Spring festivals in Korea

Spring runs from Jeju's fire festival and the sansuyu and plum blossoms of Gurye and Gwangyang in March to the Chuncheon Mime Festival at the end of May. The season's big draws are flowers and lanterns: cherry blossoms at Jinhae, on Yeouido and around Seokchon Lake in Seoul and along Gyeongju's stone-wall road, canola on Jeju, azaleas on Biseulsan, Taean's tulip gardens and Gochang's green barley fields, the Jindo sea road that appears at low spring tide, and the Yeon Deung Hoe lantern parade through central Seoul before Buddha's Birthday. The early-May holidays bring the tea harvest at Boseong, Damyang's bamboo festival, the Hampyeong Butterfly Festival, the Jeonju International Film Festival, the Namwon Chunhyang Festival and Mungyeong's tea-bowl festival; later in the season Busan has sand sculptures on Haeundae Beach and the Gwangalli Eobang Festival.

On now, coming up and expected

Jeonju Hanok Village, where the parade runs, in 2022 Happening now
Apr – Oct2026
18 –31
Sat–Sat
TraditionJeonjuFreeEnds todayAbout 1 h 55 min from Seoul

Jeonju Hanok Village Traditional Performing Arts Parade

The Jeonju Hanok Village Traditional Performing Arts Parade (노상놀이야) is a free, one-hour folk parade along Taejo-ro, the main street of Jeonju Hanok Village, led by the giant dragon banners of Jeonju Gijeop-nori and pungmul drummers, with comic street plays on the way and a closing communal play in front of Gyeonggijeon Shrine. The 2026 season runs every Saturday, 15:00–16:00, from 18 April to 31 October, so the last two dates are 24 and 31 October; the 2027 season had not been announced as of 19 October 2026.

Sansuyu (cornelian cherry) trees in yellow bloom around a reservoir and pavilion in Gurye's sansuyu village Expected
Expected2027
Mar
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NatureGuryeFreeAbout 3 h 10 min from Seoul

Gurye Sansuyu Flower Festival

The Gurye Sansuyu Flower Festival is a free nine-day spring festival in the sansuyu (cornelian cherry) villages of Sandong-myeon, Gurye, Jeollanam-do, where more than 110,000 trees turn the foot of Jirisan yellow. The 27th edition ran 14–22 March 2026 around the Jirisan Hot Spring Tourist Site; the 28th is expected in mid-March 2027, with dates set by the bloom and not yet announced.

Plum trees in blossom on the hillsides of Gwangyang Maehwa Village at sunset Expected
Expected2027
Mar
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NatureGwangyang

Gwangyang Maehwa Festival

The Gwangyang Maehwa Festival is one of Korea's first spring blossom festivals each year: ten days in mid-March in Maehwa Village, a hillside plum orchard above the Seomjin River in Gwangyang, Jeollanam-do. The 25th edition ran 13–22 March 2026; the 26th is expected in early-to-mid March 2027.

Cherry blossoms near Bulguksa in Gyeongju (not the festival's Daereungwon stone-wall road) Expected
Expected2027
Mar / Apr
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NatureGyeongjuFreeAbout 2 h 35 min from Seoul

Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival

The Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival, billed in 2026 as the Gyeongju Daereungwon Stone-Wall Road Festival (경주 대릉원돌담길 축제), closes the cherry-lined road along the walls of the Daereungwon royal tomb park for three days at peak bloom, with street performances, a night light show, food trucks and a craft market. The 2026 edition ran 3–5 April, 13:00–22:00, with free admission; the 2027 edition is expected on a Friday-to-Sunday weekend in late March or early April, with dates set by the bloom.

Saebyeol Oreum ablaze during the fire-setting at the 2015 Jeju Fire Festival Expected
Expected2027
Mar
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TraditionJeju CityFreeBy air from Seoul

Jeju Fire Festival

The Jeju Fire Festival (제주들불축제) is Jeju City's March festival at Saebyeol Oreum, a 519 m grassy volcanic cone in Aewol-eup, rooted in the island's old custom of burning off dead pasture. The famous burning of the whole hillside was abolished in 2023; in 2026 the slope was lit instead by a laser, fireworks and media-art 'digital fire', alongside torch parades and a bonfire.

Cherry trees in full bloom arching over the Yeojwacheon stream during the 2024 Jinhae Gunhangje Festival Expected
Expected2027
Mar / Apr
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NatureChangwon (Jinhae-gu)About 2 h 45 min from Seoul

Jinhae Gunhangje Festival

Jinhae Gunhangje is Korea's largest cherry-blossom festival, held across the Jinhae district of Changwon on the south coast, an hour by bus from Busan. The 64th edition ran 27 March–5 April 2026; the 65th is expected in late March–early April 2027.

Canola flowers in full bloom on Jeju in April (not the festival's canola road itself) Expected
Expected2027
Mar / Apr
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NatureSeogwipoFreeBy air from Seoul

Seogwipo Canola Flower Festival

The Seogwipo Canola Flower Festival is a free weekend festival in the canola fields of Gasi-ri, in the eastern uplands of Seogwipo on Jeju, where Noksan-ro, a road of more than 10 km, is lined with yellow canola and often cherry blossom at the same time. The 43rd edition ran 4–5 April 2026, 10:00–20:00, around the Jorangmal Horse Experience Park, with a night opening, a running programme, classes and busking.

Seokchon Lake, the festival's venue, with cherry blossoms in April 2020 Expected
Expected2027
Mar / Apr
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NatureSeoul (Songpa-gu)Free

Seokchon Lake Cherry Blossom Festival

The Seokchon Lake Cherry Blossom Festival is Songpa-gu's free spring festival around Seokchon Lake, beside Lotte World Tower in south-east Seoul, where about 1,000 king cherry trees line a lit lakeside path of about 2.5 km. The 2026 edition ran 3–11 April; the 2027 dates follow the bloom and are expected between late March and mid-April, announced only about ten days ahead.

A view of the 2015 Yeouido Spring Flower Festival Expected
Expected2027
Mar / Apr
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NatureSeoulFree

Yeouido Spring Flower Festival

The Yeouido Spring Flower Festival is Yeongdeungpo-gu's free cherry-blossom festival on Yeouiseo-ro (Yunjung-ro), a 1.7 km riverside road behind the National Assembly in Seoul that closes to cars for about a week and is lined with about 1,886 cherry trees, lit after dark. The 2026 edition ran 3–7 April, 11:30–21:30; the 2027 dates follow the bloom forecast and are expected in late March or the first half of April, not yet announced.

Biseulsan in Dalseong County, Daegu, the mountain where the festival is held, in May 2018 Expected
Expected2027
Apr
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NatureDaegu (Dalseong-gun)Free

Biseulsan Azalea Culture Festival

The Biseulsan Azalea Culture Festival (비슬산 참꽃문화제) is Dalseong County's spring festival on Biseulsan in southern Daegu, timed to the bloom of a summit plateau of wild azaleas, about 300,000 pyeong (roughly 1 km²) at around 1,000 m beside Daegyeonsa temple. The 30th edition ran 17–19 April 2026; the 2027 dates are not announced and should fall on a mid-April weekend set by the bloom.

Green barley fields at Hakwon Farm during the 2018 Gochang Green Barley Field Festival, with a horse-drawn carriage on the horizon Expected
Expected2027
Apr / May
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NatureGochangAbout 3 h 46 min from Seoul

Gochang Green Barley Field Festival

The Gochang Green Barley Field Festival (고창청보리밭축제) is a three-week spring festival at Hakwon Farm in Gongeum-myeon, Gochang-gun, Jeonbuk State, where paths run through about 770,000 m² of rolling green barley, with yellow canola among it from late April. The 23rd edition ran 18 April–10 May 2026, 09:00–18:00; 2027 dates are not announced, but the pattern points to mid-April to early May 2027.

A view of the 2013 Hampyeong Butterfly Festival Expected
Expected2027
Apr / May
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FamilyHampyeongAbout 3 h from Seoul

Hampyeong Butterfly Festival

The Hampyeong Butterfly Festival (함평나비대축제) is a spring festival for families at Hampyeong Expo Park in Hampyeong, Jeollanam-do, where children release and feed live butterflies among flower beds, insect halls and play areas. The 28th edition ran 24 April–5 May 2026, 09:00–18:00, and drew about 236,000 visitors; the 2027 edition is expected in late April to early May but had not been announced as of 19 October 2026.

Jeonju's Film Street under its sail canopies, the festival's main hub Expected
Expected2027
Apr / May
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ArtsJeonjuAbout 1 h 40 min from Seoul

Jeonju International Film Festival

The Jeonju International Film Festival (JEONJU IFF) is a ten-day festival of independent and experimental cinema, held since 2000 around Jeonju Film Street in Gosa-dong, in the old city centre near Jeonju Hanok Village. The 27th edition ran 29 April–8 May 2026 with 236 films from 54 countries; 2027 dates had not been announced as of 19 October 2026, but recent editions have run from the last days of April into early May.

Jogokgwan, the second gate of Mungyeong Saejae, near the festival site Expected
Expected2027
Apr / May
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TraditionMungyeongAbout 2 h 30 min from Seoul

Mungyeong Chasabal (Tea Bowl) Festival

The Mungyeong Chasabal Festival (문경찻사발축제) is a ten-day pottery and tea festival at the Mungyeong Saejae Open Set, a Joseon-era drama set inside Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park, Gyeongsangbuk-do, where potters who fire tea bowls in traditional wood-burning mangdaengi kilns show, demonstrate and sell their work. The 28th edition ran 1–10 May 2026, 09:00–18:00; 2027 dates have not been announced, but recent editions fell between late April and mid-May.

A view of the 2009 Chunhyang Festival in Namwon Expected
Expected2027
Apr / May
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TraditionNamwonAbout 2 h from Seoul

Namwon Chunhyang Festival

The Namwon Chunhyang Festival (춘향제) is a seven-day festival of traditional performance at Gwanghallu Garden and the Yocheon riverside in Namwon, Jeonbuk State, built around Korea's best-known love story and first held in 1931. The 96th edition ran 30 April–6 May 2026 and drew about 1.51 million visits; the 97th is expected in late April–early May 2027, dates not yet announced.

Tulip beds at the 2019 festival, then held at Korea Flower Park on Anmyeondo Expected
Expected2027
Apr / May
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NatureTaeanAbout 2 h 7 min from Seoul

Taean World Tulip Festival

The Taean World Tulip Festival (태안 세계튤립꽃박람회, officially a 'world tulip flower expo') is Korea's best-known tulip show: about five weeks of millions of tulips in themed coastal gardens in Taean, Chungcheongnam-do, a little over two hours from Seoul by express bus. The 2026 edition ran 1 April–6 May at Nature World in Mageompo, Namyeon-myeon, after nine years (2017–2025) at Korea Flower Park beside Kkotji Beach on Anmyeondo; 2027 dates and venue are not announced, but early April to early May is the pattern.

Rows of lotus lanterns over the courtyard of Jogyesa Temple in Seoul before Buddha's Birthday, with monks walking beneath Expected
Expected2027
Apr / May
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TraditionSeoulFree

Yeon Deung Hoe (Lotus Lantern Festival)

Yeon Deung Hoe is Seoul's Buddhist lantern festival for Buddha's Birthday (8th day of the 4th lunar month). Its centrepiece is a free Saturday-evening parade of about 100,000 lanterns from Heunginjimun along Jongno to Jogyesa Temple, with lantern exhibitions at Jogyesa, Cheonggyecheon and Bongeunsa.

Rows of green tea bushes on a hillside in Boseong Expected
Expected2027
May
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FoodBoseongAbout 3 h 30 min from Seoul

Boseong Green Tea Festival

The Boseong Green Tea Festival (보성다향대축제) is a five-day tea festival at the Korean Tea Culture Park in Boseong, Jeollanam-do, Korea's best-known tea-growing county. The 49th edition ran 1–5 May 2026; the 50th is expected in early May 2027.

Expected
Expected2027
May / Jun
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ArtsChuncheonAbout 1 h 20 min from Seoul

Chuncheon Mime Festival

The Chuncheon Mime Festival (춘천마임축제) is an eight-day festival of mime, physical theatre, circus and street performance held across Chuncheon, Gangwon, every late May since 1989. It opens with a free water party on a closed city-centre street and ends with Dokkaebi Nanjang, an overnight show-and-party that runs from 14:00 to 05:00.

Looking up through a Damyang bamboo grove, photographed at the 2007 Damyang Bamboo Festival Expected
Expected2027
May
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NatureDamyangAbout 2 h 5 min from Seoul

Damyang Bamboo Festival

The Damyang Bamboo Festival (담양대나무축제) is a five-day spring festival around Juknokwon bamboo garden in Damyang, Jeollanam-do, about 30 minutes by bus from Gwangju. The 25th edition ran 1–5 May 2026 with Juknokwon open until 21:00 for lit-up night walks; the 26th is expected in early May 2027.

Gwangalli Beach in Busan, the festival's venue Expected
Expected2027
May / Jun
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TraditionBusanAbout 2 h 40 min from Seoul

Gwangalli Eobang Festival

The Gwangalli Eobang Festival (광안리어방축제) is a three-day folk festival on Gwangalli Beach and at Suyeong Historic Park in Suyeong-gu, Busan, recreating the Joseon-era fishing village where naval sailors and fishermen worked the nets together. The 24th edition ran 12–14 June 2026, a month later than the May dates of 2023–2025; the 2027 dates are not announced, and May or June is expected.

A sand sculpture of Sungnyemun Gate at the 2012 Haeundae Sand Festival Expected
Expected2027
May
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ArtsBusanFreeAbout 3 h 35 min from Seoul

Haeundae Sand Festival

The Haeundae Sand Festival (해운대 모래축제) is Haeundae-gu's free sand-sculpture festival on Haeundae Beach in Busan, first held in 2005. The 21st edition ran 15–18 May 2026 (programmes 10:00–21:00), with 17 sculptures by 11 artists that stayed on the sand until 14 June.

Sebitseom, the floating islands at Banpo Hangang Park, lit up at night Expected
Expected2027
May
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NatureSeoul

Hangang Festival (Spring)

The spring run of the Hangang Festival is Seoul's city-run family festival in the Han River parks, held in early to mid May. The 2026 run was on 2–10 May in Ichon, Yeouido and Banpo Hangang Parks, with a free children's theatre and a stroller parade (₩5,000 per team) at Ichon on 9–10 May, and yacht, kayak, small-boat and cruise rides (₩12,500–60,000) from Banpo and Yeouido.

Crowds walking out along the sea road as the tide parts toward Modo island Dates TBA
Dates TBA2027
Mar / Apr
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NatureJindoFreeAbout 5 h 20 min from Seoul

Jindo Miracle Sea Road Festival

The Jindo Miracle Sea Road Festival (진도 신비의 바닷길 축제) runs on the few spring days when low tides expose a 2.8 km, 30–40 m wide seabed path between Hoedong village and Modo island on Jindo, Jeollanam-do. The 46th edition ran 17–20 April 2026; 2027 dates will follow the tide tables, probably in March or April.

Hanbit Tower at Expo Science Park in Daejeon, one of the festival venues Dates TBA
Dates TBA2027
Apr / Oct
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FamilyDaejeonFreeAbout 1 h 25 min from Seoul

Daejeon Science Festival

The Daejeon Science Festival is a free science fair run by Daejeon city with the Ministry of Science and ICT at Daejeon Convention Center and Expo Science Park, about an hour from Seoul by KTX. The 2026 edition ran 17–19 April, 10:00–18:00, together with the national Korea Science Festival; 2027 dates are not set.