Gilpost · Korea festival calendar · November 2026
November 2026
Where to go in November
Five ways to spend late autumn in Korea, festival by festival.
Gilpost editors
November is when Korea's autumn colours slide south and evenings by the sea turn cool — T-shirt afternoons, coat-pocket nights, and not many weeks of either.
The Korea Tourism Organization lists dozens of events this month. We started with the festivals where we had read Korean visitors' own accounts from end to end, and asked one question of each: could someone on their first trip to Korea actually go? Can you get there by train or subway, can you enjoy it without speaking Korean, and do you need to book?
What survived, we grouped into five routes through the month: a whole weekend in Busan, fireworks over the sea, late autumn on foot, a Seoul-based month that never leaves the subway map, and food festivals held where the food is grown.
01
One November weekend in Busan: an illustration fair and the fireworks
From 6 to 8 November, Busan is two different cities. By day, a whole hall at BEXCO fills with illustrators selling what they drew; on Saturday night, an hour of fireworks rises over the Gwangandaegyo bridge. Both are on Metro Line 2, so the weekend needs no car at all.
In this piece
- Busan Illustration Fair6 Nov – 8 Nov · Busan
- Busan Fireworks Festival7 Nov · Busan
02
Two November nights of fireworks over the sea: Busan and Pohang
Two of Korea's big fireworks festivals both land in November this year; Pohang's, always an early-summer event, moves to late autumn for the first time. What past visitors found hardest was not the show but the journey home — so this piece starts there.
In this piece
- Busan Fireworks Festival7 Nov · Busan
- Pohang International Fireworks Festival19 Nov – 21 Nov · Gyeongbuk Pohang-si Buk-gu
03
Late autumn on foot: the Jeju Olle walking festival and Hwadam's maples
For anyone who would rather have a path than a stage. On Jeju, thousands walk a stretch of the Olle trail together over three days; near Seoul, Hwadam's maple woods are walked by timed booking. Of the November festivals we read about, Jeju Olle is the one where Korean writers mention foreign walkers most.
In this piece
- Jeju Olle Walking Festival5 Nov – 7 Nov · Jeju Jeju-si
- Hwadam Botanic Garden autumn foliage festival23 Oct – 15 Nov · Hwadam Botanic Garden, Gwangju, Gyeonggi
04
Staying in Seoul? Three November events you can reach by subway
If your trip starts and ends in Seoul, start here. A fair where brewers pour Korean rice liquor, a market of rice-flour breads and rice cakes, and original prints by the great photographers of the 20th century — all three a walk from a subway station, and all indoors.
In this piece
- K-Rice Festa (Korean Rice & Liquor Festival)27 Nov – 29 Nov · Gyeonggi Goyang-si Ilsanseo-gu
- Gyeonggi Rice Dessert Festa21 Nov – 22 Nov · Gyeonggi Suwon-si Gwonseon-gu
- 20th Century Masters of Photography: When Light Stops Time20 Nov – 28 Mar 2027 · Seoul
05
Eat it where it's made: ramyun in Gumi, apples in Cheongsong, yuja in Goheung
Ramyun in the town where the noodles are made, apples in a mountain orchard county, yuja in the middle of the yuja groves. All three are free to enter and need very little Korean to eat and shop — but two are a long way from any train station, so read how to get there first.
In this piece
- Gumi Ramyun Festival6 Nov – 8 Nov · Gyeongbuk Gumi-si
- Cheongsong Apple Festival4 Nov – 8 Nov · Gyeongbuk Cheongsong-gun
- Goheung Yuja Festival12 Nov – 15 Nov · Jeonnam & Gwangju
See every festival in November 2026 →
Photos: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL), uncropped. Dates can change — check the official site before you go.