Korea's autumn chrysanthemum festivals 2026 — five dates, one paid entry, and the weekend all are open

Most of Korea's autumn chrysanthemum festivals open in the last days of October and close within about ten days, so when you go matters more than which one you pick. From the 2026 chrysanthemum festivals listed on the Korea Tourism Organization's VisitKorea site, we took the five largest — Hampyeong and Yeongam in South Jeolla, Iksan in North Jeolla, Buyeo in South Chungcheong and Masan in Changwon, South Gyeongsang — and checked their dates and prices one by one against each organiser's own website. As of 16 October all five have fixed dates; where sources disagree or something has not yet been published, we say so.

When and where are the five chrysanthemum festivals?

Hampyeong and Yeongam run longest (17 days each) and Masan is shortest (nine days). Laid out in opening order, the calendar splits around the last weekend of October.

Three dates shape any plan. All five are open together only on the weekend of 31 October – 1 November; from 2 November Iksan has closed; and from 9 to 15 November only Yeongam is left. If you want two in one day, Hampyeong and Yeongam — both in South Jeolla, and both open from 30 October to 8 November — are the realistic pairing.

How much is Hampyeong, and when does advance booking close?

Hampyeong's Korea Chrysanthemum Festival is the only one of the five that sells tickets. It runs from Friday 23 October to Sunday 8 November at Hampyeong Expo Park (27 Gonjae-ro, Hampyeong-eup), organised by Hampyeong County and run by the Hampyeong Festival and Tourism Foundation. This year's theme is "Chrysanthemum Garden of Myths", with large sculpted chrysanthemum pieces and chrysanthemum bonsai. The foundation's own introduction says the festival began in 2004 to give the county something to see in every season.

Advance sales opened on Wednesday 23 September and close on Thursday 22 October, at 10% below the gate price. The foundation's ticketing page has buttons for two platforms, NOL and Naver Booking, and on weekdays tickets can also be bought by card at the foundation's office (third floor). Tickets bought online are exchanged for a paper ticket at the festival ticket office.

• Groups are 20 people or more; seniors are 65 and over.
• Free: Hampyeong County residents (with proof), children under 4, disabled visitors (with one companion for severe disabilities) and national veterans.
• Half price: residents of Hampyeong's sister municipalities (Gangbuk-gu in Seoul, Anyang, Yongin, Jecheon, Namhae, Haman and Saha-gu in Busan).
• The Korean culture voucher card (Munhwa Nuri) is accepted, and a festival ticket gets a discount at the nearby Hampyeong amphibian and reptile park.

There is plenty to see besides the flowers. The foundation's flyer lists exhibition halls around the site — a light-art park (Nabit Park), a hall of prize chrysanthemum bonsai, a butterfly and insect hall, a subtropical farming hall, a natural ecology hall, an aquatic plant hall, a succulent house, a memorabilia workshop with a golden bat exhibit, and the county art museum (this list appears only in the flyer). Activities listed by both the foundation and the tourism organization include an escape game, electric carts through the wetland and a street brass band.

The daily programme is now published on the foundation's site. The festival opens to visitors at 9 am on 23 October with the opening ceremony at 4 pm in the central plaza; concerts by Korean singers follow on 23 and 24 October, 31 October, 1 November and the closing day, 8 November, and a talent contest runs on 30 and 31 October. All of it is in Korean.

By car, leave the expressway at Hampyeong IC or East Hampyeong IC. The foundation's directions page publishes the county's route 100 bus timetable, but we could not find official walking times from Hampyeong bus terminal or Hampyeong Station on the Honam line to the site, or whether a shuttle runs. Enquiries: Hampyeong Festival and Tourism Foundation, +82 61-320-2247 (Korean).

Is the Iksan festival worth seeing after dark?

The 23rd Iksan Ten Million Chrysanthemums Festival runs for ten days from Friday 23 October to Sunday 1 November at Iksan Central Sports Park (322 Hana-ro, Eoyang-dong) and is free according to the tourism organization. It closes first of the five, so fit it into the first week. As the theme "Glow Iksan" suggests, this year leans on the night: the festival website lists around 600 chrysanthemum sculptures, 60,000 autumn flowering plants and 200 bonsai pieces, plus around 100 light sculptures, and the tourism organization describes moving light pieces, a chrysanthemum light tunnel and landscape lighting after sunset. The festival site gives activity hours of 10 am to 9 pm, so an evening visit works.

• Saturday 24 October, 5 pm — a 10th-anniversary concert by a regional music studio.
• Sunday 1 November, 10 am – 3 pm — a residents' singing contest on the closing day.
• Eat, drink, stay in Iksan — show a receipt from a local restaurant or lodging (KRW 30,000 or more) or café (KRW 15,000 or more) for a bunch of flowers; 100 a day, 1,000 in all, first come first served.
• Getting there — KTX from Yongsan to Iksan Station takes about 1 hour 20 minutes; from the station, buses 2200, 2300 or 2400 to Ssangyong Apartment. From the intercity bus terminal, bus 1 to Eoyang e-Pyeonhansesang Apartment. Enquiries +82 63-859-4977 (Korean).

What time are the guided talks at Buyeo?

The 23rd Buyeo Chrysanthemum Festival runs for ten days from Friday 30 October to Sunday 8 November around Seodong Park and Gungnamji Pond (117 Dongnam-ri, Buyeo-eup) and is free according to the tourism organization. The theme is "Chrysanthemums: piecing together autumn", and the opening ceremony is at 10:30 am on 30 October in the west car park at Gungnamji. Buyeo County organises it with its agricultural technology centre and the local chrysanthemum society. The tourism organization's listing says the site around the pond is divided into five themed "pieces" — history, landscape, bonds, scent and healing — with chrysanthemum sculptures of Buyeo's emblems such as the Baekje gilt-bronze incense burner and the Sabi Gate.

• Chrysanthemum guides — four talks a day during the festival, at 11 am, 1 pm, 3 pm and 5 pm, starting outside the festival office. In Korean.
• Exhibitions and market — pressed-flower and wood-carving exhibitions, activity booths, food trucks and a farmers' market. The festival website's booth list is labelled as last year's, so this year's line-up may differ.
• Getting there — by Buyeo County's figures, about 2 hours 30 minutes by bus from Seoul Nambu Terminal, about 3 hours 3 minutes by train from Yongsan, or about 2 hours 10 minutes by bus from Daejeon. Enquiries +82 41-830-2591 (Korean).

How long does Yeongam's festival run, and what is there?

The Wolchulsan Chrysanthemum Festival in Yeongam runs for 17 days, from Friday 30 October to Sunday 15 November, around Gichan Land, making it the last of the five to close. It is free according to the tourism organization, and Yeongam County says the opening ribbon-cutting is the day before, Thursday 29 October. The county lists around 200,000 pieces in 23 categories — sculptures, bonsai, models and ornamental grasses — and the tourism organization describes chrysanthemum pieces along the length of Gichan Land, bonsai around the gayageum sanjo memorial hall, flower sculptures by the children's playground, and a silver-grass photo zone and flower path.

Facilities include an information centre lending wheelchairs and pushchairs, a medical post, a baby room and a local produce shop. According to the county's history page, the festival began in 2007 at the Dr Wangin historic site and moved to Gichan Land in 2016; it was cancelled in 2020 and 2021. Last year's was the 17th, and this year's edition number has not been published. Enquiries: Yeongam County tourism office, +82 61-470-2259 (Korean).

Masan Gagopa: why Masan is chrysanthemum country

The 26th Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival runs for nine days from Saturday 31 October to Sunday 8 November along the Masan seafront — 3·15 Marine Park, Happo Waterfront Park and the new marine city — and is free according to the tourism organization. It opens last but closes on the same day as Hampyeong and Buyeo. Changwon City's history of the festival says six farms in Masan's Hoewon-dong began growing chrysanthemums commercially in 1961, the first in Korea, and that Korea's first chrysanthemum exports went to Japan from here in 1972. The festival itself dates from 2000.

The tourism organization lists this year's programme as chrysanthemum displays plus a multimedia fireworks show, a fire-drop show over the water, a chrysanthemum costume contest, a song contest, an indie music festival, cheerleading, an outdoor cinema, a wedding photo zone and an AI booth. The fireworks and fire-drop show over the sea are what set Masan apart, but no dates or times have been published for any of them yet, so check Changwon City's festival page before you go.

There is a record to show for the growers' skill. According to Changwon City, a single plant trained to carry 1,315 blooms, shown at the ninth festival in 2009, was recognised by Guinness World Records on 19 January 2010, and the record was later raised to 1,370 blooms (2010) and 1,515 blooms (2015). We could not confirm whether a record plant is on show this year.

• Free shuttle bus — according to Changwon City's festival site, 10 am – 6 pm on weekdays and 10 am – 9:10 pm at weekends, every 30 minutes, running via Masan Station and Odong-dong Culture Square to Happo Waterfront Park.
• Parking — nine car parks are listed, including 3·15 Marine Park car parks 1 to 5 and the new marine city; the fish-market public car park charges. A note that more car parks will be announced is still on the page, so check again before opening day.
• Enquiries — Changwon City tourism division, +82 55-225-2341 (Korean); main address 46-3 Wolnam-dong 1-ga, Masanhappo-gu.

What to check before you set off

• Opening hours: none of the five organisers publishes them. If you are going for the lights after dark, ask first — Iksan alone states activity hours (10 am – 9 pm).
• Hampyeong advance tickets: close on Thursday 22 October, 10% below the gate price; online purchases are swapped for a paper ticket at the gate.
• Free entry: Iksan, Buyeo, Yeongam and Masan are free on the tourism organization's listings; their own websites give no price.
• Performances: Hampyeong has published its daily line-up; Masan lists programmes but no dates.
• Combining festivals: the only weekend with all five open is 31 October – 1 November, and from 9 to 15 November only Yeongam is open.
• Weather: dates and programmes can change with the weather, so check the organiser's notices on the day.

Getting there from Seoul, and what is in English

Iksan is the easiest from Seoul: about 1 hour 20 minutes by KTX from Yongsan, then a city bus to the park. Masan has its own KTX station, Masan Station (마산역), which the free festival shuttle serves. Buyeo has no railway; take an express bus from Seoul Nambu Terminal (about 2 hours 30 minutes). Hampyeong and Yeongam are in the far south-west: plan on the KTX to Gwangju Songjeong or Mokpo and an onward intercity bus, and check the last bus back, as neither organiser publishes a route from Seoul. Nothing needs booking — all five sell entry at the gate, or are free — so the Korean-phone problem only arises for Hampyeong's advance ticket, which saves KRW 700; NOL and Naver Booking generally expect a Korean account. Organiser websites, signs and every stage programme are in Korean, and we found no English guided tours. The Korea Tourism Organization's English site has listings for Hampyeong, Iksan and Masan (Hampyeong 10 am – 6 pm, Iksan 10 am – 9 pm, Masan 10 am – 10 pm by its figures, which the organisers do not confirm).