| Dates | 26–27 Oct 2024 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Jikji Culture Park, Samyeongdaesa Park and Eco-friendly Ecological Park (Jikjisa temple area)경상북도 김천시 대항면 직지사길 118 |
| Admission | Free. You pay for gimbap and other food at the booths; 2026 prices had not been published as of 18 October 2026. |
| Next edition | 2025: 25–26 Oct 2025 |
Program
- Picnic-themed games such as a gimbap relay and handkerchief-passing
- Gimbap cooking contest64 teams entered and 10 reached the final; the winning roll was to be sold in convenience stores nationwide
- Gimbap from well-known shops around Korea, plus tteokbokki, sundae and fried snacks
- Puffed-rice plates and reusable containers instead of disposable dishes
Notes on the 2024 edition
1st edition. 10,000–20,000 visitors were expected and about 100,000 came. With 7–8 gimbap vendors the rolls sold out within 2–3 hours; on both days the city announced around 14:00 that gimbap sales were ending. Critics called it 'a gimbap festival without gimbap', but about 200 supportive posts appeared on the city's website by the next afternoon.
About the festival
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. From Seoul, take the KTX to Gimcheon(Gumi) Station (about 1 h 30 m, ₩31,900) and a festival shuttle bus, and arrive early: about 150,000 people came over two days in 2025 and popular rolls sold out.
Transport, booking, crowd and accessibility details are on the main Gimcheon Gimbap Festival page, which covers every edition.
Source
Facts checked
22 October 2026, against the sources listed below.