44 °F), 56 mm of rain (Geumsan station, KMA 1991–2020 normals). Mild days, cold evenings: a jacket for after dark.

How do I get to Chungcheongnam-do?

Daecheon Station by Saemaeul train from Yongsan; Cheonan-Asan by KTX in 40 minutes; Buyeo by bus from Seoul Nambu Terminal.

What else is on in Korea in October?

106 festivals across Korea fall in October, including Andong Maskdance Festival, Anseong Namsadang Baudeogi Festival, Busan Folk Arts Festival. October weekends sell out hotels in Jinju and Busan a month ahead; the weekdays in between are the best time to visit.