When does the 2026 Stay Sale Festa run?

From 10am on Tuesday 22 September 2026 until Sunday 8 November. The period for claiming a voucher and the period for actually staying are the same, so a voucher claimed in the last week has to be used in the last week.

How many vouchers can one person get?

One. They are released from 10am each day on a first-come basis, and once the day's allocation is exhausted no more are issued that day, regardless of how much of the campaign period is left.

Can I use it in Seoul, or in Chungbuk?

No to both. The scheme covers accommodation outside the Seoul metropolitan area, and Sejong City and Chungcheongbuk-do are specifically excluded on top of that.

Does the accommodation have to be on an island for the island edition?

No. The island edition applies across the 32 listed districts, which are coastal and island local authorities — the accommodation has to be in one of those districts, not literally on an island.

Can a foreign visitor use this?

The official pages do not say. The campaign site and all the issuing channels are in Korean, and the booking sites are domestic, so at minimum you would need Korean-language help. The call centre on 1670-3980 is the place to check before you build a trip around it.

Notice·Korea Tourism Organization

Korea's autumn accommodation discount runs 22 September to 8 November

Kang Shin-wookPublished 22 September 2026Updated 21 September 20263 sources checkedEditorial policy 이 글을 한국어로 읽기

Stay Sale Festa official site

The essentials

Dates: 22 September – 8 November 2026 (On now)
Booking: Vouchers are released at 10am daily on a first-come basis, one per person, through participating booking sites. Eligibility for visitors without a Korean payment method is not stated on the official page
Who it is for: Anyone booking accommodation outside the Seoul metropolitan area
Language: The campaign site and all twelve issuing channels operate in Korean. The official pages do not state whether a non-resident without a Korean payment method can claim a voucher — assume you will need Korean-language help, and check with the call centre before planning around it.
Run by: Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization
Main edition: KRW 20,000 / 30,000 / 70,000 off, outside the Seoul region (Sejong and Chungbuk excluded)
Island edition: KRW 30,000 / 50,000 off, in 32 districts, issued by one site only
Call centre: 1670-3980

Written up from Korea Tourism Organization's own announcement of 15 September 2026. Details change — check the official page before you travel.

The government's Stay Sale Festa reopens at 10am on 22 September and runs to 8 November, knocking KRW 20,000 to 70,000 off accommodation outside the Seoul region. A separate island edition, new this year, covers 32 coastal and island districts and is issued through one booking site only. Vouchers are released daily at 10am, first come first served, one per person.

In short

The second-half campaign runs from 22 September to 8 November 2026, and the voucher-issuing period is the same as the stay period.
Vouchers are released daily from 10am on a first-come basis, one per person. When the day's allocation is gone, it is gone, whatever the calendar says.
The main edition takes KRW 20,000, 30,000 or 70,000 off stays outside the Seoul region. The KRW 70,000 tier needs two or more consecutive nights.
An island edition, new this year, covers 32 districts and is issued through a single booking site, not the twelve that carry the main edition.

The town of Tongyeong packed onto its hillsides, with the sea and islands behind. — Tongyeong and the Hallyeosudo — Tongyeong, in Gyeongsangnam-do, is in the island edition. Photo: Junho Jung / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Korea's government subsidises domestic travel each autumn, and the second half of the 2026 Stay Sale Festa opens at 10am on Tuesday 22 September. It is run by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism with the Korea Tourism Organization, and it works by releasing discount vouchers through participating online booking sites, to be applied against accommodation outside the Seoul metropolitan area. The change this year is a separate island edition aimed at coastal and island districts.

What the main edition takes off

The main voucher has three tiers, keyed to what you are spending. The largest is the one with a condition attached: KRW 70,000 applies only to a stay of two or more consecutive nights, so a single expensive night drops back to the KRW 30,000 tier.

Main edition discount tiers

KRW 20,000 to under 70,000: KRW 20,000 off, one night or more
KRW 70,000 or more: KRW 30,000 off, one night or more
KRW 140,000 or more: KRW 70,000 off, two or more consecutive nights

It applies outside the Seoul metropolitan area, but not everywhere outside it: Sejong City and Chungcheongbuk-do are excluded, along with Seoul, Incheon and Gyeonggi. If your trip is built around Chungbuk, this voucher will not help.

The island edition, and why it is issued separately

The island edition is new for 2026 and covers 32 districts that include inhabited islands, from Ulleung in the east to Sinan and Wando in the south-west and both Jeju cities. It has two tiers rather than three, and the important practical point is that it is issued through one booking site only — the twelve channels that carry the main edition do not issue it. Decide where you are going first, then work out which channel to use.

Mokpo harbour with boats moored and the town around it. — Mokpo harbour — the gateway for the islands. Photo: Mar del Este / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Main edition compared with the island edition

Dates: Both run 22 September to 8 November 2026
Where the main edition works: Outside the Seoul region, excluding Sejong and Chungbuk
Where the island edition works: 32 districts with inhabited islands
Main edition tiers: KRW 20,000 / 30,000 / 70,000 (the last needs consecutive nights)
Island edition tiers: KRW 30,000 and KRW 50,000
Where to get them: Main edition: twelve booking sites. Island edition: one site only
How they are released: Both at 10am daily, first come, one per person

Which districts the island edition covers

The 32 districts in the island edition

Gyeongnam (7): Geoje, Goseong, Namhae, Sacheon, Changwon, Tongyeong, Hadong
Gyeongbuk (1): Ulleung
Jeonnam (13): Gangjin, Goheung, Gwangyang, Mokpo, Muan, Boseong, Sinan, Yeosu, Yeonggwang, Wando, Jangheung, Jindo, Haenam
Jeonbuk (3): Gochang, Gunsan, Buan
Chungnam (6): Dangjin, Boryeong, Seosan, Seocheon, Taean, Hongseong
Jeju (2): Jeju City and Seogwipo, including Chujado, Udo and the other attached islands

The long, wide sand of Daecheon beach at Boryeong and the sea beyond. — Daecheon beach at Boryeong — Boryeong, in Chungcheongnam-do, is in the island edition. Photo: Stinkie Pinkie / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0

The Odongdo camellia train, decorated in the shape of a camellia flower, running along the breakwater road. — The Odongdo camellia train at Yeosu — Yeosu, in Jeollanam-do, is in the island edition. Photo: Mobius6 / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Islands large and small ranged in layers across the sea off Wando. — The sea and islands off Wando — Wando county, in Jeollanam-do, is in the island edition. Photo: Jeong Dong-wan (정동완) / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

A white lighthouse standing on a hill on Udo, off Jeju. — The lighthouse on Udo, one of the islands belonging to Jeju City. Photo: TicoPD / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sangchuja harbour on Chujado, off Jeju, with its breakwater and fishing boats. — Sangchuja harbour on Chujado, Jeju (Jeju Olle course 18-1). Photo: Jeju Olle Foundation / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

Do not confuse the two numbers

Twelve and thirty-two both appear in coverage of this scheme and they mean different things. Twelve is the number of booking channels that issue the main voucher; thirty-two is the number of districts where the island edition can be used. Some reporting has merged them into "twelve districts", which is wrong.

National sites in the island-edition districts

If you are choosing a destination around the voucher, several of the 32 districts contain national institutions that are free or nearly free to visit. That combination — subsidised accommodation and free admission — is the practical reason to look at this list rather than the discount alone.

Free or low-cost national sites in island-edition districts

Seocheon, Chungnam: National Institute of Ecology and the National Marine Biodiversity Institute, fifteen minutes apart by car
Mokpo, Jeonnam: National Research Institute of Maritime Heritage exhibition hall (free)
Jeju City: Jeju National Museum, permanent exhibition free
Tongyeong, Geoje, Namhae, Hadong, Sacheon: Hallyeohaesang National Park, free to enter
Wando, Sinan, Jindo, Yeosu, Goheung: Dadohaehaesang National Park, free to enter
Buan, Jeonbuk and Taean, Chungnam: Byeonsanbando and Taeanhaean National Parks, free to enter

A model turtle ship displayed in front of the Hallyeosudo cable car station at Tongyeong. — The turtle ship in front of the Hallyeosudo cable car station at Tongyeong. Photo: Asfreeas / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

The Haegeumgang coast at Geoje, sheer rock cliffs dropping straight into the sea. — The rock coast at Haegeumgang, Geoje. Photo: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service (Jeon Han) / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

The curving coastline of Hallyeo Maritime seen from the Odongdo lighthouse. — The Hallyeo Maritime coastline from the Odongdo lighthouse at Yeosu. Photo: Garam / Wikimedia Commons

The sea and green hills around Beombawi on Cheongsando, off Wando. — The Beombawi area of Cheongsando, Wando. Photo: Kim Eun-a 89 (김은아89) / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

Dolsan Bridge at Yeosu lit up at night, the lights reflected in the water. — Dolsan Bridge at Yeosu after dark — the bridge linking Dolsando to the mainland. Photo: Doo-ho Kim / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

Conditions worth knowing before you book

The voucher applies only to accommodation registered under Korea's tourism and public health legislation; day-use bookings are excluded.
One voucher per person, released from 10am each day until that day's allocation runs out.
The KRW 70,000 tier requires two or more consecutive nights — a single night will not qualify however much it costs.
The official site warns that participating companies and terms may change during the campaign.

Frequently asked questions

Q. When does the 2026 Stay Sale Festa run?: From 10am on Tuesday 22 September 2026 until Sunday 8 November. The period for claiming a voucher and the period for actually staying are the same, so a voucher claimed in the last week has to be used in the last week.
Q. How many vouchers can one person get?: One. They are released from 10am each day on a first-come basis, and once the day's allocation is exhausted no more are issued that day, regardless of how much of the campaign period is left.
Q. Can I use it in Seoul, or in Chungbuk?: No to both. The scheme covers accommodation outside the Seoul metropolitan area, and Sejong City and Chungcheongbuk-do are specifically excluded on top of that.
Q. Does the accommodation have to be on an island for the island edition?: No. The island edition applies across the 32 listed districts, which are coastal and island local authorities — the accommodation has to be in one of those districts, not literally on an island.
Q. Can a foreign visitor use this?: The official pages do not say. The campaign site and all the issuing channels are in Korean, and the booking sites are domestic, so at minimum you would need Korean-language help. The call centre on 1670-3980 is the place to check before you build a trip around it.

Sources

Official notice (Korean)

Written in our own words from the sources above, never copied from them, and every date and price checked against at least two pages. The originals are in Korean. Spotted a mistake? Ask for a correction.