Korea Autumn Festivals 2026: October–November Dates

These are the Korean festivals with confirmed 2026 dates that you can still catch between 7 October and the end of November, sorted by date, with what each costs and what has to be booked. Weather, foliage and holiday guides sit in our Seasons & Festivals section.

Which festivals are on during your dates?

Find your travel dates in the first column. Everything here was checked against an official notice or a Korean news report from 2026; events we could not confirm for this year are left out.

In short, October is crowded with choices and November rests on two big dates: Busan’s fireworks on the 7th and Jeju’s citrus week from the 19th.

Only three things on this list need money up front: a Jarasum pass, BIFF screenings and a Busan fireworks seat. Everything else is a free outdoor event where the real cost is getting there and, on the busiest nights, a hotel room. Prices in US dollars below use the ECB rate of 5 Oct 2026 (US$1 = ₩1,343.98).

What can you reach from Seoul?

If Seoul is your base, six of the events above are a subway ride or a short train away.

• Hangang drone light show, Fri 9 and Sat 31 Oct. Seoul’s free drone show over the Han River at Ttukseom Hangang Park (Line 7, Jayang Station). Seoul’s notice warns it can be cancelled or delayed in bad weather, so check the city’s channels on the day. Start times were not published in the notice we checked; arrive by early evening.
• Car-free Jamsu Bridge, Sundays until 25 Oct. The low bridge under Banpo Bridge closes to cars from 14:00 to 22:00 each Sunday, with a different programme each week (water-gun games, university bands, sports and traditional performances from other countries). It is free.
• Jarasum Jazz Festival, 9–11 Oct. Korea’s best-known jazz festival, now in its 23rd year, on a river island in Gapyeong. The 3-day pass is ₩198,000 (≈ US$147) and sells only on Yes24. Gapyeong Station on the Gyeongchun Line is the rail stop.
• Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival, to 11 Oct. Performances around the UNESCO-listed Hwaseong Fortress walls in Suwon. The headline royal procession was on 4 October, so what remains is the fortress programme.
• Mapo-naru Salted Shrimp Festival, 16–18 Oct. Mapo-gu’s 19th salted-shrimp (saeujeot) market at Peace Plaza in World Cup Park, timed for kimchi-making season, with performances and a ceremony. It is a local food event with no foreigner programme announced; World Cup Stadium Station (Line 6) is the stop.
• Seoul Autumn Festa, to 29 Nov. An umbrella season of 38 festivals and 478 shows at Ttukseom, Seoul Forest, Daehak-ro and DDP. The city has promised subtitle smart glasses for foreign visitors at some shows.

For a full day out, the Gangneung Coffee Festival (21–25 Oct) is the best east-coast trip: the city’s café strip on Anmok Beach, plus festival events around town, starting the day after the Forest Service’s forecast Seoraksan peak of 20 October. Book the KTX from Seoul early on the weekend days; our KTX booking guide shows how.

What is on in Busan and the south?

The south has the season’s two biggest crowd events.

Busan International Film Festival (6–15 Oct). The 31st BIFF shows 247 films from 59 countries at the Busan Cinema Center in Centum City and venues in Haeundae and Nampo-dong. Tickets sell on biff.kr and Interpark, and popular screenings sell out, so pick films before you arrive. We could not confirm a 2026 ticket price.

Jinju Namgang Yudeung (Lantern) Festival (to 18 Oct). Tens of thousands of lanterns on the Namgang river below Jinju Fortress, lit 18:00–24:00, free to walk. The last fireworks are on Saturday 17 October at 20:00, after a drone show at 19:50. Our Jinju lantern festival guide covers buses from Busan and the last ride back.

Gwangju Kimchi Festival (23–25 Oct). Free on the plaza at Gwangju City Hall, with a paid kimchi-making class. It’s the easiest hands-on food event of the season if you’re heading to the south-west.

Busan Fireworks Festival, Saturday 7 November

This is the one to plan a trip around. The 21st Busan Fireworks Festival lights up Gwangan Bridge from 19:00 to 20:00, about an hour with a short break. Watching from the beach and the streets behind it is free; Gwangan Station on Busan Metro Line 2 is the nearest stop and gets very crowded.

The seats sit in front of the Hotel Aqua Palace and Homers Hotel on Gwangalli Beach, so paying mainly buys you a guaranteed view without the afternoon wait.

For a spot-by-spot comparison of the free beach, Dongbaek Island and Igidae, plus the entry deadline and getting home, see our Busan fireworks viewing guide. Rooms with a bridge view in Gwangalli and Haeundae are the first to go for this night. If you’re still choosing an area, our Busan neighbourhood guide compares them; Seomyeon is a good fallback with a direct metro line to Gwangan.

What is on in Jeju in November?

Jeju Citrus Expo (19–23 Nov). Held at the Jeju Agricultural Ecology Park in Seogwipo during the tangerine harvest, with a citrus market, family activities and performances alongside the trade exhibits. The 2026 entry fee was not in the organisers’ announcement we found, so check before you go. Our Jeju 3-day itinerary uses a Seogwipo base, which puts you a short drive from the expo.

How do holidays and crowds affect your trip?

Korean public holidays push domestic travellers onto the same trains and festivals you want. This autumn the effect is short.

Outside the first October weekend and fireworks night, autumn trains and hotels are at normal levels, so you can book festival day trips a few days ahead.

Halloween. There is no official Halloween festival in Itaewon. In 2025 Seoul ran a safety period from 24 October to 2 November across 14 nightlife areas, with crowd counting, congestion boards and subway trains skipping stations when crowds got too large. Expect the same in 2026; it means some stations can be closed to arrivals at short notice.

Your school holidays. UK half-term falls in late October, so families from Britain arrive in the middle of the Gangneung and Gwangju festival week. Singapore and Malaysia school year-end breaks begin in late November, which is after most festivals but lines up with the Jeju Citrus Expo and the last of the southern foliage.

Which festivals have you already missed?

Several of the season’s famous events have already happened this year. Plan these for 2027 instead:

• Seoul International Fireworks Festival — held on 5 September 2026 on Yeouido, about three weeks earlier than recent years.
• Andong Mask Dance Festival — 24 September to 4 October 2026, its 30th edition.
• Gimje Horizon Festival — 1–5 October 2026.
• Seoul Lantern Festival — not an autumn event. The last edition ran on Cheonggyecheon from mid-December 2025 to January 2026; 2026–27 dates were not announced when we checked.

If you came for fireworks, Busan on 7 November is the remaining big show. If you came for lanterns, Jinju until 18 October is the autumn option.

What should you know before you go?

Food and dietary needs. Festival stalls lean heavily on pork, fish cake, seafood and fried snacks, and labels are usually only in Korean. Muslim and vegetarian travellers (common among visitors from Malaysia, Singapore and India) should plan a proper meal before the evening crowd rather than rely on stalls.

Paying. Larger stalls take cards and Korean mobile pay, but small vendors and paid kimchi or lantern activities often prefer cash; carry ₩30,000–50,000 in notes. Our T-money, WOWPASS and Climate Card comparison covers cards that also top up for transit.

Clothes. October evenings by the water get cold fast, and fireworks night in Busan means hours sitting on sand after dark. Pack a warm layer; our weather by month guide gives the temperatures.

Getting back. Every big night ends with tens of thousands of people leaving at once. Walk one or two stations away from the venue before boarding, and in Busan allow an hour to get out of Gwangalli after the last firework.

Pair it with foliage. Late October in Gangneung and early November in the south both fall during peak autumn colour; our autumn foliage guide has the regional peak dates. On a longer route, the 10-day Seoul, Gyeongju and Busan itinerary already places a Busan free day where you can slot in fireworks night.