| Dates | 31 Oct – 2 Nov 2025 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Gwangju City Hall plaza (Gwangju office of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City)광주광역시 서구 내방로 111 (치평동) |
| Admission | Free entry. The Kimchi Experience School is paid (the 2026 fee was not published in the sources opened), and food, drinks and kimchi from the market cost money; 2026 food prices were not published. |
| Previous edition | 2024: 18–20 Oct 2024 |
| Next edition | 2026: 23–25 Oct 2026 |
Program
- 31 Octopening with a kimchi thanksgiving rite (김치감사제) and the Korea Kimchi Competition awards, including a presidential award
- Kimchi master classes by past award winners on days two and three
- Kimchi Market selling award-winning, traditional-market and certified kimchi 20–30% below market price
- "Table for a thousand" (천인의 밥상) zone with more than 50 kimchi dishes
- K-Kimchi Party on the evening stage from 19:00, mixing traditional performance with a DJ set
- Global Kimchi Lounge run by GGN with a six-booth stamp tour for foreign visitors
Notes on the 2025 edition
32nd edition, theme "우주최광(光) 김치파티" (the brightest kimchi party in the universe). About 57,000 visitors over three days and record sales of ₩1.038 billion, up 26.7%. The K-Kimchi Party on 31 October ended early because of a fire at a nearby waste warehouse; no one was hurt.
About the festival
The Gwangju World Kimchi Festival (광주김치축제) is a three-day kimchi festival on the plaza and lawns of Gwangju City Hall, now the Gwangju office of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, held since 1994. The 33rd edition runs 23–25 October 2026, 10:00–20:00 daily, with kimchi-making classes taught by award-winning kimchi masters, a kimchi market and a food zone of kimchi dishes. Entry is free; only the Kimchi Experience School is paid and booked in advance. From Seoul, take the KTX to Gwangju Songjeong (about 2 hours, ₩42,000 from Yongsan), then Gwangju Metro Line 1 to Sangmu Station.
Transport, booking, crowd and accessibility details are on the main Gwangju World Kimchi Festival page, which covers every edition.
Source
Facts checked
22 October 2026, against the sources listed below.