Where to go in Korea in October: 90 festivals

Festivals and seasonal sights in 65 places across Korea in October: Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival and the Royal Procession (Suwon), Jeongseon Arirang…

Top 10

Suwon

• Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival and the Royal Procession — Sixty horses and some two thousand people recreate the king's procession and march in through Janganmun. Spots in front of the gate fill from morning.
• Suwon Chicken Street Festival — The alley's chicken houses set up booths on the plaza. Lines on chicken street run twice as long during the festival.
• Silver grass on the wall, autumn leaves on Gwanggyosan — From mid-October the silver grass outside Changnyongmun turns white. Leaves around Gwanggyo reservoir peak late October to early November.

Jeongseon

• Jeongseon Arirang Festival — Singing contests and street parades keep the town busy for a few days. 2026 is the 51st edition, and rooms in town go first.
• Mindungsan Silver Grass Festival — Mid-October, when the whole ridge turns silver. The 2026 shuttle bus is not running, so walk up from Jeungsan Station.
• Autumn leaves on the Gujeolli rail bike — Late October the valley on both sides of the track goes red. Weekend slots sell out fast, so book first.

Gapyeong

• Jarasum Jazz Festival — Three days around the second weekend of October, jazz on a blanket on the grass. Day pass ₩88,000; rooms near Gapyeong station sell out months ahead.
• Gapyeong Pine Nut Festival — A harvest-season festival for the local pine nuts. Recent poor harvests have made it a year-to-year thing, so check the county website first.
• Nami Island Fall Color — Late October to mid-November the ginkgo lane goes gold and the metasequoias turn rust. Fall hours mean the first ferry leaves at 7:30 am.

Chuncheon

• Chuncheon Makguksu & Dakgalbi Festival — A dozen dakgalbi houses and eight makguksu shops pitch tents along the river. Free entry; the dinner-hour table queue is long.
• Soyang River Cultural Festival — A civic festival of Chuncheon's folk games and performances. 11 am to 6 pm, free.
• Samaksan Autumn Colors — From mid-October the slopes under the cable car go red. On peak weekends the ticket line tops an hour, so aim for the first ride.

Paju

• Paju Gaeseong Ginseng Festival — Farmers sell freshly dug ginseng straight from the field, and ginseng-digging and fried-ginseng stalls draw lines. Roads to Imjingak clog on festival weekends.
• Paju Booksori — Publishers take to the streets with discounted books and a run of author talks. Bring an empty bag.
• Unjeong Lake Park Fireworks Festival — Performances and food stalls from the afternoon, fireworks over the lake after dark. The park lot fills early, so walk from Unjeong Station.
• Autumn leaves at Gamaksan — From mid-October to early November the gorge turns red and the view down from the bridge is at its best. Weekend lines at the ticket booth get long, so go in the morning.

Namwon

• Heungbu Festival — An autumn festival in the hometown of the Heungbu tale, with gourd-sawing and farmers' music.
• Honbul Literature Festival — A small gathering for the author Choi Myeong-hee, when Nobong village's stone lanes look their best.
• Autumn colour at Baemsagol — Both banks turn red in late October. The car park is full by nine on weekends.
• Chunhyang-gol pear harvest — Namwon pears come out by the box. Pick one up at the market fruit stalls.

Miryang

• Miryang Spicy Food Festival — A festival built around Miryang chillies and perilla leaves. It appears on the city's October 2026 event calendar.
• Yeongnamnu Starlight Garden — Autumn evenings light up the grounds around Yeongnamnu with a star-hunt event. A good excuse to see the pavilion again after dark.
• Sajapyeong silver grass and Pyochungsa foliage — Mid-October the Sajapyeong plateau turns silver with grass, and from late October the Pyochungsa path goes red. On foliage weekends the car park is full by morning.

Inje

• Hapgang Culture Festival — Inje's autumn town festival on the riverbank where two streams meet, with performances and food stalls.
• Yongdae-ri Rowan Festival — A village festival when the red rowan berries ripen, selling the berries and rowan liquor.
• Autumn leaves at Bangtaesan and Baekdam — The forest stream path and the Baekdamsa shuttle road turn red. Shuttle queues get long on autumn weekends.

Gangneung

• Gangneung Coffee Festival — 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. with free shuttles every 15 minutes; satellite stands pop up at Jumunjin, the central market and Ojukheon.
• Autumn Leaves at Sogeumgang — After mid-October the whole valley turns red. Three to four hours round trip to Guryong Falls.
• Jumunjin Squid Festival — Squid-catching by hand and by line. Scale swings with the year's catch, so confirm it's on.

Sokcho

• Seorak Culture Festival — Sokcho's oldest festival; the 61st edition ran October 2 to 4, 2026.
• Seoraksan Fall Foliage — First place in Korea to turn; the 2026 peak was forecast for October 20. On foliage weekends the park lot is full by 8 am.

Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec