Gwangju Kimchi Festival 2026: Dates, Free Entry, and How to Get There by KTX

Bottom line: The Gwangju Kimchi Festival, running October 23-25 on the square in front of Gwangju City Hall, charges no admission. If you just want to look around, you can show up without booking anything; if you want to make kimchi yourself, only the paid hands-on programs, like the Kimchi Experience School, need advance registration.

If you didn't know: Many travelers assume any named festival means a paid ticket and skip it from their itinerary — but this one is free to enter. On the other side, some show up expecting walk-in hands-on classes only to find the slots full; last year's three-day festival drew about 57,000 visitors. From Seoul, the KTX to Gwangju-Songjeong Station takes about 1 hour 45 minutes, making it an easy day trip.

Dozens of cabbage heads are piled up on one side of the square, and the smell of minced garlic and chili powder drifts across it. Now in its 33rd year, the festival centers on hands-on programs like the Kimchi Experience Hall and the Salt Experience Hall, and the 'Gwangju Kimchi Table for a Thousand' area sells kimchi-based dishes. South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism designated it a Culture and Tourism Festival for 2026-2027, with 40 million won in national funding attached. From Seoul, take the KTX to Gwangju-Songjeong Station, then switch to a city bus or taxi. Exact fees and reservation details for the hands-on programs hadn't been finalized at the time of writing, so it's worth checking the website or calling the office before you go.

Journey stage: During the trip · Verified 2026-10-20 · Source Gwangju Metropolitan City, media reports.