12 Korean Festivals That Display Country’s Vibrant Culture In 2025

With skyscrapers and mighty monuments, Korea is filled with diverse culture. Its traditions, community, people, rituals, and culture are as gorgeous and spectacular as its natural beauty.To know and experience these whole-heartedly, nothing is better than the kaleidoscopic Korean festivals. While you explore and see the natural aura of the country, try to rejoice in some of these famous festivals that give you an in-depth glimpse of the country’s history and heritage.

12 Korean Festivals In 2025

Take a glance at these incredible Korean festivals and witness the native culture. Try to be a part of some of them and indulge in the vibe and spirit of the celebration.

Cultural Festivals In Korea

• Jeju Fire Festival- Welcoming Best Of Health & Harvest
• Jinju Lantern Festival- Make A Wish
• Seongsan Sunrise Festival- Welcoming The New Year
• Hansik- In Memory Of The Ancestors
• Yudu- A Unique Celebration
• Seollal- Happy New Year
• Dano- A Beautiful Korean Tradition
• Hwacheon Sancheoneo- Ice Festival
• Boryeong Mud Festival- Messiness Creates Happiness
• Gwangju World Culture Kimchi Festival– The Pickle Fest

Music Festivals In Korea

• Ultra Korea- You Cannot Resist Dancing
• Busan One Asia Festival- Seamless Blend Of Music Culture

10 Cultural Festivals In Korea

Here are some of the most popular cultural festivals in Korea that you can be a part of:

1. Jeju Fire Festival- Welcoming Best Of Health & Harvest

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Jeju Fire Festival is the most famous festival in South Korea, celebrated over 3 days in late February and March. The beautiful city of Jeju is set ablaze to pray for and welcome the new year with good health, happiness, and ample harvest. It symbolizes the ancient ritual of burning old grass to eliminate vermin before resuming the next farming season. This is a unique celebration and the sight of the hilly city on fire looks dazzling and stunning.

• Location: Jeju Island
• Date: 14 to 16 March
• Things To Do: Musical performances, contests and hands-on activities

Also Read: Places To Visit In South Korea

2. Jinju Lantern Festival- Make A Wish

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Popularly famed as Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival, this is one of the traditional Korean festivals, that showcases the country’s traditions and culture. The native people lit thousands of red lanterns by the bank of the Nam River and made wishes for the well-being, health, and prosperity of their near and dear ones. Along with the surreal sight of innumerable lit lanterns, one can enjoy the street parades, performances, and local street food.

• Location: Jinju
• Date: TBA
• Things To Do: Vibrant silk lanterns,  fireworks

3. Seongsan Sunrise Festival- Welcoming The New Year

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Every year, on the first day, local people hike up to the Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak, locally called Sunrise Peak, to witness the first rays of the Sun of the year and wish happiness, health, and prosperity for all. The seongsan sunrise festival is one of the most famous South Korean festivals. Additionally, Seongsan Sunrise Festival commences on New Year’s Eve with a nature trail, torch rally, folk dance, music by local artists, and midnight fireworks.

• Location: Seongsan Ilchulbong, Sunrise Peak- Jeju
• Date: 31st Dec – 1st January
• Things To Do: Performances, traditional events, and a countdown before the sun rises

Related Post: Places Near Seoul

4. Hansik- In Memory Of The Ancestors

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Hansik festival is popular as the Cold Food Korean fest. On this day, the local people indulge in non-fire cooking and consume cold food throughout the day. As per Korean mythology, the country performs sacrificial rites at Jongmyo the Royal Shrine and Neungwon. Local people hold their memorial services and visit their families’ ancestral graves. People also plant trees around the grave and offer prayers. Hansik festival marks the beginning of the farming season and the farmers also spread seeds from the farmhouse to commence agriculture.

• Location: South Korea
• Date: 5th April
• Things To Do: Observe an ancestral rite at home, tending graves and performing a rite at graves

5. Yudu- A Unique Celebration

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Yudu is the most unique South Korean festival. The local households offer the first harvest of the season to God and initiate gathering crops and fruits as their annual household stock. One of the most unconventional features of the Yudu festival is that the locals visit any nearby streams to wash their hair and remove all bad spirits and bad luck from their lives. As Yudu is celebrated in peak summer, people rejoice at the festival by indulging in ginseng chicken broth and other healthy soups.

• Location: South Korea
• Date: 9 July
• Things To Do: Learn about the rituals to ward off  evil spirits

Related Post: Indian Restaurants In Korea 

6. Seollal- Happy New Year

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Seolnal is the Korean New Year, celebrated on the first day of the Korean calendar. It is one of the most famous Korean fest that rejoiced by the entire country. People start their celebration by performing ancestral rites and paying tribute to them. The locals wear traditional dresses, eat authentic conventional food, play folk games, and listen to folk tales. Everyone greets each other, exchanges wishes and blessings, and gives and receives gifts and sweets.

• Location: South Korea
• Date: 28 to 30 January
• Things To Do: Face painting, horse petting, kite flying, rice cake pounding, and fortune telling

7. Dano- A Beautiful Korean Tradition

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Like other traditional festivals in Korea, Dano is a popular name. Local people rejoice with full vigor and it is declared as a national holiday in the country. Women wash their hair in water boiled with a sweet flag to give it a shiny luster. The local people dress up in red and blue and wear iris roots to wave off bad luck and evil spirits from the body. People enjoy traditional folk games like swing and stone battle and indulge with local food like surichitteok, ssuk tteok, and herb rice cakes.

• Location: South Korea
• Date: 31 May
• Things To Do: swinging, wrestling, and enjoying traditional performances and games.

Related Post: Shopping In Korea 

8. Hwacheon Sancheoneo- Ice Festival

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Set in a frozen river of Gangwon Province of Hwacheon County, it is another Korean festival that is exciting and mesmerizing. Here, people walk through the sub-zero temperature for trout fishing. This is one of the most famous winter Korean cultural festivals, celebrated widely. Along with ice fishing, other festival activities are snowman building, snow tunnel and snow slide building, ice sled and ice soccer.

• Location: Hwacheon County
• Date: 11th January to 2nd February
• Things To Do: Enjoy ice fishing for trout, try bare-handed fishing, experience snow sledding, and admire snow sculptures

Related Post: 8 Museums In Seoul 

9. Boryeong Mud Festival- Messiness Creates Happiness

Image Credit: Kai Hendry for Wikipedia

Organised at Daecheon Beach, thousands of people gather once a year to dance, slide, and wrestle in mud. The festival started in the 90s to promote the therapeutic benefits of mineral-rich mud. It is celebrated with various activities and adventures that induce delight and excitement, such as mud wrestling, fireworks, mudslides, and the mud king competition. You can even enjoy eclectic music concerts by talented KPop artists, adding extra zeal to the celebration.

• Location: Daecheon Beach, Boryeong-si
• Date: 25 July to 10 August
• Things To Do: Giant mud pools, mud slides, mud wrestling, and mud massages

Related Post: Homestays In Korea

10. Gwangju World Culture Kimchi Festival- The Pickle Fest

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As one of the renowned food festivals in Korea, the Gwangju World Culture Kimchi Festival features various activities related to kimchi. From a kimchi-making competition and painting to a Kimchi master contest and cooking classes, everything there is delightful and exciting. One can even experience a sprawling Kimchi market and pick exotic varieties of Kimchi from around the world.

• Location: Gwangju
• Date: 17 to 19 October
• Things To Do: Enjoy cultural performances, explore a kimchi market, visit a kimchi museum

2 Music Festivals In Korea

Here are some of the most lively music Korean festival that you just can’t afford to miss if you are a music lover:

1. Ultra Korea- You Cannot Resist Dancing

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Ultra Korea is one of the most popular music festivals not only in Korea but also around the world. It is also the first-ever music festival in Asia. With a dazzling showcase by globally reputed EDM artists, this music carnival makes everyone sing, sway in happiness, and tap their feet. This eclectic festival brings all the music enthusiasts together for a couple of days from various parts of the world.

• Date: TBA
• Highlights: Electrifying performances, Renowned DJs

Related Post:  Autumn In Korea

2. Busan One Asia Festival- Seamless Blend Of Music Culture

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Busan One Asia Festival is another electrifying Korean fest for music lovers, where you can enjoy incredible stage performances. One of the most happening Korean festivals, where you can enjoy famous Korean singers and dancers like A Pink, Black Pink, iKon, Wanna One, Momoland, and SF9, NU’EST W. The festival allows all to get a detailed glimpse of Korean pop culture through concerts, exhibitions, and fan meetings. The music festival in Korea presents fusion music and music forms from other Asian countries.

• Date: 11 to 13 June
• Highlights: Performance by NCT Wish, WayV and many more

You May Also Like To Read: Places To Visit In Korea During Winter

If you are planning a trip to Korea, visit during the festive season to witness some of the famous Korean festivals, which are nothing less than the experience of a lifetime. Moreover, explore its stunning places and recreate your favourite K-Drama Scene. 

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Frequently Asked Questions About Korean Festivals

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Sukanya Sen

A book lover and fun-loving, overtly emotional mom with a wanderlust soul, Sukanya has completed her Master Degree in Geography and currently perusing her passion for writing as a profession. Nothing detoxes her more than trying new recipes and travelling to offbeat places is ultimate Therapy for her.