These are the autumn 2026 festivals in Korea whose dates are officially confirmed, checked on 11 September 2026. The Seoul International Fireworks Festival, held on 4–5 September, has already finished and is not listed. Festivals that have not yet announced 2026 dates are noted at the end.
Korean festival information is frequently out of date in English. Several Korea Tourism Organization English pages still show 2023 or 2024 dates and prices for the festivals below. Everything here is taken from the official festival or city website first, and anything that could not be verified is left blank rather than guessed.
What is still ahead
| Festival | Dates | Where | Admission |
|---|---|---|---|
 Andong Maskdance Festival |
24 Sep – 4 Oct | Andong, Gyeongbuk | Free (indoor shows paid) |
| Gimje Horizon Festival | 1–5 Oct | Byeokgolje, Gimje | Free |
| Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival | 3–18 Oct | Jinju Fortress, Namgang River | Free |
 Suwon Hwaseong Festival |
4–11 Oct | Hwaseong Haenggung Plaza | Free |
| Busan International Film Festival | 6–15 Oct | Busan Cinema Center | Ticketed |
| Jarasum Jazz Festival | 9–11 Oct | Jarasum, Gapyeong | Ticketed |
| Icheon Rice Cultural Festival | 14–18 Oct | Bokhacheon Waterside Park | Not confirmed |
| Busan Fireworks Festival | 7 Nov | Gwangalli Beach | Not confirmed |
The four free ones
Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival — 3 to 18 October
The longest-running of the group at 16 days, and the one most worth planning around. The lanterns are lit from 18:00 to 24:00, while the floating bridges and stalls run 13:00 to 23:00. In other words this is an evening festival — arriving in daylight means missing half of it. Thousands of lanterns float on the Namgang River below the illuminated Jinju Fortress, with drone light shows and fireworks over the water.
Admission is free. The nearest rail station is Jinju Station on the KTX network. The festival’s own English page still contains “2025” wording in its body text, though the date banner and the tourism organization both list 3–18 October.
Andong Maskdance Festival — 24 September to 4 October
Eleven days of masked dance from Korea and abroad. Korea’s mask dance tradition is inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and the festival has been designated a global festival by the Ministry of Culture for 2026–2028.
Entry to the festival grounds is free, but performances in the mask dance theatre are ticketed.
| Ticket | Advance | On the day |
|---|---|---|
| Adult | 6,000 won | 8,000 won |
| Student | 4,000 won | 6,000 won |
Booking ahead saves 2,000 won and also returns a 2,000-won festival coupon, so the effective advance price is 4,000 won. Children aged 6 and under enter free. Listed hours are 10:00 to 22:00. Venues spread across Andong Station, the Maskdance Park, the old town centre and Hahoe Folk Village, itself a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Gimje Horizon Festival — 1 to 5 October
Centred on Byeokgolje, the oldest and largest irrigation reservoir in Korea. This is the only major Korean festival built around traditional agriculture, and it holds honorary representative status among the country’s cultural tourism festivals.
Free entry, open 09:00 to 21:00. Most standing programmes run 10:00 to 18:00, and the cauldron-cooked rice service runs 11:00 to 16:00. A few hands-on activities cost around 1,000 won.
Getting there: Gimje Station on the KTX line, then 25 minutes by local transport to Byeokgolje. That 25-minute figure comes from the city’s own guidance.
Suwon Hwaseong Festival — 4 to 11 October
Held at Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, a UNESCO World Heritage site and an easy day trip from Seoul on Line 1 or the Bundang Line. Free, running 12:00 to 21:00. The King Jeongjo royal procession takes place on 4 October only, so that is the date to target if the parade is the draw. A handful of programmes require advance booking and a fee. The festival’s English site is currently under construction, so use the tourism organization page for English details.
The ticketed ones
Busan International Film Festival — 6 to 15 October
The 31st edition, and the most foreigner-friendly event on this list: an English website, subtitled screenings and the Actors House programme.
Booking dates:
- Screening schedule published — 11 September, 17:00
- Opening and closing galas, Open Cinema — 17 September, 14:00
- General screenings — 21 September, 14:00
Seat prices for 2026 are not published on the official booking page, so we could not confirm them. The venue is the Busan Cinema Center at 120 Suyeonggangbyeon-daero, Haeundae-gu.
One thing to watch: the tourism organization’s festival roundup lists the festival as 6–11 October, while the official site says 6–15 October. Trust the official site.
Jarasum Jazz Festival — 9 to 11 October
The 23rd edition, held on an island in Gapyeong. Dates are from the official site banner. Ticket prices for 2026 could not be confirmed. The tourism organization’s English page lists 60,000 won for one day, 100,000 for two and 120,000 for three, but those are 2023 figures and should not be relied on. Check the official ticket page before travelling, since this event requires a ticket to enter.
Icheon has moved venue this year
The 25th Icheon Rice Cultural Festival runs 14 to 18 October, but the site has moved from the former agricultural theme park to Bokhacheon Waterside Park. English listings have not caught up — the tourism organization page still shows 2024 dates and the old venue. Admission and opening hours for 2026 were not published on the official site at the time of checking.
From Seoul, the city’s guidance gives roughly one hour from Seoul Express Bus Terminal and about one hour ten minutes from East Seoul Terminal. Travel time from the terminal to the new festival site is not stated.
Busan Fireworks Festival — 7 November, one night only
The 21st edition, a single evening at Gwangalli Beach with Igidae and Dongbaekseom as secondary viewing areas, using the Gwangan Bridge as a backdrop. Coming a month after the film festival, it fits neatly into a second Busan trip.
General beach viewing costs, paid reserved seating prices and running times could not be confirmed from the official page. Reserved seating is sold, so check the official notice.
Not yet announced
| Festival | Status | 2025 actual dates |
|---|---|---|
| Ganggyeong Salted Seafood Festival | 2026 unannounced | 23–26 Oct, Nonsan |
| Seoul Lantern Festival | December 2026 expected | 12 Dec – 18 Jan, Cheonggyecheon |
The Seoul Lantern Festival is a December event, so it falls outside the autumn window. Its official site is still showing the 2025 edition.
A note on travel times
Official Korean festival pages almost never publish door-to-door travel times from Seoul. The only two figures in this article that have an official source are Gimje (25 minutes from the station to Byeokgolje) and Icheon (about an hour to the bus terminal). For everything else, plan using rail and bus timetables rather than festival websites.