At a glance
| Dates | Expected Oct 2027Mid-to-late October 2027, Wednesday to Sunday. The 2026 dates and venue were public by mid-August 2026 (organizing committee meeting 12 Aug). Whether the festival stays at Bokhacheon Waterside Park has not been announced. |
|---|---|
| Next edition | 2027: Mid-to-late October 2027, Wednesday to Sunday. The 2026 dates and venue were public by mid-August 2026 (organizing committee meeting 12 Aug). Whether the festival stays at Bokhacheon Waterside Park has not been announced. |
| Weather | October average 20/7 °C (69/45 °F), 51 mm of rainMild days, cold evenings: a jacket for after dark. Monthly averages, not a forecast: Korea Meteorological Administration climate normals, 1991–2020, Icheon station. |
| Admission | No admission fee is listed; you pay per item — ₩2,000 for the cauldron bibimbap, ₩3,500–15,000 for food, and some craft activities charge.Gamasot cauldron bibimbap: ₩2,000 · Township restaurant main dish: ₩9,000 · Rice gelato: ₩4,000 (2026 prices) |
| Venue | Bokhacheon Waterside Park경기도 이천시 경충대로2422번길 17 |
| Nearest station | Icheon Station (이천역), Gyeonggang Line (metro from Pangyo)Not walkable; free shuttle 08:30–18:30 every 10–20 minutes via Hyundai Hometown, Icheon City Hall and Iseopdaecheon Park to the site; the shuttle stop is about 100 steps from the entrance |
| From Seoul | about 50 min · Subway + BusLeave from Central Seoul · Back to Seoul the same nightFull route · Festivals by travel time from Seoul |
| Organizer | Icheon City and the Icheon Rice Cultural Festival Promotion Committee이천시 · 이천쌀문화축제추진위원회 |
| Usual timing | Five days, Wednesday to Sunday, in mid-to-late October (16–20 Oct 2024, 22–26 Oct 2025, 14–18 Oct 2026). The organizing committee fixes the dates and venue by August. Browse October festivals. |
| First held | 1999 |
| Last checked | 16 October 2026Checked against 29 sources · See sources |
What it is like
Icheon, an hour's drive south-east of Seoul, grows the rice that was once sent to the Joseon court, and every October the town throws a harvest festival around it. The event began in 1999 as the Icheon Agricultural Festival, took its present name in the 2000s, and the 25th edition in 2026 moved for the first time to Bokhacheon Waterside Park, a riverside park in town, after years at the Agricultural Theme Park in Moga-myeon and, before that, Seolbong Park.
The site is divided into themed 'madang' (yards). The crowd-pullers are two daily set pieces: at 12:00 (and also 14:00 from 15 October in 2026) a 320 kg cast-iron cauldron cooks rice for about 2,000 people, served as bibimbap for ₩2,000, and at 15:00 visitors pull a single 600-metre 'rainbow' garae-tteok rice cake coloured with natural ingredients and cut into 30 cm portions. Around them are a rice-cooking masters' contest, folk performances (turtle play, pungmul drumming, a ganggangsullae circle dance at 17:00), children's theatre, horse and donkey rides, dozens of craft tables and restaurants run by each township serving set meals from ₩9,000. The closing night burns a daljip, a straw 'moon house', beside the Bokha 2 Bridge.
It is a family event with little English; everything is self-explanatory but signs and announcements are Korean. The new site is on open ground by the river, so expect wind and mud after rain, and arrive early on the weekend for the cauldron servings, which draw the longest queues.
Highlights
- 'Gamasot 2,000 People 2,000 Won': rice for about 2,000 people cooked in a 320 kg cast-iron cauldron and served as bibimbap for ₩2,000, daily at 12:00, plus 14:00 from 15 October, in Gamasot Madang
- 600 m rainbow garae-tteok: a single 600-metre rice-cake rope in natural colours pulled by the crowd, daily at 15:00 in Haneul Madang
- Icheon Rice-Cooking Masters contest: heats 15–16 Oct at 11:00 and 13:00, final 17 Oct 11:00, awards 13:00
- Opening play 14 Oct 14:00; closing play with daljip (moon-house) bonfire 18 Oct near Bokha 2 Bridge (closing events from about 16:30, bonfire about 17:00)
- Daily 10:00 street procession (Turtle Village gilnori) and 17:00 ganggangsullae circle dance (14–17 Oct)
- Township restaurants with set meals from ₩9,000, plus rice gelato (₩4,000), rice latte (₩5,000) and rice waffles (₩3,500)
Who it suits. Best for families with children and food-curious travellers who want a working harvest festival within reach of Seoul; less suited to anyone expecting English signage or a stage show, because it is a daytime, hands-on, Korean-language event that closes before dark.
Getting there
From Seoul
Subway: Shinbundang Line from Gangnam to Pangyo (about 14 minutes), then Gyeonggang Line from Pangyo Station (Seongnam) to Icheon Station, eight stops (35 minutes), then the free festival shuttle (08:30–18:30, every 10–20 minutes) to the site. Bus: intercity bus to Icheon Bus Terminal, then the terminal shuttle loop. Car: Jungbu Expressway to Seo-Icheon IC or Icheon IC, then Gyeongchung-daero to the Bokha Bridge area and the signed car parks.
From Busan
KTX from Busan Station to Seoul Station (about 2 h 30 m, ₩54,400), then as from Seoul via Pangyo and the Gyeonggang Line.
From Incheon Airport
AREX to Seoul Station, subway to Pangyo (Sinbundang Line from Gangnam), then the Gyeonggang Line to Icheon Station and the festival shuttle.
Last leg from Icheon Station
Gyeonggang Line (metro from Pangyo). Not walkable; free shuttle 08:30–18:30 every 10–20 minutes via Hyundai Hometown, Icheon City Hall and Iseopdaecheon Park to the site; the shuttle stop is about 100 steps from the entrance
Festival shuttle
Free shuttles 14–18 Oct 2026: Icheon Station ↔ site and Bus Terminal ↔ site loops, first bus 08:30, last bus from the site 18:30, every 10–20 minutes (about 20 min on weekdays, 10 min at weekends). A third weekend-only route serves Songjeong-dong apartment stops. An electric cart links the farther car parks to the gate.
Getting home
The last shuttle left the site at 18:30; the closing bonfire on 18 Oct was about 17:00. From Icheon Station the last Gyeonggang Line trains toward Pangyo leave at 23:56 on weekdays and 23:41 on weekends and holidays (2026 timetable).
Parking
Six lots: P1 Jilli-dong 159, P2 Gajwa-ri 363 and P3 Sinha-ri 87 (each about a 5-minute walk), P4 Galsan-dong 54-8 and P5 Anheung-dong 6 (linked by electric mini-train), P6 Icheon City Hall (shuttle). The organizer asks drivers to park and walk.
How to switch Naver Map and Kakao Map to English
Google Maps shows train, subway and bus routes in Korea but not walking or driving directions yet, so for the walk from the station Naver Map or Kakao Map is more reliable.
Before you go
1330 · Travel hotline
The Korea Tourism Organization’s helpline answers in English, Japanese and Chinese around the clock, and in several other languages from 08:00 to 19:00. Dial 1330 from a Korean phone, or +82-2-1330 from a phone registered abroad.
112 / 119 · Emergencies
112 for police, 119 for fire and ambulance. Both are free from any phone. Police on 112 can add an English or Chinese interpreter to the call.
T-money card
Buy one at a convenience store such as GS25, CU or 7-Eleven and top it up there with cash. It pays for subways and buses in most cities, and for most taxis.
Maps
Use Naver Map or Kakao Map for walking and bus directions; Google Maps does not yet give walking directions in Korea. Both apps can be switched to English. Naver Map: Menu (≡) → Settings → Language (Japanese and Chinese also available). Kakao Map: Menu (≡) → Settings → App settings → Language. If the option is missing, change your phone’s language and reopen the app. Small shop names and some reviews stay in Korean.
Trains and buses
Book trains on Korail’s English site and express buses on Kobus. Holiday weekends sell out first.
Checked 18 October 2026.
Tickets, prices and practical details
| Item | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Admission | — | No admission fee is listed anywhere on the official site |
| Gamasot cauldron bibimbap | ₩2,000 | |
| Township restaurant main dish | ₩9,000 | ₩9,000–15,000 depending on township; Daewol-myeon gimbap ₩4,500 |
| Rice gelato | ₩4,000 | Munhwa Madang |
| Rice latte | ₩5,000 | Giwon Madang |
| Rice soft-serve waffle | ₩3,500 | Haneul Madang |
| Cup chicken set | ₩5,000 | Munhwa Madang |
- Booking
- Nothing requires advance booking for ordinary visitors; cauldron rice and the rice-cake pull are first-come on site, and township restaurants and stalls sell directly.
- English on site
- The official site has English and Japanese pages that still describe an older edition; the Korean pages carry the 2026 details. On-site English signage is not confirmed.
- Crowds
- About 222,000 visitors in 2024 and 230,000 in 2025 over five days; weekends around the 12:00 and 14:00 cauldron servings are the busiest.
- Best time to go
- Arrive before 12:00 for the first cauldron serving; Saturday 17 Oct had the masters' final at 11:00; Sunday 18 Oct had closing events from about 16:30 and the bonfire at about 17:00.
- What to bring
- Cash for small stalls, a bag for rice and local produce (a rice courier service operates on site), and comfortable shoes for the riverside grass and gravel.
Editions
| Year | Dates | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | Mid-to-late October 2027, Wednesday to Sunday. The 2026 dates and venue were public by mid-August 2026 (organizing committee meeting 12 Aug). Whether the festival stays at Bokhacheon Waterside Park has not been announced. | expected | Not announced as of 16 October 2026. |
| 2026 | 14–18 Oct 2026 | ended | First edition at Bokhacheon Waterside Park; 2024 and 2025 were at Icheon Agricultural Theme Park (Moga-myeon) and earlier editions at Seolbong Park. Held jointly with the Bubal Daljip Festival, a small-business sale and the Icheon drone expo on the same site. |
| 2025 | 22–26 Oct 2025 | ended | Icheon Agricultural Theme Park, Moga-myeon; temporary parking at the YS Life Science site and Termeden car park |
| 2024 | 16–20 Oct 2024 | ended | Icheon Agricultural Theme Park |
Nearby
- Seolbong Park (설봉공원). Lakeside park below Seolbongsan and former festival venue; home to the Icheon ceramics museum.
- Icheon Agricultural Theme Park (이천농업테마공원). The 2024–2025 festival venue in Moga-myeon (48 Gongwon-ro), with rice paddies and farm displays.
- Termeden (테르메덴). German-style hot-spring spa resort listed as a festival partner site; its car park served as overflow parking in 2025.
- Simmons Terrace (시몬스 테라스). Café and showroom complex listed on the festival site as a partner attraction.
Questions travelers ask
When and where was the Icheon Rice Cultural Festival 2026?
14–18 October 2026 (Wednesday to Sunday) at Bokhacheon Waterside Park, 17 Gyeongchung-daero 2422beon-gil, Icheon. This is a new site; the 2024 and 2025 editions were at the Icheon Agricultural Theme Park.
How much does the Icheon Rice Festival cost?
No admission fee is listed. The cauldron bibimbap costs ₩2,000, township restaurant meals ₩9,000–15,000, snacks such as rice gelato ₩4,000 and rice latte ₩5,000; some craft activities charge.
How do I get there from Seoul by public transport?
Take the Gyeonggang Line metro from Pangyo to Icheon Station (eight stops), then the free festival shuttle, 08:30–18:30 every 10–20 minutes, to the site. Intercity buses to Icheon Bus Terminal connect to a second shuttle loop.
What is 'Gamasot 2,000 People 2,000 Won'?
A 320 kg cast-iron cauldron cooks about 160 kg of rice for roughly 2,000 people in 30 minutes over firewood, served as bibimbap for ₩2,000, daily at 12:00, plus 14:00 from 15 October in 2026, in Gamasot Madang.
Is there parking at the festival?
Six lots: P1 Jilli-dong 159, P2 Gajwa-ri 363 and P3 Sinha-ri 87 within a 5-minute walk; P4 Galsan-dong 54-8 and P5 Anheung-dong 6 with an electric mini-train; P6 Icheon City Hall with a shuttle. Drivers are asked to park and walk.
What time does the festival open and close each day?
Programs ran from about 10:00 (daily gilnori procession) to 17:30; the opening play was 14 Oct 14:00 and the closing bonfire 18 Oct about 17:00. The last shuttle left the site at 18:30.
Is the Icheon Rice Festival good for children?
Yes: children's theatre and bubble shows 13:00–15:00, horse and donkey rides in Hosu Madang, a 'Joseon harvest sports day' at 13:30, grasshopper tag at 15:00 and dozens of craft tables.
What is the weather like at Icheon Rice Cultural Festival in October?
October in Icheon: average high 20 °C (69 °F), low 7 °C (45 °F), 51 mm of rain (Icheon station, KMA 1991–2020 normals). Mild days, cold evenings: a jacket for after dark.
Sources and verification
Facts checked
16 October 2026, against the sources listed below.
This page is desk research from the sources below, not a firsthand report of the 2027 edition. Confidence in the current facts: high.
- Icheon Rice Cultural Festival — official site (main)official — 25th edition, dates 14–18 Oct 2026, Bokhacheon Waterside Park, headline programs, shuttle summary, contact
- Official site — 축제개요official — Host Icheon City / organizer Promotion Committee, slogan, sponsors
- Official site — 축제 일정표official — Daily timetable: opening 14 Oct 14:00, cauldron 12:00/14:00, masters' contest, garae-tteok 15:00, performances, closing 18 Oct
- Official site — 주요 프로그램official — ₩2,000 cauldron bibimbap, 600 m garae-tteok, masters' contest dates, closing play location
- Official site — 교통 안내official — Venue address 경충대로2422번길 17, car routes via Seo-Icheon/Icheon IC, park-and-walk, terminal shuttle
- Official site — 지하철/셔틀 안내official — Icheon Station shuttle 08:30–18:30 every 10–20 min
- Official site — 먹거리 안내official — Food prices (township meals ₩9,000–15,000, gelato ₩4,000, latte ₩5,000, waffle ₩3,500, cup chicken ₩5,000)
- Official site — 체험 프로그램official — Craft and experience list by madang; horse and donkey rides in Hosu Madang
- Vision21 News, 13 Aug 2026: 2nd organizing committee meetingnews — Dates, venue move, linked events (Bubal Daljip Festival, drone expo), shuttle and parking planning
- Kyeonggi Ilbo, 28 Oct 2025: 24th festival closesnews — 2025 dates 22–26 Oct, Agricultural Theme Park, 230,000 visitors, sales
- Kyeonggi Ilbo, 13 Oct 2025: 24th festival previewnews — 2025 theme, semiconductor pavilion, overflow parking, reusable containers
- Aju News, 21 Oct 2024: 23rd festival closesnews — 2024 dates 16–20 Oct, 222,000 visitors, cauldron and rice-cake specifications
- YTN, 16 Oct 2024news — 2024 program: tribute procession, masters' contest revived, hands-on farming
- Korean Wikipedia: 이천쌀문화축제other — First held 1999 as Icheon Agricultural Festival; Seolbong Park era; 2019–2020 cancellations
- Wikipedia: Gyeonggang Lineother — Station order Pangyo → Icheon (eight stops); opened 2016
- KTO tourist-spot listing (ktriptips mirror): Icheon Agricultural Theme Parkkto — Former venue address 모가면 공원로 48
- travelmapjourney: 이천쌀축제 2026 schedule and shuttleblog — Shuttle route stops and headways, weekend third route, parking lot table, Commons photo attributions
- GeoNames: Jilli-dongmap — Centroid 37.2661, 127.4536 used to estimate venue coordinates
- GeoNames: Gajwa-ri (Icheon)map — Centroid 37.2564, 127.4686 used to estimate venue coordinates
- Korail — 열차운임/시간표 (official timetable and fare downloads)official — Index of current Korail timetables: 1호선 weekday/holiday (from 1 Sep 2026), 경춘선 ITX-청춘 (from 1 Sep 2026), 수인분당선 (from 22 Aug 2026), 경강선 (from 23 Mar 2026), KTX (15 May 2026 and 1 Nov 2026 editions), 일반열차 (1 Sep 2026)
- Korail — 경강선 전동열차 시각표 (2026.3.23.부터), xlsxofficial — Gyeonggang Line 판교(신판교)→이천: 35 min on every train; 62 weekday departures 05:30–23:35, 48 holiday 05:30–23:25; last 이천→판교 23:56 weekday, 23:41 holiday
- 신분당선 (DX LINE) — 소요 시각표official — Cumulative time from 강남: 판교 13 min 59 s (assumes 30 s dwell per station); from 신사: 18 min 46 s
- Icheon Rice Cultural Festival official — 교통 안내 (셔틀)official — Shuttle 14–18 Oct 2026, 08:30–18:30, route 1 이천역 ↔ 현대홈타운 ↔ 이천시청 맞은편 ↔ 이섭대천공원 ↔ 축제장, 20 min weekdays / 10 min weekends; no ride time published
- Korail press release: 코레일-에스알 9월 1일 하나로…안전 최우선, 더 편리한 고속철도의 시작 (31 Aug 2026)official — Integration and integrated running from 1 Sep 2026; KTX and SRT merged into KTX; average KTX fare cut about 10%; Suseo-axis seats up about 30%; 5% mileage; Korail+ app (Korail Talk + SRT app) launched 3 Aug
- Korail KTX fare table, effective 1 Sep 2026 (xls)official — Standard class: Seoul–Daejeon ₩21,600 (₩16,400 on Suwon-routed KTX); Seoul–Busan ₩54,400 (₩54,000 via Seodaegu, ₩49,300 via Gupo); Seoul–Cheonan-Asan ₩12,800; Seoul–Changwon Jungang ₩47,400 / ₩47,000 via Seodaegu; Seoul–Jinju ₩53,100 / ₩52,700; Seoul–Gangneung ₩27,600; Cheongnyangni–Andong ₩27,700 (KTX-Eum); Yongsan–Jeonju ₩31,600 / ₩31,000; Yongsan–Suncheon ₩42,300 / ₩41,800;
- Korail Tickets (English booking site)official — English booking site; letskorail.com redirected to korail.com; Suseo is in the KTX station list; language menu has English, Japanese, Chinese (simplified/traditional), Vietnamese, Thai and Indonesian
- Hankyung: 9월 1일부터 서울~부산 KTX 5만4400원…운임 평균 10% 인하 (31 Aug 2026)news — KTX and SRT run as KTX from 1 Sep; former SRT trainsets renamed KTX-Sancheon; Seoul–Busan ₩59,800→₩54,400, Yongsan–Gwangju Songjeong ₩46,800→₩42,000; Suseo seats +30%; booking unified in Korail+
- SBS Biz: KTX표, 이제 두 달 전에 산다…10월부터 예매기간 확대 (20 Sep 2026)news — MOLIT and Korail: from 1 Oct 2026 tickets on sale two months before departure (was one month); foreigner web page has 7 languages, with French, German and Mongolian to be added; WeChat Pay/Alipay in development
- T-money intercity bus booking (시외버스 통합예매)official — Busan Seobu (Sasang) → Jinju route exists in the system; fare not read because results open only after accepting a booking-notice popup (not clicked)
What we could not confirm
- Lat/lng (37.2612, 127.4611) is the midpoint of the GeoNames centroids for Jilli-dong and Gajwa-ri, both listed by the organizer as a 5-minute walk from the site; a precise geocode of 경충대로2422번길 17 is needed
- Whether admission is formally free (no fee is listed, but no 'free admission' statement was found)
- Fees for individual craft activities and the horse/donkey rides
- Which Seoul terminal the intercity buses to Icheon leave from (the organizer only says 'get off at the bus terminal and take the shuttle')
- The Wikimedia Commons file pages could not be opened from this environment; the attribution for File:Icheon rice festival.jpg (and the alternative File:Iceon rice festival 1.jpg, 2018) was copied from a blog's credit line and must be verified on Commons
Changes: 2026-10-16 — Full fact-first rewrite: hours, prices, stations, 2024–2027 editions, FAQs and sources. · 2026-10-16 — Rechecked against timetables, fare tables and organizer notices: conflicting figures and claims; rail fares and train names after the 1 Sep 2026 KTX–SRT merger; ride times from Seoul. · 2026-10-18 — Added a photograph from the Korea Tourism Organization (Korea Tourism Content Lab), KOGL Type 1. · 2026-10-20 — 2026 edition in the past tense; last Gyeonggang Line trains from Icheon added from the timetable already cited (23:56 weekdays, 23:41 weekends and holidays). · 2026-10-20 — Tense: the 2026 edition has ended, so sentences about it are in the past tense.
