Catch Prawns With Your Bare Hands: Hongseong Namdang Port Prawn Festival, Through Nov. 8

At Namdang Port in Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province, Cheonsu Bay turns red in the late afternoon sun. In the hands-on catching pool at the festival grounds, you scoop live prawns (daeha) out of the water with your bare hands and feel them slip against your fingers. Soon, the savory smell of prawns grilling over charcoal spreads across the whole harbor.

According to the Hongseong County official page, the 2026 Hongseong Namdang Port Prawn Festival runs for 66 days from September 4 to November 8 around Namdang Port, an event currently underway. Admission is free, and it operates from 9 a.m. to midnight. A special Chuseok performance is scheduled for September 25-26.

The festival's centerpiece is catching prawns with your bare hands, and eating them freshly grilled while watching the sunset over Cheonsu Bay. The salty sea breeze, the slippery feel of a prawn against your skin, the sweet taste of golden-grilled prawn flesh, and the reddening evening sky — this is a festival you touch and taste, not just watch.

Prawn prices vary by vendor, so it's best to check current rates on-site or via the official Visit Korea festival information page on the day of your visit. Parking often fills up on weekend mornings, so an early visit or public transportation is recommended.

Knowing this, travelers can combine the hands-on catching experience with seasonal seafood before the festival ends, while worrying less about being overcharged thanks to on-the-spot price information.

Korea Tourism Times Editorial Desk

Correction (Sept. 15): The original version described the prawn-catching as taking place in the mudflats. The county's official notice describes a bare-hand catching experience held at the festival grounds. The lead photo has also been replaced with a photo from the festival.