Andong Mask Dance Festival Closes Tonight: Free Outdoors, Paid Indoor Shows

On the morning of October 4, Mask Dance Park in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, was busy from early morning with masked performers hurrying about to the beat of traditional drums. The 2026 Andong International Mask Dance Festival, which has run for 11 days, closes this very evening. Troupes from Turkiye, Lithuania, the Philippines, Thailand, Latvia and Colombia took the stage from 10 a.m., and in the afternoon a performance of Yangju Byeolsandae-nori, a National Intangible Heritage dance drama, added to the heat of closing day.

At a glance: The festival runs 11 days, from Thursday, September 24 to Sunday, October 4, 2026 (today is closing day). Venues are Mask Dance Park, Jungangseon 1942 Andong Station, the old downtown and Hahoe Village, all near 239 Yuksa-ro, Andong. Entry to the festival grounds plus all outdoor shows and street parades is free; only the scheduled performances inside the indoor mask-dance theater require a ticket, with adults paying 8,000 won at the door or 6,000 won in advance, and students paying 6,000 won at the door or 4,000 won in advance. A shuttle bus linking Andong Station, the festival park, Hahoe Village and the intercity bus terminal runs every 15 minutes, and a KTX train from Seoul Station to Andong Station takes about two hours and thirty minutes. For inquiries, call the organizer, the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, at 054-840-3400.

Today's program runs into the night. At 6:30 p.m. a street parade sets off from the main stage at Mask Dance Park, and at the same moment, in the pine grove of Mansong-jeong in Hahoe Village 4km away, the traditional fire show Hahoe Seonyu Julbullori sends embers drifting over the river. From 7 p.m., the group finals of the World Mask Dance Competition take the main stage at Andong Station, and from 8:30 p.m. the official closing ceremony, an award presentation, the communal celebration daedong-nanjang, and fireworks, brings the festival to its finale.

For a traveler visiting Korea for the first time, the trickiest part is the fee structure. Walking through Mask Dance Park to watch the street parade or any outdoor stage is entirely free, but only the scheduled shows inside the indoor theater require a paid ticket. Buying at the door costs 8,000 won for an adult, while booking ahead on the official website, maskdance.com, brings it down to 6,000 won, a saving of 2,000 won, so reserving in advance pays off. Once you reach Andong Station, the free shuttle bus running every 15 minutes takes care of the rest, so there is no need for an extra taxi fare. If time allows, it is worth extending the visit to Hahoe Village, a World Heritage site famous for the Hahoe masks and its well-preserved traditional houses.

This year's festival ends tonight, but the Andong International Mask Dance Festival has been held every autumn since 1997. If you miss it this year, visiting Andong in late September or early October next year will do.