At a glance
| Dates | Expected Oct 2027Nine days from a Saturday to the following Sunday in October: 7–15 Oct 2023, 5–13 Oct 2024, 18–26 Oct 2025 and 3–11 Oct 2026. Early to mid October 2027 is most likely (2–10 or 9–17 October would fit the pattern); no dates announced as of 19 Oct 2026. |
|---|---|
| Next edition | 2027: Nine days from a Saturday to the following Sunday in October: 7–15 Oct 2023, 5–13 Oct 2024, 18–26 Oct 2025 and 3–11 Oct 2026. Early to mid October 2027 is most likely (2–10 or 9–17 October would fit the pattern); no dates announced as of 19 Oct 2026. |
| Admission | Free entry; some hands-on programmes are paid (KTO). Ginseng and food are bought from the stalls.Festival admission: Free (2026 prices) |
| Venue | Namwon-cheon stream and Punggi Ginseng Park경상북도 영주시 풍기읍 성내리 240-1 |
| Nearest station | Punggi Station (풍기역), Korail Jungang Line (KTX-Eum, ITX-Maeum, Mugunghwa), Exit 2 (2026 welcome zone)Walkable to the town-centre grounds (the opening procession goes on foot from the station); the exact distance was not confirmed. Festival shuttles also served the station in 2026. |
| From Seoul | about 1 h 40 min · KTXLeave from Cheongnyangni Station · One-way fare from ₩21,600Full route · Festivals by travel time from Seoul |
| Organizer | Yeongju Culture and Tourism Foundation (for Yeongju City)영주문화관광재단 |
| Usual timing | Nine days in October, from a Saturday to the following Sunday: 7–15 Oct 2023, 5–13 Oct 2024, 18–26 Oct 2025 and 3–11 Oct 2026. The 2026 dates were public by mid-September 2026. Browse October festivals. |
| First held | 1998 |
| Last checked | 19 October 2026Checked against 18 sources · See sources |
What it is like
Punggi, a small town at the foot of Sobaeksan in the north of Gyeongsangbuk-do, presents itself as the birthplace of cultivated Korean ginseng: local tradition holds that the magistrate Ju Se-bung first grew it here, at the Gaesamteo site in Geumgye-ri, in 1541. The festival, first held in 1998 and now run by the Yeongju Culture and Tourism Foundation for Yeongju City, comes in October, when the roots are dug and sold fresh. It lasts nine days, from a Saturday to the following Sunday, along the Namwon-cheon stream in the town centre and in the neighbouring Punggi Ginseng Park (billed as the Insam Culture Pop-up Park in 2024 and 2025), about 500 m from the town's permanent ginseng market. The opening day follows a set order: a morning rite at Gaesamteo, a costumed procession re-enacting Ju Se-bung's arrival (in 2026 about 200 people in hanbok set off from Punggi Station), then the opening ceremony and a concert on the main stage. Through the week the riverbank holds sales booths from Punggi's five main ginseng markets, an exhibition of prize roots, a ginseng-peeling contest, rice-cake pounding, ginseng foot baths, a seonbi (Joseon scholar) culture corner and traditional-medicine consultations, with food stalls selling ginseng bibimbap, knife-cut noodles, herbal braised pork and deep-fried whole roots. Stalls wash fresh ginseng and send it by courier. Weekends add trot concerts, TV singing-show recordings, a ginseng ssireum wrestling tournament and, on the final weekend, the Sobaeksan Yeongju Punggi Ginseng Song Festival. In 2024 the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism named it an honorary culture tourism festival. Honest caveats: this is a market festival for Korean shoppers, so stage programmes and contests are in Korean and nothing on the pages opened addresses foreign visitors; the dates move from year to year (18–26 October in 2025, two weeks earlier in 2026); and the ginseng-field digging offered at some other ginseng festivals was not confirmed here. Geumsan, in Chungcheongnam-do, runs a larger ginseng festival in the same weeks.
Highlights
- Opening Saturday: rite at Gaesamteo, the 1541 first-cultivation site, then a procession re-enacting magistrate Ju Se-bung's arrival from Punggi Station (about 200 people in hanbok in 2026) and a 16:00 opening ceremony on the riverside stage
- Fresh harvest ginseng from the booths of Punggi's five main ginseng markets, with washing and courier delivery on site and an exhibition of prize roots
- Hands-on corners: ginseng-peeling contest, ginseng injeolmi rice-cake pounding, ginseng foot bath, ginseng dumpling and ginseng-scent making
- Ginseng food stalls: ginseng bibimbap, knife-cut noodles, herbal braised pork, deep-fried ginseng, ginseng ice cream and red-ginseng drinks
- Traditional Korean medicine clinic with pulse readings and constitution consultations (2026)
- Final weekend: the Sobaeksan Yeongju Punggi Ginseng Song Festival and closing concerts
Who it suits. Best for travellers who want to buy fresh Korean ginseng at harvest time and see a small-town rural festival on an easy KTX-Eum day trip from Seoul; less suited to anyone wanting English-language programmes, ginseng-field digging or a big night-time show.
Getting there
From Seoul
KTX-Eum from Cheongnyangni Station to Punggi Station: about four a day, 1 h 31 m–1 h 41 m, ₩21,600 standard class. ITX-Maeum trains also run about four times a day, about 2 h 02 m–2 h 09 m for ₩17,000, and there is also a Mugunghwa service (₩12,300). During the 2026 festival extra KTX-Eum trains stopped at Punggi on 3–5 and 9–11 October. Punggi Station is in the town: the opening procession walks from the station to the riverside grounds, and festival shuttles linked the station, Yeongju Station and Yeongju Integrated Bus Terminal with the site. Intercity buses also run between Dong Seoul Terminal and the Punggi IC stop, about 2.3 km south of the grounds (Punggi IC to Dong Seoul: 11 a day, 2 h 07 m, ₩21,400 deluxe class).
Last leg from Punggi Station
Korail Jungang Line (KTX-Eum, ITX-Maeum, Mugunghwa), Exit 2 (2026 welcome zone). Walkable to the town-centre grounds (the opening procession goes on foot from the station); the exact distance was not confirmed. Festival shuttles also served the station in 2026.
Festival shuttle
2026: shuttle buses linked Yeongju Station, Yeongju Integrated Bus Terminal, Punggi Station and the festival grounds, and a circular bus ran between the grounds and Punggi's ginseng markets. Routes, times and any fare were not published on the pages opened.
Getting home
The grounds stay open until 20:00 (2026), and only a few trains a day run from Punggi to Cheongnyangni (KTX-Eum about 1 h 30 m–1 h 40 m, ITX-Maeum about 2 hours); intercity buses also run from the Punggi IC stop to Dong Seoul (2 h 07 m). Train times change (Korail's timetable changed on 1 November 2026), so check the last train in the Korail app (코레일+ / Korail+) and the last bus at the terminal before the festival day. A rail day trip means leaving the riverside before the last train rather than at closing.
Parking
Yeongju City announced parking and traffic-control measures for 2026, but lot locations were not published on the pages opened. Drivers leave the expressway at Punggi IC, about 2.3 km south of the grounds.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Festival admission | Free | Free per KTO |
| Hands-on programmes | — | Some are paid (KTO); prices not published on the pages opened |
- Booking
- No booking or ticket is needed for the grounds. In 2024 a Korail festival package sold through the Korail app gave up to 50% off train fares and a ₩10,000 Yeongju gift voucher; whether a package ran in 2026 was not confirmed.
- English on site
- KTO lists the festival in Japanese, Simplified Chinese and French, but no English programmes or interpretation are documented; stage events and contests are in Korean.
- Crowds
- Large for a small town: about 511,000 visitors over the nine days in 2026 (up 14,000 on 2025), against 310,000 in 2023. Crowds were heavy from the opening day.
- Best time to go
- The opening Saturday for the Gaesamteo rite, the procession from Punggi Station and the 16:00 opening ceremony; a weekday for quieter shopping at the market booths.
- What to bring
- A bag for fresh roots (stalls wash them and can send them by courier) and warm layers for October evenings by the stream.
- Step-free access
- Viewing areas for wheelchair users and heat-relief shelters, first used at the 2026 Yeongju Sinwon Night Festival, were planned for the 2026 edition.
Editions
| Year | Dates | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | Nine days from a Saturday to the following Sunday in October: 7–15 Oct 2023, 5–13 Oct 2024, 18–26 Oct 2025 and 3–11 Oct 2026. Early to mid October 2027 is most likely (2–10 or 9–17 October would fit the pattern); no dates announced as of 19 Oct 2026. | expected | No 2027 announcement found as of 19 October 2026; the 2026 dates were reported by 13 September 2026. |
| 2026 | 3–11 Oct 2026 | ended | Namwon-cheon stream and Punggi Ginseng Park, Punggi-eup. Shuttle buses linked Yeongju Station, Yeongju Integrated Bus Terminal, Punggi Station and the grounds, and a circular bus ran to the ginseng markets. Extra KTX-Eum stops at Punggi on 3–5 and 9–11 October; a welcome zone at Punggi Station Exit 2 ran a prize roulette for holders of same-day rail tickets. |
| 2025 | 18–26 Oct 2025 | ended | Namwon-cheon riverside and the Insam Culture Pop-up Park in Punggi, plus the Buseoksa Temple lawn plaza for the apple booth. |
| 2024 | 5–13 Oct 2024 | ended | Namwon-cheon and the Insam Culture Pop-up Park, Punggi-eup. |
| 2023 | 7–15 Oct 2023 | ended | 26th edition; about 310,000 visitors and ₩1.7 billion in sales. Ran alongside the Gyeongbuk Traditional Food Festival at Seonbi World and the Museom single-log bridge festival. Ginseng was sold under an origin-sealed quality certification, in its seventh year since 2017. |
Nearby
- Punggi Ginseng Market (풍기인삼시장) — About 500 m (KTO lists 508 m). Punggi's permanent ginseng market, where growers and dealers sell fresh, dried and red ginseng; a circular festival bus linked it with the grounds in 2026.
- Punggi five-day market (풍기장) — About 600 m (KTO lists 594 m). Traditional market held on days ending in 3 and 8.
- Sobaeksan National Park (소백산국립공원) — KTO lists 1,326 m to its park point. The mountain national park that rises behind Punggi, listed by KTO among the sights near the festival.
- Geumsan World K-Insam Festival (금산세계인삼축제). The other big ginseng festival, in Geumsan, Chungcheongnam-do, held around the same time (2–11 October in 2026); larger, with ginseng-digging trips and night shows. See its page.
- Andong Maskdance Festival (안동국제탈춤페스티벌). Andong's mask-dance festival further down the Jungang Line, usually late September to early October; its last days can overlap the ginseng festival's first weekend.
- Yecheon Bow Festival (예천활축제). Archery festival in neighbouring Yecheon County, held at the end of October in 2025 and 2026.
Questions travelers ask
When is the Yeongju Punggi Ginseng Festival 2027?
Not announced as of 19 October 2026. It runs nine days from a Saturday to the following Sunday in October: 5–13 Oct 2024, 18–26 Oct 2025 and 3–11 Oct 2026, so early to mid October 2027 is likely.
Is the Punggi Ginseng Festival free?
Yes. Entry is free; some hands-on programmes charge a fee, and ginseng and food are paid for at the stalls.
How do I get to the festival from Seoul?
Take the KTX-Eum from Cheongnyangni to Punggi (1 h 31 m–1 h 41 m, ₩21,600) or the slower ITX-Maeum (about 2 h 02 m–2 h 09 m, ₩17,000). The grounds are in Punggi town, within walking distance of the station, and festival shuttles also ran from Yeongju Station in 2026.
Can I buy fresh ginseng and have it sent?
Yes. Booths from Punggi's five main ginseng markets sell fresh and red ginseng, with washing and courier delivery on site. The permanent Punggi Ginseng Market is about 500 m from the grounds.
How is it different from the Geumsan ginseng festival?
The Geumsan World K-Insam Festival in Chungcheongnam-do is the bigger event, with ginseng-digging trips and night shows. Punggi's is a smaller riverside market festival in the town that claims Korea's first ginseng cultivation, in 1541.
What are the festival hours?
10:00–20:00 daily in 2026 per KTO; on the first day the opening ceremony was at 16:00.
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 2027 edition. Confidence in the current facts: medium.
- ktriptips (KTO data mirror) — 경북영주 풍기인삼축제 (contentId 506766)kto — 2026 dates 3–11 Oct, hours 10:00~20:00, free with some paid experience programmes, venue 남원천 및 풍기인삼공원, address 성내리 240-1, coordinates 36.8687180/128.5215180, phone 054-630-8706, homepage, organizer 영주문화관광재단, 2023 programme list, nearby distances (인삼시장 508 m, 풍기장 594 m on days ending 3 and 8, 소백산국립공원 1,326 m)
- ktriptips (KTO Japanese data mirror) — 慶北栄州 豊基高麗人参祭りkto — Japanese name (KTO title with the 慶北 prefix), 2026 dates, 10:00～20:00, free entry with paid experiences
- ktriptips (KTO Chinese data mirror) — 庆北荣州丰基人参节kto — Simplified Chinese name (KTO title with the 庆北 prefix), 2026 dates, 10:00~20:00, free, venue 南院川及丰基人参公园
- The Fact (pre-festival report, 2026) — 가을 영주, 9일간 '인삼의 힘'에 취한다…풍기인삼축제 10월 3일 개막news — 2026 dates 3–11 Oct (nine days), venue, opening rite and procession from Punggi Station, 4 Oct cooking talk, 10 Oct song festival with Tae Jin-ah, 11 Oct closing, five ginseng-market booths, washing and courier, food list, shuttle to stations and market
- Wikitree (October 2026) — [포토뉴스] "기운 없으면 풍기로 와"...영주 풍기인삼축제 개막news — Opening 3 Oct, about 200 people in hanbok from Punggi Station, 16:00 opening ceremony, 4 Oct 15:00 cooking show, 5 Oct MBN show, shuttle Yeongju Station–terminal–Punggi Station–site, circular market bus, extra KTX-Eum stops 3–5 and 9–11 Oct, welcome zone at Exit 2, ₩30,000 coupon draw
- The Fact (closing report, October 2026) — 51만 명 홀린 풍기인삼축제…'인삼만 파는 축제'가 달라졌다news — 2026 results: about 511,000 visitors, up 14,000 on 2025; programmes incl. dumpling and scent making, 14th ssireum, song-festival final, closing performers; shuttle and circular bus; gift-voucher bonus 15%
- Herald Corp (English), 12 Oct 2026 — closing report on the 2026 Yeongju Punggi Ginseng Festivalnews — English name, about 511,000 visitors, traditional-medicine clinic with pulse readings, closing on Sunday, shuttle and circular bus
- Kyongbuk Maeil, October 2026 — report on the opening of the 2026 festivalnews — Punggi as the first cultivation site of Korean ginseng, 2026 programme and food, closing ceremony 11 Oct, added shuttle buses
- Kyongbuk Maeil, September 2026 — report on Yeongju City's preparation briefing for the 2026 festivalnews — 2026 dates published by 13 Sep 2026; parking, shuttle and safety measures; wheelchair-user viewing areas and heat-relief shelters carried over from the 2026 Yeongju Sinwon Night Festival
- Seoul Shinmun, 17 Oct 2025 — 사과ㆍ인삼 등 영주ㆍ풍기 특산물 한 자리에news — 2025 dates 18–26 Oct, first joint run with the Yeongju Market Day Agricultural Specialty Festival, theme, Buseoksa lawn apple booth, 팜팜 sales area
- Kukinews, 18 Oct 2025 — report on the opening of the 2025 festivalnews — 2025 opening 18 Oct, nine days to 26 Oct, venues incl. Buseoksa lawn plaza, 13th ssireum, 20 Oct KBS live, 21 Oct KBS recording, 25 Oct song festival, ginseng lanterns
- Kyongbuk Maeil, 1 Oct 2024 — preview of the 2024 (27th) festivalnews — 2024 dates 5–13 Oct, 27th edition, honorary culture tourism festival, programme, Korail package up to 50% off and ₩10,000 voucher, Museom festival on 5 Oct
- NewsSeoul, 16 Oct 2023 — 영주시, "영주 풍기인삼 최고" 건강축제 인기 재확인news — 2023: 26th edition, 7–15 Oct, 310,000 visitors, ₩1.7 billion sales, about 40 motorcycles in the procession, quality seal since 2017 (seventh year), concurrent festivals at Seonbi World and Museom
- Kyongbuk Maeil, 30 Sep 2015 — preview of the 18th festivalnews — First festival in 1998; 2015 was the 18th edition (4–11 Oct 2015)
- Maeil Shinmun, 4 Oct 2001 — article on the 2001 festival and the Gaesamteo ritenews — Ju Se-bung first grew ginseng in Korea in 1541 at Gaesamteo, Geumgye-ri, Punggi-eup, where the festival rite begins
- Cheongnyangni → Punggi train timetable, 17–23 Oct 2026 (third-party mirror of the MOLIT/data.go.kr national timetable feed, page last modified 2026-10-17)other — KTX-Eum 06:27, 11:20, 16:32, 19:00 (1 h 31 m–1 h 41 m, ₩21,600); ITX-Maeum 06:38, 10:40, 14:48, 17:38 (2 h 02 m–2 h 09 m, ₩17,000); Mugunghwa 22:00 arr 00:04 (₩12,300); return summary 17–18 Oct last 19:42, 19–23 Oct last 18:53
- Punggi → Cheongnyangni train timetable, 11–17 Oct 2026 (third-party mirror of the MOLIT/data.go.kr national timetable feed, page last modified 2026-10-11)other — Last daily 18:53 ITX-Maeum 1604 (arr 20:56); 19:42 KTX-Eum 782 (arr 21:13) on Sat 17 and Sun 11 Oct; 17:05 KTX-Eum 716 (arr 18:49) Sun 11 Oct; weekday last KTX-Eum 14:28 712 (arr 16:04)
- Punggi IC → Dong Seoul intercity bus timetable (third-party mirror of the MOLIT/data.go.kr national timetable feed, page last modified 2026-10-17)other — 11 buses a day 06:10–21:10 (last arr 23:17), 2 h 07 m, ₩21,400 deluxe; stop coordinates 36.8486061/128.5266727, about 2.3 km south of KTO's venue point (straight line)
What we could not confirm
- The organizer's festival site (yctf.or.kr/punggiginseng) could not be opened, so 2026 shuttle routes and times, parking lots and the prices of paid hands-on programmes were not read.
- The festival is no longer in the site's TourAPI snapshot (it dropped out after it ended); KTO data come from the ktriptips mirror, whose id 506766 is taken to be the TourAPI contentId. No KTO English page was opened.
- No Traditional Chinese (KTO big5) name was found; names.zhHant is null. names.ja and names.zhHans drop the KTO titles' province prefix (慶北 / 庆北).
- The 2025 visitor total (about 497,000) is implied by the 2026 closing report, not published in the 2025 sources opened; the 2025 and 2026 edition numbers (28th and 29th by count) were not stated.
- A ginseng-field digging experience was not confirmed in 2024–2026 coverage (2025 had a 'golden ginseng' hunt on the riverside).
- Walking distance from Punggi Station to the grounds was not confirmed, and which KTX-Eum trains made the extra festival stops on 3–5 and 9–11 October 2026 was not stated.
- The Dong Seoul → Punggi IC bus page could not be opened (URL too long for the fetch tool); only the return direction was read. Whether buses also serve Yeongju terminal for the festival was not checked.
- Routes from Busan (e.g. KTX-Eum on the Jungang Line via Yeongju) were not checked; fromBusan is null.
- Relation to Yeongju's Seonbi festival: none found in 2024–2026 coverage beyond a seonbi culture corner in the 2026 programme; in 2023 the festival ran alongside the Gyeongbuk Traditional Food Festival at Seonbi World.
- Whether a Korail festival package was sold in 2025 or 2026 was not confirmed.
- Last train back to Cheongnyangni and last bus from the Punggi IC stop to Dong Seoul on the festival dates under the timetables in force those days (journey times, fares and frequencies come from a third-party mirror of the October 2026 feed).
Changes: 2026-10-19 — Added to the site: fact-first record (dates, hours, prices, getting there, sources). · 2026-10-19 — Added a Wikimedia Commons photograph of Korean ginseng, Punggi's local speciality (Eugene Kim, CC BY 2.5). · 2026-10-20 — Bus class corrected from the timetable: the ₩21,400 Punggi IC–Dong Seoul bus is deluxe (우등). · 2026-10-20 — Last-train wording clarified: 18:53 is the last train that runs every day. · 2026-10-21 — Transport: removed last-train and last-bus clock times taken from the October 2026 timetables (Korail's timetable changed on 1 November 2026); journey times and frequencies kept, with a note to check the last train in the Korail app or at the terminal before the festival day.
