Korean festivals that no longer run, and where to go instead

Updated 19 October 2026 · Festivals of Korea editors

Some festivals that still turn up in travel guides and old blog posts have not been held for years. Before planning a trip around one, check that it still runs: the festivals below have either been officially abolished or had no edition for at least three years, and none had announced a new one when we last checked (19 October 2026).

We keep this list instead of a page for each, so that a search for an old festival lands somewhere useful. If one of them comes back, it gets a full page with its new dates.

Stopped festivals and alternatives
FestivalLast heldWhat happenedGo instead
Itaewon Global Village Festival (이태원지구촌축제), Seoul15–16 Oct 2022Yongsan-gu cancelled the 2023 edition and has not held it since. A street dance festival now runs on Itaewon-ro in October.K-Wave Dance Festival
Chungju World Martial Arts Festival (충주세계무술축제)before 2023Chungju City decided in 2023 not to hold it any more; its venue, the World Martial Arts Park, was renamed Tangeum Park.Chungju City Taekkyeon Troupe shows at Jungang Tower Park (Sundays in spring and autumn in 2025)
Boseong Tea Plantation Light Festival (보성차밭빛축제)29 Nov 2019 – 5 Jan 2020No edition since the 2019–20 winter. Boseong's tea fields are best seen at the green tea festival in May.Boseong Green Tea Festival
Jaraseom Singsing Winter Festival (자라섬 씽씽겨울축제), Gapyeongwinter 2022–23The 2022–23 edition closed early in January 2023, and no operator has run it since. For trout ice fishing, go to Hwacheon.Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival
Seoul Kimjang Culture Festival (서울김장문화제)1–3 Nov 2019Seoul City held it on Seoul Plaza from 2014, with a kimchi-making room for foreigners; no edition after 2019 was found. Since 2025 the city co-hosts a one-day kimchi market at aT Center instead, with no public kimchi-making.Goesan Kimjang Festival
Daejeon 0 O'Clock Festival (대전 0시 축제)8–16 Aug 2025A street festival on Jungang-ro from Daejeon Station, held each August from 2023 (about 2.16 million visitors in 2025). Planned for 7–17 Aug 2026, it was abolished in 2026 because of the city's finances.Festivals in Daejeon

Festivals that pause for a year or two for weather, funding or an outbreak are not on this list: they keep their own page, marked cancelled for the missing years, with the next expected window.

Sources and verification

  1. CBS 노컷뉴스 — Yongsan-gu plans for the 2023 Itaewon Global Village Festival (16 May 2023) — The 2023 edition was planned and then dropped
  2. Korea JoongAng Daily — Itaewon festival cancelled (Oct 2023) — Yongsan-gu cancelled the 2023 Itaewon Global Village Festival
  3. 서울신문 — "지역경제에 도움 안 돼" 무술 인프라 벗는 충주 (4 May 2023) — Chungju stopped the World Martial Arts Festival; the park renamed Tangeum Park in January 2023
  4. 서울신문 — 17th Boseong Tea Plantation Light Festival (27 Nov 2019) — Last edition 29 Nov 2019 – 5 Jan 2020
  5. 경인일보 — 가평 철지난 겨울축제 송어조형물 (15 Apr 2024) — Jaraseom Singsing Winter Festival history and no operator since
  6. 딜라이브뉴스 — 줄어드는 겨울 전통 축제 (26 Dec 2025) — Singsing Winter Festival not held since 2023
  7. Seoul Mediahub — 5th Seoul Kimjang Culture Festival (5 Nov 2018) — First held 2014; 2018 edition on Seoul Plaza and Mugyo-ro with a foreigners' kimjang room
  8. Seoul Mediahub — 2019 Seoul Kimjang Culture Festival participant call (19 Sep 2019) — 2019 edition 1–3 Nov on Seoul Plaza; foreigners' kimjang room ₩5,000
  9. Seoul Metropolitan Government — 2025 Korea Kimjang Festival notice (18 Nov 2025) — Seoul co-hosts a one-day kimjang market at aT Center on 22 Nov 2025; no public kimjang experience
  10. NS News — 2025 대전 0시 축제 "216만 명 방문" (21 Aug 2025) — Daejeon 0 O'Clock Festival 2025: 8–16 Aug, about 2.16 million visitors
  11. 서울신문 — 한여름 대표 축제 '대전 0시 축제' 올해 열릴 수 있을까 (11 May 2026) — 2026 edition planned for 7–17 Aug; its future an issue in the June 2026 local elections
  12. 서울신문 — '0시 축제' 없어도 대전의 8월은 '후끈' (7 Aug 2026) — The 0 O'Clock Festival was abolished from 2026 because of a fiscal crisis

On soonest

All festivals
Nokdong Coastal Ferry Terminal at Nokdong Port in Goheung, where the drone show is held Happening now
Apr – Oct2026
4 –31
Sat–Sat
LightsGoheungFreeEnds todayAbout 4 h 40 min from Seoul

Goheung Nokdong Port Drone Show

The Goheung Nokdong Port Drone Show (고흥 녹동항 드론쇼) is a free drone light show over Nokdong Port in Goheung, Jeollanam-do, with Sorok Bridge behind it, held every Saturday at 21:00 from 4 April to 31 October 2026 (900 drones, busking from 20:00) and on the last Friday of each month in Goheung-eup. As of 19 October 2026 the season's last shows are Saturday 24 October, Friday 30 October (Goheung-eup) and Saturday 31 October; the 2027 season is expected from April.

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.

Happening now
Apr – Oct2026
25 –31
Sat–Sat
LightsWonjuFreeEnds todayAbout 50 min from Seoul

Naora Show

The Naora Show (나오라쇼, "Night of Light Show") is a free evening show at the Ganhyeon Tourist Area below Sogeumsan Grand Valley in Wonju, Gangwon: a media façade projected onto a river cliff about 250 m wide and 70 m high, with a music fountain that shoots up to 60 m. The 2026 season runs 25 April–31 October on Saturdays and public holidays only (none in July and August), 19:50–21:00, so the last 2026 shows are on Saturday 24 and Saturday 31 October; the 2027 season is expected from late April.