Arts & performanceGwangju

Chungjang Festival of Memories 2023 in Gwangju, South Korea

추억의 충장축제 2023

Oct2023
5 –9
Thu–Mon
Past edition

5 October 2023 to 9 October 2023

This edition has ended. It is kept as a record of what the 2023 festival offered. The current information is on the Chungjang Festival of Memories page (Expected Oct 2027).

Dates5–9 Oct 2023
VenueGeumnam-ro, Chungjang-ro, 5·18 Democracy Square and the Art Street, downtown Gwangju광주광역시 동구 금남로3가
AdmissionFree; no tickets. Food trucks and stalls charge (prices were not published).
Next edition2024: 2–6 Oct 2024

Program

  • 8 Octfire-themed parade over about 1 km from Geumnam Park to Jeonil Building 245, with symbols built by residents of Dong-gu's 13 neighbourhoods
  • 2nd Gwangju Busking World Cup with Korean and foreign performers
  • Fixed-price art sale with about 150 artists and more than 500 works priced up to ₩400,000

Notes on the 2023 edition

20th edition. Visitor figures differ: about 800,000 by the organizer's estimate at the time, about 1.06 million from KT mobile data (Feb 2024), and 467,191 in the district figures reported by Newsis in 2026.

About the festival

The Chungjang Festival of Memories (추억의 충장축제) is a free five-day street festival of nostalgia in downtown Gwangju, held since 2004 on Geumnam-ro, Chungjang-ro, the Art Street and 5·18 Democracy Square in Dong-gu. The 23rd edition ran 7–11 October 2026, 14:00–22:00, with three days of street parades, including 12 teams from 6 countries. The 2027 dates have not been announced; expect five days in early to mid October. From Seoul, take the KTX to Gwangju Songjeong (about 2 hours, ₩42,000 from Yongsan), then Gwangju Metro Line 1 to Culture Complex Station or a taxi.

Transport, booking, crowd and accessibility details are on the main Chungjang Festival of Memories page, which covers every edition.

Source

Facts checked
19 October 2026, against the sources listed below.

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