At a glance
| Dates | 2027 dates to be announced · usually OctNot announced as of 19 October 2026. Past editions ran 30 Oct–6 Nov 2021 and 25–30 Oct 2022, and the 2026 main days are 23–25 Oct, so autumn 2027, most likely late October, if the festival continues; 2023–2025 dates were not verified. |
|---|---|
| Next edition | 2027: Not announced as of 19 October 2026. Past editions ran 30 Oct–6 Nov 2021 and 25–30 Oct 2022, and the 2026 main days are 23–25 Oct, so autumn 2027, most likely late October, if the festival continues; 2023–2025 dates were not verified. |
| Admission | Free for every programme (KTO). KTO lists the viewing age as elementary-school age and up.All programmes: Free (2026 prices) |
| Venue | Amnok Resort Area, temporary festival stage전라남도 곡성군 죽곡면 섬진강로 1012 |
| Nearest station | Guryegu Station (구례구역), Korail Jeolla Line (KTX, Saemaeul, Mugunghwa)Not walkable: about 9 km to the Amnok Resort Area; take a taxi. The station has a Gurye County tourist information centre. |
| From Seoul | about 2 h 40 min · KTX + TaxiLeave from Seoul Station · One-way fare from ₩40,100 · Same-night return is tightFull route · Festivals by travel time from Seoul |
| Organizer | KoPAS and the SIEAF Steering Committee한국실험예술정신(KoPAS), SIEAF운영위원회 |
| Usual timing | Autumn, with the main outdoor programme in the second half of October: 30 Oct–6 Nov 2021, 25–30 Oct 2022, and in 2026 an official run of 22 Sep–30 Oct with the opening weekend on 23–25 Oct. Dates of the 2023–2025 editions were not verified. Browse October festivals. |
| First held | 2021 |
| Last checked | 19 October 2026Checked against 21 sources · See sources |
What it is like
SIEAF is the current home of one of Korea's longest-running experimental art festivals. Its artistic director, Kim Baek-gi, and the art group KoPAS, which he founded in 2000, ran the Korea Experimental Arts Festival in Hongdae, Seoul, from 2002 to 2013 and a Jeju edition in Seogwipo from 2014 to 2019, then brought the festival to his home county of Gokseong in 2021 under its present name. There is no single festival ground: the county is the stage, from riverbanks and the edges of rice paddies to forests and gardens, and residents perform alongside visiting artists (about 60 artists from 14 countries took part in 2022).
The 2026 edition runs officially from 22 September to 30 October, but only a handful of days have public programmes. An archive exhibition built from the 2025 festival's records and farm objects is open 11:00–20:00 at Gallery Cafe Nangman Gaok for the whole period. A colloquium (6 October) and a rice-paddy fashion show at Misillan with children and senior models (10 October) have already taken place. The main weekend is 23–25 October. On Friday 23 October, 17:00–21:00, the opening programme 'WITH Dokkaebi & Dukkeobi' fills a temporary stage at the Amnok Resort Area, where the Seomjin River meets the Daehwang (lower Boseong) River: shamanic gut rituals, media art, world music, dance and butoh, gugak and percussion, singing, installations and a drone performance, drawn from Gokseong's goblin (dokkaebi) legends and toad imagery. Rice collected by residents is turned into rice wine and rice cakes and shared with artists and the audience as a harvest ritual. On Saturday 24 October, 11:00–16:00, an 'oxygen concert' of forest sound, acoustic music, singing bowls, voice, Buddhist cymbal dance and meditation, with a movement-healing workshop, takes place in Mugeun Forest in Okgwa. On Sunday 25 October, 13:00–17:00, a flower parade at the Seomjingang Fairy Tale Garden invites visitors to walk with artists, residents and local clubs, with a flea market and a workshop for making parade props.
Everything is free. The honest caveats: the venues are spread across a rural county, county buses are sparse and a taxi is the practical link from the station; the detailed programme found was in Korean only; times and venues can change, so check sieaf.com before going; and the Friday opening ends after the last train from Guryegu to Seoul Station, so plan to stay the night.
Highlights
- Opening show 'WITH Dokkaebi & Dukkeobi' on a riverside stage at the Amnok Resort Area, Friday 23 October 2026, 17:00–21:00: shamanic gut, media art, butoh, gugak, installations and a drone performance
- A harvest ritual in which rice collected by Gokseong residents ('dokkaebi rice') is made into rice wine and rice cakes and shared with artists and the audience
- Oxygen concert and movement-healing workshop in Mugeun Forest, Okgwa, Saturday 24 October, 11:00–16:00
- Flower parade at the Seomjingang Fairy Tale Garden, Sunday 25 October, 13:00–17:00, open to visitors, with a flea market and a prop-making workshop
- Archive exhibition of the 2025 festival at Gallery Cafe Nangman Gaok, 11:00–20:00, 22 September–30 October
- Free admission to every programme
Who it suits. Best for travellers curious about performance and experimental art and about rural Korea, who are happy to build a weekend around a few scattered events; less suited to anyone expecting a compact festival ground with food stalls, a full daily schedule or English-language commentary. KTO lists the programme for elementary-school age and up.
Getting there
From Seoul
Take a Jeolla Line train to Guryegu Station (구례구역), which sits across the river in Suncheon, about 9 km from the Amnok Resort Area. About five trains a day run from Seoul Station: KTX takes about 2 h 40 m–3 h 20 m (₩40,100 standard class) and the Saemaeul about 4 h 15 m (₩17,600). Other Jeolla Line trains start from Yongsan. Check the times for your date in the Korail+ app (코레일+) before you go. From Guryegu Station take a taxi to Amnok. Alternatively, get off at Gokseong Station and take a Gokseong county bus from the Gokseong Station-front stop via the Train Village, the rail bike and Gajeong Station to the Amnok stop; bus times were not published on the pages opened. From 27 to 30 October only the archive exhibition at Gallery Cafe Nangman Gaok remains; its address was not published, so ask the organizer (sieaf.com, 010-2344-5004) for directions.
From Busan
Take a train from Bujeon to Suncheon (4 a day in October 2026, about 2 h 40 m–3 h 20 m by Mugunghwa or Saemaeul), then a Jeolla Line train north to Guryegu Station and a taxi of about 9 km to Amnok. Check the times for your date in the Korail+ app (코레일+) before you go.
Last leg from Guryegu Station
Korail Jeolla Line (KTX, Saemaeul, Mugunghwa). Not walkable: about 9 km to the Amnok Resort Area; take a taxi. The station has a Gurye County tourist information centre.
Festival shuttle
No festival shuttle had been announced on the pages opened.
Getting home
Guryegu has about six trains a day back to Seoul Station (late October 2026, from a third-party copy of the timetable), and the last of them leaves in the early evening: before the 23 October opening ended at 21:00, so that night needed a stay in Gurye, Gokseong or Suncheon. Later Yongsan-bound KTX trains run north from Suncheon, but whether they stop at Guryegu or Gokseong was not checked. For the archive exhibition (to 30 October, 11:00–20:00), plan to leave in the afternoon, and check the last train for your date in the Korail+ app (코레일+, where KTX and former SRT trains are booked) or at the station before you go.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| All programmes | Free | Free (KTO) |
- Booking
- No booking is mentioned. Times and venues of the outdoor programmes can change, so check sieaf.com or call KoPAS on 010-2344-5004 before travelling.
- English on site
- The festival invites artists from abroad (KTO's English listing says more than 100 from around the world), but no English-language visitor information or interpretation for 2026 was found.
- Crowds
- No visitor figures were found for this festival.
- Best time to go
- Friday 23 October from 17:00 for the opening at Amnok, where the two rivers meet; arrive while it is still light to see the riverside setting. The flower parade on Sunday 25 October (13:00–17:00) is the easiest daytime programme to join.
- What to bring
- A warm layer for an evening by the river in late October, a torch for the riverside after dark, and comfortable shoes for the forest and garden programmes.
Editions
| Year | Dates | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2027 | Not announced as of 19 October 2026. Past editions ran 30 Oct–6 Nov 2021 and 25–30 Oct 2022, and the 2026 main days are 23–25 Oct, so autumn 2027, most likely late October, if the festival continues; 2023–2025 dates were not verified. | tba | Watch sieaf.com and KTO's listing (contentId 2737313), which the organizer updated on 10 September 2026 for this year's edition. |
| 2026 | 22 Sep – 30 Oct 2026 | ended | Programmes are held at different places around Gokseong County; only the opening venue (Amnok Resort Area, Jukgok-myeon) has a published address. Addresses for the gallery café, Bitmaru Center, Misillan, Mugeun Forest and the Fairy Tale Garden were not published on the pages opened. |
| 2022 | 25–30 Oct 2022 | ended | Jewolseom island, Ip-myeon, Gokseong. |
| 2021 | 30 Oct – 6 Nov 2021 | ended | First edition in Gokseong. 35 teams from 6 countries performed on site and 38 artists from 26 countries took part remotely; programmes were streamed on YouTube and Facebook. |
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.
Gokseong's old railway station turned into a railway park, where a restored steam locomotive runs 10 km along the Seomjin River to Gajeong Station and back, with a rose garden, play areas and rail bikes on site. It is open 09:00–20:00 with last entry at 18:00 (adult ₩5,000), so go in the daytime around a visit to the archive exhibition, which runs to 30 October. The steam train costs extra (adult seat ₩10,000 return); Gajeong Station is where the Seomjingang Rail Bike starts.
Getting there: Gokseong county bus from the Gokseong Station-front stop to the Train Village stop (times not published), or a taxi
Questions travelers ask
When is the Seomjingang International Experimental Art Festival 2026?
Officially 22 September–30 October 2026. The public outdoor programmes are on Friday 23 October (opening, 17:00–21:00, Amnok Resort Area), Saturday 24 October (oxygen concert, 11:00–16:00, Okgwa) and Sunday 25 October (flower parade, 13:00–17:00, Seomjingang Fairy Tale Garden); the archive exhibition is open 11:00–20:00 throughout.
Is SIEAF free?
Yes. KTO lists all programmes as free.
How do I get to the Amnok Resort Area?
Take a Jeolla Line train to Guryegu Station (KTX from Seoul Station about 2 h 40 m–3 h 20 m, ₩40,100), then a taxi of about 9 km. Gokseong county buses also run from Gokseong Station to the Amnok stop, but their times were not published.
Can I see the opening and get back to Seoul the same day?
Not by train to Seoul Station: the last train from Guryegu left in the early evening, before the opening on 23 October ended at 21:00, so the opening needed an overnight stay in Gurye, Gokseong or Suncheon. For the archive exhibition, which runs to 30 October (11:00–20:00), a day trip is tight: leave in the afternoon and check the last train for your date in the Korail+ app (코레일+) or at the station.
When is SIEAF 2027?
Not announced as of 19 October 2026. The main programme falls in late October (30 Oct–6 Nov 2021, 25–30 Oct 2022, opening weekend 23–25 Oct 2026), so late October 2027 is likely if the festival continues.
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.
- KTO TourAPI listing 2026섬진강국제실험예술제(SIEAF) (contentId 2737313)kto — 22 Sep–30 Oct 2026; opening 23 Oct 17:00–21:00, hours otherwise vary by programme; free; venue 곡성 압록유원지 특설무대, 죽곡면 섬진강로 1012; coordinates 35.1920/127.3775; organizer KoPAS; phone 010-2344-5004; sieaf.com; programme descriptions incl. archive of the 2025 festival, Seomjin–Daehwang river confluence, dokkaebi rice ritual; modified 10 Sep 2026
- ktriptips (KTO data mirror) — 2026 섬진강국제실험예술제(SIEAF), contentId 2737313 (page title still reads 2023)kto — Programme dates and times: archive exhibition 22 Sep–30 Oct 11:00–20:00 at 갤러리카페 낭만가옥; colloquium 6 Oct 15:00–17:00 at 빛마루센터; fashion show 10 Oct 15:00–17:00 at 미실란; opening 23 Oct 17:00–21:00; oxygen concert 24 Oct 11:00–16:00 at 옥과 묵은숲; flower parade 25 Oct 13:00–17:00 at 섬진강 동화정원; elementary-school age and up; host KoPAS, organizer SIEAF운영위원회
- ktriptips (KTO English data mirror) — Seomjinggang International Experimental Arts Festival (contentId 3345719)kto — KTO English name and venue 'Amnok Resort'; 22 Sep–30 Oct 2026; free; organizer SIEAF Committee, host KoPAS; over 100 artists invited from around the world; nearby Taeansa about 6.7 km, Gurye Seomjingang Cherry Blossom Trail about 8.5 km
- Popga — 2026 섬진강국제실험예술제(SIEAF) '자연에 스미다'other — Theme '자연에 스미다'; 39-day run 22 Sep–30 Oct 2026; free; opening Fri 23 Oct 17:00–21:00; day-by-day schedule; scarecrow art fashion show and dokkaebi rice relay on 10 Oct; flea market and prop-making workshop on 25 Oct; confirm times and venues on sieaf.com
- Yeogiyu (여기유) — 2026섬진강국제실험예술제(SIEAF)other — Schedule with weekdays (Tue 6 Oct, Sat 10 Oct, Fri 23 Oct, Sat 24 Oct, Sun 25 Oct); opening programme includes the opening ceremony; Guryegu Station about 9 km and Seomjingang Rail Bike about 9 km from the festival address
- WikiTree 2021-10-05 — 홍대 앞에서 시작된 한국 최장기 실험예술축제, 섬진강에 흐르다news — Korea Experimental Arts Festival in Hongdae 2002–2013, Jeju International Experimental Arts Festival 2014–2019, moved to Gokseong in 2021 as SIEAF; KoPAS founded 2000 by Kim Baek-gi; 2021 dates 30 Oct–6 Nov and day-by-day programme; 38 artists from 26 countries remotely
- WikiTree 2021-11-17 — ‘2021 섬진강국제실험예술제’ 성황리에 마무리news — 2021 edition 8 days, 30 Oct–6 Nov; 35 teams from 6 countries on site, 38 artists from 26 countries remotely; streamed on YouTube and Facebook
- WikiTree 2022-10-13 — 2022 섬진강국제실험예술제 「제월섬 국제자연미술판타지」news — 2022 dates 25–30 Oct at Jewolseom island, Ip-myeon; about 60 artists from 14 countries; 35 nature art works; programme list; sponsors incl. Jeollanam-do, Jeonnam Culture & Arts Foundation and Gokseong County
- Pressian 2019-06-20 — 곡성군 섬진강변 관광명소화 사업news — Amnok Resort Area is where the Seomjin and Boseong rivers meet
- Seoul Station → Guryegu train timetable, 19–25 Oct 2026 (third-party mirror of the national timetable feed, page last modified 2026-10-19)other — Five trains a day on 23–25 Oct: KTX 505 06:44 (arr 09:27), KTX-Sancheon 541 07:05 (arr 10:25), Saemaeul 2521 08:04 (arr 12:18), KTX-Sancheon 521 16:29 (arr 19:08), KTX-Sancheon 525 18:36 (arr 21:13); KTX 2 h 37 m–3 h 20 m, ₩40,100; Saemaeul ₩17,600. Guryegu → Seoul: 6 a day on 23–25 Oct, first 05:41, last 18:40
- Yeogiyu (여기유) — 구례구역 (Guryegu Station)other — Guryegu Station: Jeolla Line, KTX, Saemaeul and Mugunghwa stop; 섬진강로 217, Hwangjeon-myeon, Suncheon; Gurye County tourist information centre inside; Saseongam about 4 km
- The Wiki — 곡성역 (Gokseong Station)other — Gokseong Station on the Jeolla Line with KTX stops; former station now part of Seomjingang Train Village; some KTX-Sancheon trains stop at Namwon, Gokseong, Guryegu and Suncheon
- Korea Charts bus route data (TAGO) — Gokseong county bus 곡성-조사경유상한 (route 0104)other — Route from Gokseong Terminal via 곡성역전, 기차마을, 레일바이크 and 가정역 to the 압록 stop; no timetable published
- Korea Charts bus route data (TAGO) — Gokseong county bus 곡성-상한조사압록 (route 0117)other — Route from Gokseong Terminal via 곡성역전, 기차마을, 레일바이크 and 가정역 to the 압록 stop; no timetable published
- Suncheon → Yongsan 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 — 19:46 KTX-Sancheon 530 (arr 22:34), 20:44 KTX-Sancheon 532 (arr 23:26), last 22:15 KTX-Sancheon 534 (arr 00:44)
- Suncheon → Bujeon train timetable, 18–24 Oct 2026 (third-party mirror of the national timetable feed, page last modified 2026-10-18)other — Suncheon → Bujeon 4 trains a day, same every day: Mugunghwa 1962 06:24 (arr 09:32), Saemaeul 1932 10:06 (arr 12:45), Mugunghwa 1964 15:10 (arr 18:24), Mugunghwa 1982 17:06 (arr 20:28); 2 h 39 m–3 h 22 m; adult standard ₩12,400 Mugunghwa, ₩19,200 Saemaeul. Return summary: Bujeon → Suncheon 4 a day, first 06:12, last 18:53
- Korail — 열차운임/시간표 (official timetable and fare downloads)official — Index of current Korail timetables and fares: KTX timetables of 15 May 2026 and 1 Nov 2026; 'KTX 운임표(2026. 9. 1. 기준)' as the current KTX fare table
- 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
- KTO tourist data — 섬진강기차마을 (contentId 128578, ktriptips mirror)kto — Restored steam locomotive between the old Gokseong Station and Gajeong Station, 10 km each way along the Seomjin River; open 09:00–20:00, last entry 18:00, no closing days; admission adult ₩5,000, child/senior ₩4,500; rose park, play areas and Train Village rail bike on site
- KTO tourist data — 섬진강기차마을 course (contentId 1856948, ktriptips mirror)kto — Steam train runs between the former Gokseong Station (now the Train Village) and Gajeong Station, 20 km return; Seomjingang Rail Bike runs 5.1 km from Gajeong Station to Chimgok Station
- Telltrip — 곡성 섬진강기차마을, 장미공원 야간 개장과 왕복 20km 증기기관차 체험 (2 May 2026)blog — Steam train return fares: adult seat ₩10,000, standing ₩9,000; admission adult ₩5,000
What we could not confirm
- The official site (sieaf.com) was not opened (it did not come up as a fetchable search result); 2026 dates, times and venues come from KTO's listing (modified 10 Sep 2026) and sites that copy it.
- Addresses of Gallery Cafe Nangman Gaok, Bitmaru Center, Misillan, Mugeun Forest (Okgwa) and the Seomjingang Fairy Tale Garden were not published on the pages opened, nor were the archive exhibition's closing days.
- Gokseong county bus times to the Amnok stop (routes 0104 and 0117) were not published in the route data; taxi times and fares from Guryegu or Gokseong Station were not verified.
- Yongsan ↔ Guryegu and Gokseong train times could not be opened (the mirror pages were blocked), so only Seoul Station trains are given; whether late Yongsan-bound KTX trains from Suncheon stop at Guryegu is unknown.
- No shuttle, parking, restroom, accessibility or rain arrangements were published; the 2026 artist line-up and numbers were not published (KTO's English listing says more than 100 artists are invited).
- firstHeld is set to 2021, the first edition in Gokseong under the SIEAF name; the festival's lineage goes back to the Korea Experimental Arts Festival in Hongdae (2002).
- No KTO or official Japanese or Chinese name for the festival was found; the names were left null.
- KTO pages now label the province 전남광주통합특별시; the record keeps Jeollanam-do per site convention.
- No 2027 announcement was found as of 19 October 2026.
- Last train back on the festival date under the timetable in force that day (Guryegu and Gokseong to Seoul Station and Yongsan, 27–30 October 2026, and Bujeon–Suncheon connections): the train clock times taken from a third-party copy of the timetable were removed on 27 October 2026 because they could not be checked against Korail.
- Seomjingang Train Village: walking time from the current Gokseong Station, steam-train departure times and whether it is reachable from Gallery Cafe Nangman Gaok were not found.
Changes: 2026-10-19 — Added to the site: fact-first record (dates, hours, prices, getting there, sources). · 2026-10-19 — Added a photograph from the Korea Tourism Organization (Korea Tourism Content Lab), KOGL Type 1. · 2026-10-21 — Tense: the FAQ on 2027 no longer counts the 2026 opening weekend (23–25 October) among past editions. · 2026-10-27 — Nearby rewritten as 'Before or after the festival' (shuttle and last-train fit); transport: removed the train clock times (Seoul Station, Bujeon–Suncheon, Suncheon–Yongsan and the Guryegu last train), which came from a third-party timetable copy and could not be checked against Korail, kept journey times, frequency and fares and pointed to the Korail+ app; prices: no change (all programmes free).
