The top tier
The handful of Korean events worth planning a trip around: the biggest festivals, races and festival weeks of the year, each one checked against its official source and given the full treatment: dates, tickets, where to stay and how to get there.
Seoul's city-wide winter festival: lanterns, media facades and markets from 11 December to 31 January.
The Winter Festa is really three festivals wearing one coat. The Seoul Lantern Festival floats its illuminated figures along the Cheonggyecheon stream, Seoul Light Gwanghwamun turns the gate and the square into a nightly media-art show, and the DDP adds its own light programme. One central hotel covers all of it.
Korea's famous ice-fishing festival on the frozen Hwacheoncheon, 9 to 31 January.
Beyond the fishing there is bare-hand fishing in an ice pool, sledding, snow and ice sculpture, and trout grilled the moment it is caught. Hwacheon is a small mountain town, so the trip itself, train to Chuncheon then bus up the valley, is part of the day.
The 97th Dong-A Seoul Marathon: 40,000 runners from Gwanghwamun on 21 March 2027.
It is also a spectator's race: the course threads the city's landmarks on closed roads, and the March date lands in cool, clear running weather just before the cherry blossom. Entry is by ballot and first-come windows on the organiser's own site, and it fills fast.
Korea's largest cherry blossom festival fills Jinhae with blossom tunnels, a naval port opening and night illuminations. The 2027 dates are not yet announced: expect late March to early April, with the official announcement in January or February.
Gunhangje is also a naval festival: the fleet opens its port, honour guards parade, and the illuminated Jungwon Rotary anchors the nights. Dates for 2027 will be announced in January or February; the blossom itself decides the final timing, and this page tracks the official word.
Korea's famous mud festival on Daecheon Beach: mud pools, slides and wrestling, expected 23 July to 8 August.
The paid experience zone on Daecheon Beach is the centre of it, and the town fills for the full run. Dates for 2027 are not announced yet; the festival traditionally runs from late July into early August, and this page will update the moment the organisers confirm.
Korea's biggest rock festival takes over Songdo Moonlight Festival Park for three days. The 2027 dates are not yet announced: expect one of two weekends, Friday 30 July to Sunday 1 August or Friday 6 to Sunday 8 August 2027. Set an alert and we will email you when they land.
The 2027 weekend is not announced yet, and recent editions point to two candidate weekends: Friday 30 July to Sunday 1 August, or Friday 6 to Sunday 8 August 2027. This page names both and tracks the official site. Set the alert below and the confirmed dates, and the line-up with them, will come to you.
Tens of thousands of lanterns light the Namgang River below Jinjuseong Fortress. The 2027 dates are not yet announced: expect the first half of October, straddling the Chuseok holiday and National Foundation Day.
The riverfront is free to wander, with lantern displays on both banks, fireworks and the old town's food stalls behind them. Dates for 2027 are not announced yet; expect the first half of October, and set the alert below to hear when they land.
Asia's biggest film festival at the Busan Cinema Center in Haeundae. The 32nd edition's dates are not yet announced: BIFF runs for ten days between mid-September and mid-October, and the 31st edition ran 6 to 15 October 2026.
The 32nd edition's dates are not announced yet; the festival runs between mid-September and mid-October, and the 31st edition ran 6 to 15 October 2026. Tickets are sold through the festival's own site about two weeks before opening night, and the popular screenings go quickly.
Every Key Event page is checked against the organiser's official source before it is listed here.
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