Tradition & cultureGyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do

Silla Culture Festival 2023 in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea

신라문화제 2023

Oct2023
13 –15
Fri–Sun
Past edition

13 October 2023 to 15 October 2023

This edition has ended. It is kept as a record of what the 2023 festival offered. The current information is on the Silla Culture Festival page (Expected Oct 2027).

Dates13–15 Oct 2023
VenueBonghwangdae tomb park and Woljeonggyo Bridge, central Gyeongju경상북도 경주시 노동동 261
AdmissionFree: KTO lists the festival as free. Food, drink and goods at the night market are paid.
Next edition2024: 11–13 Oct 2024

Program

  • 13 Oct, 19:00Hwabaek Jejeon on a floating stage at Woljeonggyo, with a Silla king enthronement rite, fireworks, a drone show and water performance; a 500-inch LED screen and 1,000 mat seats were added after the 2,000 seats filled in 2022
  • 13–15 OctDalbit Nanjang night market (33 vendors) at Bonghwangdae, Jungang-ro and the Naenam lawn; Silk Road Festa with 65 street performances and 49 local busking sets downtown and on Hwangnidan-gil
  • 6–8 OctSilla Art Festival at Bonghwangdae, with the musical 'Meeting under Three Trees' and a Yukbuchon pungmul parade of about 300 drummers

Notes on the 2023 edition

50th edition; the second year of the split into the Silla Art Festival and the main festival.

About the festival

The Silla Culture Festival (신라문화제) is Gyeongju's city-wide autumn festival of the Silla kingdom, first held in 1962 and one of Korea's oldest local festivals. The 53rd edition ran 9–11 October 2026 around the Bonghwangdae tomb park and Woljeonggyo Bridge, 15:00–24:00 with free admission; its centrepiece is the Hwabaek Jejeon night show on a floating stage at Woljeonggyo, with drones and fireworks. The 2027 edition is expected on a Friday to Sunday in early or mid-October; take the KTX to Gyeongju Station (about 2 h 15 m from Seoul), then a taxi of about 20 minutes.

Transport, booking, crowd and accessibility details are on the main Silla Culture Festival page, which covers every edition.

Source

Facts checked
19 October 2026, against the sources listed below.

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