At a glance
| Dates | 11 Sep – 31 Oct 2026Happening now · Second edition under this name; theme 섬 품은 여수 밤정원. Hosted by the provincial government and Yeosu City and run by a festival task force. A day-by-day programme was not published on the pages opened, and no news coverage of the opening or visitor numbers was found. |
|---|---|
| Hours | 15:00–21:00 daily; gardens lit after dark |
| Admission | Free (KTO listing). Flea-market goods are extra; no fees for tours or hands-on sessions were published.Entry: Free |
| Venue | Yeomun Culture Street and Yeoseo Mikwan Plaza전라남도 여수시 문수로 124 (여서동) |
| Nearest station | Yeosu EXPO Station (여수EXPO역), Korail Jeolla Line (KTX terminus)Not walkable: the gardens are across town in Yeoseo-dong; take a taxi (journey time not published) |
| From Seoul | about 3 h · KTX + TaxiLeave from Yongsan Station · One-way fare from ₩45,400 · Same-night return is tightFull route · Festivals by travel time from Seoul |
| Organizer | Yeosu City and the provincial government (Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, formerly Jeollanam-do), run by the 2026 Namdo K-Garden Festival task force전남광주통합특별시 · 여수시 (주최), 2026 남도 K-가든 페스티벌 T/F팀 (주관) |
| Usual timing | Not fixed yet. The first edition ran in May 2025 in Jangseong (garden exhibition 9–18 May); the second runs for 51 days, 11 September to 31 October 2026, in Yeosu. Host county and season have changed each year so far. Browse September / October festivals. |
| First held | 2025 |
| Last checked | 19 October 2026Checked against 20 sources · See sources |
What it is like
Jeollanam-do launched the Namdo K-Garden Festival in 2025 to spread garden culture and draw garden tourists to the province. The first edition opened on 9 May 2025 at the Hwangnyeonggang local garden in Jangseong, with 25 gardens and linked garden walks and events elsewhere in the province into early June. In 2026 the festival moved to Yeosu and became a 51-day night garden festival under the theme 섬 품은 여수 밤정원 (roughly, 'a Yeosu night garden that holds the islands'), in the same autumn that Yeosu hosts the World Island Expo.
The 2026 site is not a park. It is Yeomun Culture Street, a street with two dry fountains between the Yeoseo-dong and Munsu-dong residential districts, plus the nearby Yeoseo Mikwan Plaza, in the older part of town that the city wants to bring back to life. About 40 gardens line the route: a representative garden, artist gardens and citizen gardens, including eight 2.4 m × 2.4 m plots on the plaza designed and planted by local residents. The site is open from 15:00 to 21:00 daily, and lighting picks out the planting after dark. The programme lists opening and closing ceremonies, busking, garden guided tours, cultural performances, hands-on activities, citizen programmes and a flea market, with tie-ins to local shops. Entry is free.
The festival fits best into an evening in Yeosu rather than a trip of its own. The World Island Expo on Dolsan runs until 4 November 2026, and the free heritage media-art show at Jinnamgwan and Yi Sun-sin Square, about 4 km away, runs every evening from 9 October to 8 November.
Honest caveats: this is a neighbourhood-scale event, a street and a plaza of gardens rather than a large botanical park, and it is several kilometres from the harbour and the Expo station, so you need a taxi or a local bus. Information is in Korean only, and day-by-day programme times and parking details were not published on the pages we could open. Jeollanam-do also runs a separate touring Jeollanam-do Garden Festival (in Wando in 2023 and, as its 6th edition, in Naju in October 2025); whether the K-Garden festival replaces it has not been stated.
Highlights
- About 40 gardens (a representative garden, artist gardens and citizen gardens) along Yeomun Culture Street and Yeoseo Mikwan Plaza in 2026
- Open 15:00–21:00 every day for 51 days, 11 September to 31 October 2026, with the gardens lit after dark
- Free entry
- Eight 2.4 m × 2.4 m citizen gardens on Yeoseo Mikwan Plaza, designed and planted by Yeosu residents
- Garden guided tours, busking, cultural performances, hands-on activities and a flea market
- Theme 'a Yeosu night garden that holds the islands', in the same autumn as the Yeosu World Island Expo (to 4 November 2026)
Who it suits. Best for travelers already in Yeosu, for the World Island Expo or the harbour, who want a free, low-key evening walk among lit gardens, and for garden lovers curious about local garden design; less suited to anyone expecting a large botanical park or English-language programmes, or travelling from Seoul for this alone.
Getting there
From Seoul
KTX from Yongsan Station to Yeosu EXPO Station, the end of the Jeolla Line: about 2 h 50 m–3 h 10 m, ₩45,400 standard class (October 2026 fare, after the 1 Sep 2026 KTX–SRT merger; book on Korail's site or the Korail+ app). The timetable shows 23–24 trains a day from Yeosu EXPO to Yongsan, counting slower ITX-Maeum and Mugunghwa services. The festival is inland in Yeoseo-dong, several kilometres from the station, so take a taxi. Or take an express bus from Seoul Central City Terminal (Honam line) to Yeosu Bus Terminal: 11 a day, about 4 h 10 m, ₩39,600 deluxe or ₩51,400 premium.
From Busan
The Yeosu Bus Terminal timetable lists about 10 intercity buses a day to Busan Seobu (Sasang) Terminal and 4 to Busan Central (Nopo) Terminal in October 2026, so the same routes connect Busan with Yeosu; journey times and fares were not checked.
From Incheon Airport
Yeosu Bus Terminal lists 4 departures a day to each of Incheon Airport Terminals 1 and 2 (October 2026); times in the airport-to-Yeosu direction were not checked. Otherwise go into Seoul and take the KTX from Yongsan.
Last leg from Yeosu EXPO Station
Korail Jeolla Line (KTX terminus). Not walkable: the gardens are across town in Yeoseo-dong; take a taxi (journey time not published)
Getting home
The gardens close at 21:00. KTX trains from Yeosu EXPO to Yongsan take about 3 hours and the last ones of the day leave in the late evening, so staying to closing and getting back to Seoul the same night is tight. The times for 24–31 October 2026 have not been confirmed from Korail's timetable for those days: check the last train in the Korail+ app (코레일+, where KTX and former SRT trains are now booked) or at Yeosu EXPO Station before you go, and allow for the taxi across town from Yeoseo-dong. Express buses to Seoul Central City take about 4 h 30 m and stop running in the evening; check the last one at Yeosu Bus Terminal. Staying the night in Yeosu is easier.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Free |
- Booking
- No booking needed for entry. Whether guided garden tours or hands-on sessions need sign-up was not published on the pages opened; the festival task force answers on 010-5865-2532.
- English on site
- No English information or programmes were found; the listings, the call for citizen gardens and the festival site are in Korean.
- Best time to go
- Evening after dark, when the garden lighting is on; the site stays open until 21:00. To add the Jinnamgwan media-art show (19:30–21:30, no show on Tuesdays), see the gardens at dusk and take a taxi to the old harbour by about 19:30, or keep it for another evening; the World Island Expo needs an afternoon of its own.
- What to bring
- A light jacket for October evenings and comfortable shoes for walking the length of the street and the plaza.
2026 program
- About 40 gardensa representative garden, artist gardens and citizen gardens, lit at night
- Eight citizen gardens (2.4 m × 2.4 m each) on Yeoseo Mikwan Plaza, built 29 Aug–7 Sep by residents chosen in an open call
- Opening and closing ceremonies (dates and times not published on the pages opened)
- Garden guided tours, busking, cultural performances, hands-on and citizen programmes
- Flea market and programmes linked to local shops and tourist sites
Second edition under this name; theme 섬 품은 여수 밤정원. Hosted by the provincial government and Yeosu City and run by a festival task force. A day-by-day programme was not published on the pages opened, and no news coverage of the opening or visitor numbers was found.
Editions
| Year | Dates | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | No 2027 edition, host county or dates announced as of 19 October 2026. The festival moved from Jangseong (May 2025) to Yeosu (September–October 2026), so a 2027 edition, if held, may be in another county and another season. | tba | At the 2025 opening the provincial governor also spoke of a 2027 Namdo Garden Biennale, presented as a separate event. |
| 2026 | 11 Sep – 31 Oct 2026 | confirmed | Yeomun Culture Street (around 여서동 461) and Yeoseo Mikwan Plaza (여서동 222-1), in the Yeoseo-dong and Munsu-dong area of Yeosu's older town centre; the citizen gardens are on the plaza. |
| 2025 | 9–18 May 2025 | ended | Hwangnyeonggang local garden on the Hwangnyeong River, Jangseong-gun |
Before or after the festival
Places you can fit in before or after the festival without missing the shuttle or the last train or bus back.
Yeosu's oldest hillside neighbourhood, where the 1,004 m Angel Mural Alley climbs in seven sections from Jinnamgwan over Goso-dong down to the harbourside park, painted with Yi Sun-sin's navy, Yeosu's history and the sea, with views to Dolsan Bridge. Free and open at all times, it makes a late-morning or early-afternoon walk before the gardens open at 15:00. Tip: start at Jinnamgwan and finish by the harbour, near Yi Sun-sin Square and the fish market for lunch.
Getting there: Taxi across town, about 4 km to Jinnamgwan at the top of the alley; then on foot (free)
A harbourside seafood market of about 100 stalls by the coastal ferry terminal, where you choose live fish, octopus, sea squirt or blue crab from the tanks and have it cut or cooked to order. It is open 09:00–20:00 and closed only on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays (none fall on the remaining festival days), so make it the lunch stop before the gardens open at 15:00. Tip: it is about 400 m from Yi Sun-sin Square, so combine it with the mural alley.
Getting there: Taxi across town, about 4 km; about 400 m on foot from Yi Sun-sin Square
A free night show of Yi Sun-sin's turtle ship projected onto Jinnamgwan, the Joseon naval headquarters hall that is Korea's largest single-storey wooden government building (a National Treasure), and onto Gosodae and Yi Sun-sin Square, 19:30–21:30 until 8 November. See the gardens at dusk, then take a taxi over for about 19:30; there is no show on Tuesdays (27 October). Tip: before staying to the end, check the last train in the Korail+ app and allow for the taxi to Yeosu EXPO Station.
Getting there: Taxi across town, about 4 km to Yi Sun-sin Square (journey time not published)
Questions travelers ask
When is the Namdo K-Garden Festival 2026?
Every day from 11 September to 31 October 2026 (51 days), 15:00–21:00, on Yeomun Culture Street and Yeoseo Mikwan Plaza in Yeoseo-dong, Yeosu.
Is the Namdo K-Garden Festival free?
Yes. KTO lists entry as free. Flea-market goods cost extra; no fees for tours or hands-on sessions were published.
How do I get there from Seoul?
KTX from Yongsan to Yeosu EXPO Station takes about 2 h 50 m–3 h 10 m (₩45,400 standard), then a taxi across town to Yeoseo-dong. Express buses from Seoul Central City Terminal to Yeosu Bus Terminal take about 4 h 10 m (₩39,600 deluxe, ₩51,400 premium), 11 a day.
Can I get back to Seoul the same night?
Only just, and it depends on the day's timetable. KTX trains to Yongsan take about 3 hours and the last ones leave Yeosu EXPO in the late evening; the times for 24–31 October 2026 were not confirmed from Korail's timetable for those days, so check the last train in the Korail+ app (코레일+) or at the station before you go and allow for the taxi from Yeoseo-dong. Check the last express bus to Seoul at Yeosu Bus Terminal too. Staying the night in Yeosu is easier.
Will the festival be in Yeosu again in 2027?
Nothing has been announced. The first edition was in Jangseong in May 2025 and the second is in Yeosu in September–October 2026, so the host county and season may change again.
What else is on in Yeosu at the same time?
The Yeosu World Island Expo on Dolsan runs until 4 November 2026 (adult evening pass ₩8,000 after 17:00), and the free heritage media-art show at Jinnamgwan, Gosodae and Yi Sun-sin Square runs 9 October–8 November, 19:30–21:30.
Sources and verification
Facts checked
19 October 2026, against the sources listed below.
This page is desk research from the sources below, not a firsthand report of the 2026 edition. Confidence in the current facts: medium.
- KTO TourAPI listing 2026 남도 K-가든 페스티벌 (contentId 4095228)kto — 2026 dates 11 Sep–31 Oct (51 days), 15:00–21:00, free, 여문문화의거리 and 여서미관광장 at 문수로 124 (여서동), coordinates 34.7556/127.7081, hosts 전남광주통합특별시 and Yeosu City, 010-5865-2532, ysgarden.kr; theme 섬 품은 여수 밤정원; about 40 representative, artist and citizen gardens; night lighting; guided tours, performances, hands-on and citizen programmes; modified 3 Aug 2026
- KTO tourist data — 2026 남도 K-가든 페스티벌 (ktriptips mirror)kto — Operator 2026 남도 K-가든 페스티벌 T/F팀; opening and closing ceremonies, busking, garden exhibition, flea market, links with local shops; all ages; no transport or parking information; first posted 31 Jul 2026
- thinkyou — 2026 남도 K-가든 페스티벌 시민참여정원 작품 모집 공고 (reprint of Yeosu City's call for citizen gardens)other — Festival 11 Sep (Fri)–31 Oct (Sat) 2026; venues 여문문화의거리 (여서동 461 area) and 여서미관광장 (여서동 222-1); host and organizer Yeosu City; theme 섬 품은 여수 밤정원; 8 citizen gardens of 2.4 m × 2.4 m on the plaza with ₩1,000,000 support each; call 7–21 Aug, selection 25 Aug, construction 29 Aug–7 Sep 2026; task-force phone 010-5865-2532
- 국내여행 정보 site — 2026 남도 K-가든 페스티벌 (KTO data with nearby places)other — Dates, 15:00–21:00, free; distances from the venue: Hansansa about 2 km; Yi Sun-sin Square, Gosodong Mural Village and Yeosu Fisheries Specialty Market about 4 km; no transport or parking details
- Metro Seoul — 여문 문화의 거리 dry fountains reopen (3 Aug 2023)news — Yeomun Culture Street is in the Yeomun district of Yeosu's older town, beside the Yeoseo and Munsu residential areas, with two dry fountains
- Wikitree — 전남 장성 황룡강변서 '2025 남도 K-가든 페스티벌' 개막 (May 2025)news — First edition, organised by Jeollanam-do, opened 9 May 2025 at the Hwangnyeonggang local garden, Jangseong; garden festival 9–18 May; about 5,000 at the opening; 25 gardens (1 representative by Hwang Ji-hae, 4 artist, 20 participating); activities; 19 gardens in Namdo garden walks via JN TOUR; Gurye private-garden festival 31 May–7 Jun; governor's mention of a 2027 Namdo Garden Biennale
- NS News — 제6회 전라남도 정원페스티벌 '영산강, 정원이 되다' 개막 (9 Oct 2025)news — Separate 6th Jeollanam-do Garden Festival in Naju, 8–29 Oct 2025 (22 days), 33 gardens; no mention of the K-Garden festival
- Seoul Shinmun — '전남 정원페스티벌' 완도군 해변공원에서 개막 (1 May 2023)news — 2023 Jeollanam-do Garden Festival at Haebyeon Park, Wando, for one month from 1 May 2023, about 50 gardens
- MTN — 추석 연휴, 여수세계섬박람회에 시민이 무대를 채운다 (24 Sep 2026)news — Yeosu World Island Expo runs to 4 Nov 2026; main site in the Jinmo district of Dolsan with four exhibition halls and an island theme zone; adult evening pass ₩8,000 after 17:00
- KTO TourAPI listing 국가유산 미디어아트 여수 진남관 (contentId 4116779)kto — 9 Oct–8 Nov 2026, 19:30–21:30, free, at Jinnamgwan, Gosodae and Yi Sun-sin Square
- Yeosu EXPO → Yongsan train timetable, 18–24 Oct 2026 (third-party mirror of the MOLIT/data.go.kr national timetable feed, page last modified 2026-10-18)other — 23–24 trains a day; adult standard ₩45,400 on KTX and KTX-Sancheon (ITX ₩41,100, Mugunghwa ₩27,600); 19:24 KTX-Sancheon 530 (arr 22:34), 20:22 KTX-Sancheon 532 (arr 23:26), last 21:54 KTX-Sancheon 534 (arr 00:44); KTX runs 2 h 50 m–3 h 10 m, all trains 2 h 50 m–5 h 41 m
- Seoul Central City → Yeosu express bus timetable (third-party mirror of the MOLIT/data.go.kr national timetable feed, page last modified 2026-10-12)other — 11 buses a day, 06:20–23:00; about 4 h 10 m; ₩39,600 deluxe (우등), ₩51,400 premium (₩61,600 on the 23:00 bus)
- Yeosu → Seoul Central City express bus timetable (third-party mirror of the MOLIT/data.go.kr national timetable feed, page last modified 2026-10-10)other — 12 buses a day, 05:00–20:40, 4 h 32 m; 19:20 (arr 23:52) and last 20:40 (arr 01:12); ₩39,600 deluxe, ₩51,400 premium
- Yeosu Bus Terminal departures (third-party mirror of the MOLIT/data.go.kr national timetable feed, page last modified 2026-10-10)other — About 10 departures a day to Busan Seobu (Sasang) and 4 to Busan Central; 4 a day each to Incheon Airport T1 and T2
- 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
- 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; booking unified in Korail+
- KTO tourist data — 고소동 천사벽화마을 (ktriptips mirror, contentId 2514658, modified 30 Jun 2026)kto — Yeosu's oldest natural village; views of the sea, Dolsan Bridge and Geobukseon Bridge; 1,004 m Angel Mural Alley in seven sections from Jinnamgwan over the hill to Yeosu Haeyang Park; murals of the Expo ocean theme, Yeosu history and Yi Sun-sin's navy; open at all times, free
- Korea Charts tour info (KTO data) — 여수수산물특화시장, updated 24 Oct 2026other — About 100 vendors; live fish, sea cucumber, octopus, sea squirt and blue crab in tanks, cooked to order; 09:00–20:00, closed the 1st and 3rd Tuesday; 남산로 60-31; coastal ferry terminal 215 m, Yi Sun-sin Square stop 406 m
- KTO tourist data — 국가유산 미디어아트 여수 진남관 (ktriptips mirror, contentId 4116779)kto — Daily 19:30–21:30, closed every Tuesday and on special closure days for the 10·19 memorial period; turtle-ship media façade; free
- Dong-A Ilbo via Daum — 호국의 성지 진남관, 10년 보수공사 마치고 5월 개관 (26 Mar 2025)news — Jinnamgwan, National Treasure, Korea's largest single-storey wooden government building; reopened in 2025 after about ten years of repair
What we could not confirm
- The festival site ysgarden.kr could not be opened, so the day-by-day programme, the opening and closing ceremony dates and times, guided-tour times, and whether any session is paid or needs booking are not recorded.
- KTO lists hours of 15:00–21:00 but its overview says the gardens can be seen by day and night; whether the street gardens are open outside those hours was not confirmed.
- No news coverage of the 2026 opening, attendance or programme was found.
- Getting from Yeosu EXPO Station or Yeosu Bus Terminal to the venue: local bus routes, taxi time and walking distance were not found, and whether Yeocheon Station is nearer was not checked.
- Yongsan → Yeosu EXPO departure times were not read (the page could not be opened); journey times and the fare come from the return direction of the 18–24 Oct 2026 timetable.
- Busan–Yeosu bus journey times and fares, and Incheon Airport → Yeosu bus times, were not checked.
- Parking, shuttle, restrooms, accessibility, rain policy and pet rules were not published on the pages opened.
- Relation to Jeollanam-do's separate touring Jeollanam-do Garden Festival (Wando 2023, 6th edition in Naju in Oct 2025): whether the K-Garden festival is its successor is not stated; firstHeld counts only the K-Garden name.
- 2027: no host county or dates; whether the festival continues under the new Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City is unknown.
- KTO lists the address under 전남광주통합특별시; the record keeps Jeollanam-do, as other records do. KTO's venue field reads 여운문화의거리, apparently a typo for 여문문화의거리.
- Official Japanese and Chinese names were not found.
- Last KTX from Yeosu EXPO to Yongsan and last express bus from Yeosu to Seoul Central City on 24–31 October 2026 under the timetable in force those days; the 18–24 October times came only from a third-party mirror of the national timetable feed and were removed on 24 October 2026.
- Taxi time and fare from Yeoseo-dong to Jinnamgwan, Yi Sun-sin Square and Yeosu EXPO Station were not published.
Changes: 2026-10-19 — Added to the site: fact-first record (dates, hours, prices, getting there, sources). · 2026-10-24 — Nearby rewritten as 'Before or after the festival' (shuttle and last-train fit); transport: removed the last-train and express-bus clock times (third-party mirror of the 18–24 Oct timetable, not confirmed for 24–31 Oct) and pointed to the Korail+ app; prices: no change (entry free).
