Gyeongsangbuk-do has 10 festivals in October: Mungyeong Apple Festival (17 Oct – 1 Nov 2026), Pohang Steel Art Festival (24 Oct – 15 Nov 2026), Yecheon Bow Festival (30 Oct – 1 Nov 2026), Andong Maskdance Festival (expected Sep/Oct 2027), Chilgok Transmedia Festival (expected Sep/Oct/Nov 2027), EX Pumpkin Night (expected Sep/Oct 2027), Gimcheon Gimbap Festival (expected Oct 2027), Mungyeong Yakdol Hanu Festival (expected Oct/Nov 2027), Silla Culture Festival (expected Oct 2027), and Yeongju Punggi Ginseng Festival (expected Oct 2027). The Mungyeong Apple Festival (문경사과축제) is a free harvest festival at Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park in Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, built around the Gamhong apple, a local variety that is in season only in October and averages 16.5 Brix. Sometimes held in October, but not this time: Cheongsong Apple Festival (4–8 Nov 2026).
Typical October weather in Andong: average high 21 °C (69 °F), low 8 °C (46 °F), 47 mm of rain (Andong station, KMA 1991–2020 normals).
| Festival | Dates | Admission | Nearest station | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mungyeong Apple Festival문경사과축제 | 17 Oct – 1 Nov 2026 | Free entry | Mungyeong Station (KTX-Eum) | Happening now |
| Pohang Steel Art Festival포항스틸아트페스티벌 | 24 Oct – 15 Nov 2026 | Free entry | Pohang Station (KTX) | Happening now |
| Yecheon Bow Festival예천활축제 | 30 Oct – 1 Nov 2026 | Free entry | See festival page | Happening now |
| Cheongsong Apple Festival청송사과축제 | 4–8 Nov 2026 | Free entry | Cheongsong Intercity Bus Terminal (Cheongsong has no railway station; the nearest KTX-Eum stop is Andong) | Upcoming |
| Andong Maskdance Festival안동국제탈춤페스티벌 | Expected Sep/Oct 2027 | Free + paid activities | Andong Station | Expected |
| Chilgok Transmedia Festival칠곡 트랜스미디어 축제 | Expected Sep/Oct/Nov 2027 | Free entry | Waegwan Station | Expected |
| EX Pumpkin NightEX펌킨나잇 | Expected Sep/Oct 2027 | Paid admission | Gyeongju Station (KTX) | Expected |
| Gimcheon Gimbap Festival김천김밥축제 | Expected Oct 2027 | Free + paid activities | Gimcheon Station | Expected |
| Mungyeong Yakdol Hanu Festival문경약돌한우축제 | Expected Oct/Nov 2027 | Free + paid activities | Mungyeong Station (KTX-Eum) | Expected |
| Silla Culture Festival신라문화제 | Expected Oct 2027 | Free entry | Gyeongju Station (KTX) | Expected |
| Yeongju Punggi Ginseng Festival영주풍기인삼축제 | Expected Oct 2027 | Free + paid activities | Punggi Station, Exit 2 (2026 welcome zone) | Expected |
Dates marked “expected” follow the organizer's usual pattern and are replaced when the official announcement comes. Each festival page lists the sources.
| Festival town | Average high | Average low | Rain | Measured at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andong | 21 °C 69 °F | 8 °C 46 °F | 47 mm | Andong |
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 Andong. Where a festival town has no station with published normals, the nearest one is used and its distance shown.
The Mungyeong Apple Festival (문경사과축제) is a free harvest festival at Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park in Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, built around the Gamhong apple, a local variety that is in season only in October and averages 16.5 Brix. The 21st edition is running now, 17 October–1 November 2026, 09:00–18:00 daily, with growers' sales and tastings, orchard picking, an apple exhibition hall and family games.
The Pohang Steel Art Festival (포항스틸아트페스티벌, PSAF) is a free public-art festival in Pohang, Korea's steel city in Gyeongsangbuk-do, showing sculpture, photography and architecture made with or about steel. The 2026 edition runs 24 October–15 November 2026 at Dongbin Culture Warehouse 1969, Songdo Beach, Art436 and downtown Pohang; KTO lists 10:00–21:00 Tuesday to Saturday and 10:00–18:00 on Sunday.
The Yecheon Bow Festival (예천활축제) is a free archery festival at Hancheon Sports Park in Yecheon-eup, Gyeongsangbuk-do, the home county of archers Kim Jin-ho, Yun Ok-hee and Olympic champion Kim Je-deok: you can try Western and traditional Korean archery, a team bow battle and children's bow games. The 2026 edition runs Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November, 10:00–21:00, together with the Yecheon Agricultural Festival; as of mid-October it was going ahead as planned despite foot-and-mouth cases in Yecheon in 2026.
The Cheongsong Apple Festival (청송사과축제) is a five-day harvest festival on the Yongjeoncheon stream beside Hyeonbiam cliff in Cheongsong-eup, Gyeongsangbuk-do, a mountain county known for its apples. The 20th edition runs 4–8 November 2026 (Wednesday–Sunday), 09:00–20:00 per KTO, with growers' apple sales, an apple parade, hands-on games and evening concerts.
Andong Maskdance Festival (안동국제탈춤페스티벌) is a 10- or 11-day celebration of Korean and international mask dance held each late September–early October in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, at the old Andong Station site, Mask Dance Park and the old downtown. The 2026 edition ran 24 September–4 October (opening ceremony 25 September); 2027 is expected in the same window.
The Chilgok Transmedia Festival is a free art festival in Waegwan, the main town of Chilgok County near Daegu, run by the county's culture and tourism foundation since 2023. The 4th edition, on the friendship between the poet Ku Sang and the painter Lee Jung-seop, sets media art in 11 spaces along a walking route from Waegwan Station to the Gusang Literature Museum, 15 September–25 October 2026, 09:00–18:00, closed on Mondays.
EX Pumpkin Night is a Halloween-themed night walk along the 2 km lit trail through Hwarang Forest (Luminight) at Gyeongju Expo Park, at the entrance to Gyeongju's Bomun resort area. The 2026 edition, built around the park mascots Hwani and Wani and Silla's twelve zodiac guardians, runs 24 September–24 October, 18:00–22:00 daily with last entry at 21:00; tickets are ₩10,000, or ₩8,000 booked online.
The Gimcheon Gimbap Festival (김천김밥축제) is a free food festival devoted to gimbap, held in the parks at the entrance to Jikjisa temple in Gimcheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do. The third edition runs Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October 2026, 09:00–18:00 (from 10:00 on Friday), with more than 60 kinds of gimbap and about 80 food, dessert and flea-market vendors; entry is free and you pay for what you eat.
The Mungyeong Yakdol Hanu Festival (문경약돌한우축제) is a free three-day beef festival at Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park in Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do: you buy the city's Yakdol Hanu beef at 20–33% below market price (2023–2025) and grill it yourself in a grill area that seated 800 people at once in 2025. The 15th edition, 9–11 October 2026, ran as a scaled-down beef market because of a foot-and-mouth outbreak in neighbouring Yecheon; 2027 dates have not been announced, but recent editions fell on a weekend between early October and early November.
The Silla Culture Festival (신라문화제) is Gyeongju's city-wide autumn festival of the Silla kingdom, first held in 1962 and one of Korea's oldest local festivals. The 53rd edition ran 9–11 October 2026 around the Bonghwangdae tomb park and Woljeonggyo Bridge, 15:00–24:00 with free admission; its centrepiece is the Hwabaek Jejeon night show on a floating stage at Woljeonggyo, with drones and fireworks.
The Yeongju Punggi Ginseng Festival (영주풍기인삼축제) is a nine-day ginseng market festival on the Namwon-cheon stream and in Punggi Ginseng Park in Punggi-eup, Yeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, the town that claims Korea's first cultivated ginseng. The 2026 edition ran 3–11 October, 10:00–20:00, and drew about 511,000 visitors; 2027 dates are not announced, and a Saturday-to-Sunday run in early to mid October is most likely.
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.
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.
Gyeongsangbuk-do has 10 festivals in October: Mungyeong Apple Festival (17 Oct – 1 Nov 2026), Pohang Steel Art Festival (24 Oct – 15 Nov 2026), Yecheon Bow Festival (30 Oct – 1 Nov 2026), Andong Maskdance Festival (expected Sep/Oct 2027), Chilgok Transmedia Festival (expected Sep/Oct/Nov 2027), EX Pumpkin Night (expected Sep/Oct 2027), Gimcheon Gimbap Festival (expected Oct 2027), Mungyeong Yakdol Hanu Festival (expected Oct/Nov 2027), Silla Culture Festival (expected Oct 2027), and Yeongju Punggi Ginseng Festival (expected Oct 2027). The Mungyeong Apple Festival (문경사과축제) is a free harvest festival at Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park in Mungyeong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, built around the Gamhong apple, a local variety that is in season only in October and averages 16.5 Brix. Sometimes held in October, but not this time: Cheongsong Apple Festival (4–8 Nov 2026).
17 Oct – 1 Nov 2026. Happening now. Free entry. Nearest station: Mungyeong Station (KTX-Eum). Dates are taken from the organizer's own notice.
24 Oct – 15 Nov 2026. Happening now. Free entry. Nearest station: Pohang Station (KTX). Dates are taken from the organizer's own notice.
30 Oct – 1 Nov 2026. Happening now. Free entry. Nearest station: See festival page. Dates are taken from the organizer's own notice.
Average high 21 °C (69 °F), low 8 °C (46 °F), 47 mm of rain (Andong station, KMA 1991–2020 normals). Mild days, cold evenings: a jacket for after dark.
KTX-Eum from Cheongnyangni Station to Andong in about 2 hours.
106 festivals across Korea fall in October, including Anseong Namsadang Baudeogi Festival, Baekje Cultural 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.