Festivals built for children, families and pets rather than around a harvest, a season or a stage: the Hampyeong Butterfly Festival, where children release and feed live butterflies, from late April to Children's Day; Daejeon's free science festival, held in mid-April in recent years; daily water fights on the Tamjin River at the Jangheung Water Festival from the last Saturday of July; the Ulsan Whale Festival in Jangsaengpo, a former whaling port, in late September or mid-October; the Gyeongnam Goseong Dinosaur World Expo at Danghangpo, a ticketed site open for four to six weeks every autumn; dog sports at the Seoul Petlympic in World Cup Park and a free weekend for dogs and owners at the Icheon Pet Festival; gardens beside the Hantan River in Pocheon and free weekend programmes inside the Namhansanseong fortress each autumn; and in winter the Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival in Cheongyang, with giant ice fountains and sledding. Check each festival's page for the next dates.
On now, coming up and expected
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The Pocheon Hantangang Garden Festa is a seasonal garden festival on a lava plateau of about 260,000 m² above the Hantan River gorge in Gwanin-myeon, Pocheon, in northern Gyeonggi-do, beside Korea's longest Y-shaped suspension bridge (410 m). The 2026 autumn season runs 12 September–1 November, 09:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00).
The Gyeongnam Goseong Dinosaur World Expo is a 41-day dinosaur exhibition and show park at Danghangpo Tourist Site in Goseong, Gyeongsangnam-do, a county known for its dinosaur footprint fossils. The 10th edition runs 22 September–1 November 2026, 09:00–18:00 (until 22:00 on night-opening days); gate tickets are ₩19,000 for adults and ₩13,000 for children, and parking is free.
The Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival (칠갑산 얼음분수축제) is a village-run winter festival at Alps Village (Cheonjang-ri) below Chilgapsan in Cheongyang, Chungcheongnam-do, where about 90 giant ice fountains, snow sculptures of cartoon characters and snow and ice sledding make a family day out, about three hours from Seoul by bus. The 2025–26 season, its 18th, ran 24 December 2025–22 February 2026; the 2026–27 season is expected from late December 2026 (in past years the full programme opened on 1 January) to mid or late February 2027, with dates not yet announced.
The Hampyeong Butterfly Festival (함평나비대축제) is a spring festival for families at Hampyeong Expo Park in Hampyeong, Jeollanam-do, where children release and feed live butterflies among flower beds, insect halls and play areas. The 28th edition ran 24 April–5 May 2026, 09:00–18:00, and drew about 236,000 visitors; the 2027 edition is expected in late April to early May but had not been announced as of 19 October 2026.
The Jeongnamjin Jangheung Water Festival (정남진 장흥 물축제) is a nine-day summer festival on the Tamjin River in Jangheung-eup, Jeollanam-do, built around a free mass water fight every afternoon at 14:00. The 19th edition ran 25 July–2 August 2026; 2027 dates are not announced, but late July to early August is expected.
The Icheon Pet Festival is a free two-day festival for dogs and their owners at Icheon Ceramic Art Village (Yes Park), a potters' village in Sindun-myeon, Icheon, Gyeonggi-do. The 2026 edition runs 24–25 October, 10:00–17:00, opening at 14:00 on Saturday with a talk concert by veterinarian Kim Myung-cheol, and adds a dog sports day, walking, grooming and massage classes, a dog playground, food trucks and a flea market.
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The Namhansanseong Autumn Festa (숲속의 산성도시 - 남한산성 가을 페스타, "Fortress City in the Forest") is Gyeonggi Province's free autumn programme of hands-on heritage activities, guided tours and traditional performances at Namhansanseong, the UNESCO-listed mountain fortress in Gwangju, just southeast of Seoul. The 2026 run is 5 September–25 October, with walk-in programmes on weekends and public holidays, so the last chance is Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October; the next run is expected in September–October 2027.
The Ulsan Whale Festival (울산고래축제) is a free four-day festival at the Jangsaengpo Whale Culture Special Zone in Nam-gu, Ulsan, a former whaling port that is now Korea's only whale-culture district. The 30th edition ran from Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 October 2026, 10:00–21:00, with a whale parade, fireworks, concerts and children's programmes.
The Daejeon Science Festival is a free science fair run by Daejeon city with the Ministry of Science and ICT at Daejeon Convention Center and Expo Science Park, about an hour from Seoul by KTX. The 2026 edition ran 17–19 April, 10:00–18:00, together with the national Korea Science Festival; 2027 dates are not set.
Seoul Petlympic is a two-day dog-sports festival run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on Peace Plaza in World Cup Park, Mapo-gu, where owners and their dogs try beginner events such as a sit-stay, a recall sprint, a cone slalom and a 15 m team sprint, or walk a 4 km Dog Trail through Peace Park. The second edition runs 24–25 October 2026, 10:00–17:00.