Gilpost · Festival calendar · Gangneung-si
FestivalAutumn 2026
Gangneung Coffee Festival
강릉커피축제
This edition · Data as of · Published ·
Gangneung on the east coast is Korea's coffee town, and for five days its Anmok beach café strip becomes a festival: roasters' and dessert stalls line the street, and the pine grove and sand are scattered with beanbags and chairs. You taste local coffee, buy beans, sit by the sea, and stay for busking in the evening. The 2026 festival (the 18th) runs 21–25 October, 10:00–20:00; entry is free and you pay stall by stall. We read Korean blog posts from people who went in 2023, 2024 and 2025.
What’s on
The 2026 day-by-day programme is still “in preparation” (checked 4 October). Below is what official notices confirm, plus programme names from the tourism listing.
Anmok coffee street
Global Coffee Lounge
Cafés around Gangneung
Anmok coffee street
Nothing matches.
Sources: the festival's official website (overview and notices) and the Korea Tourism Organization listing (programme names).
The essentials
| Dates | 2026-10-21 – 2026-10-25 |
|---|---|
| Where | Anmok beach coffee street, Gangneung, Gangwon (and around the city) |
| Cost | Free entry · pay per stall for coffee and activities |
| Organisers | Gangneung City · Gangneung Cultural Foundation (+82 33-647-6802) |
| Address | 20-1, Changhae-ro 14beon-gil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do 강원특별자치도 강릉시 창해로14번길 20-1 (견소동) |
| Contact | 033-647-6802 · www.coffeefestival.net/ |
| Programme | Stalls and tastings, the 100-barista tasting (24 Oct), busking, a stamp rally — see “What’s on” below. |
Official poster
The organisers’ own poster, in Korean. Source: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type3), shown unaltered. Tap to open full size.
What 23 visitors said
What people liked
What people struggled with
These are raw counts, not percentages. Someone who did not mention something is not someone who disagreed.
Who goes, and when
Many came as part of a Gangneung trip — solo, as couples or with children. Ten of the 23 posts call it crowded and four say it was comfortable. On weekends and the last day the beanbags were all taken; weekday evenings were calmer.
Who they went with
Time of day
Visiting from abroad
None of the posts mention foreign visitors or English help, and the official site is Korean only (there is an English poster). You won't need much Korean, though: walk the stalls, point and pay. Bring a tumbler if you like — some found the reusable cups a bit off-putting — and come in daylight if you want tastings, as many stalls wind down by evening. Visitors combined it with Gyeongpo beach or Jungang Market in town.
Weather and crowds
It is right on the sea, so the wind turns cold after sunset — several 2025 posts (late October–early November) mention a sudden chill. Days were mostly mild and sunny.
Getting there and access
Most drove, and parking was the top complaint. The festival stretch is closed to traffic or one-way, so people parked in temporary lots towards Songjeong or Namhangjin and walked (the 2026 parking and shuttle page still says “in preparation”). From Seoul, take the KTX to Gangneung station, then a bus or taxi to Anmok beach; one 2024 post found the advertised “shuttle” was simply the regular city bus.
Year by year
Autumn 2023
12–15 October. This year only, it was held indoors at the speed-skating arena and at Gyeongpo Lake rather than the coffee street; you got a tasting cup at the door and watched barista competitions.
Autumn 2024
24–27 October. Back on the Anmok coffee street with the road closed from Songjeong to Anmok; independent films on the beach, a 100-barista hand-drip tasting, and reusable cups.
Autumn 2025
30 October–2 November. Cancelled over a drought, then reinstated. A live coffee radio show, busking on three stages, a short fireworks display, and a coffee-on-a-yacht trip (₩32,000).
Tips from people who went
- Do tastings in daylight — many stalls close early
- At weekends park in an outer lot and walk in
- Coffee stalls cluster at one end; pick up a map first
- Bring your own tumbler if you like
- Check the leaflet for stage and radio times
- A windproof layer for the evening
- Stamp-rally mugs are collected at the info booth
The 23 posts we read
- 23-01 · 2023-10-15 서울우유 강릉커피 바닐라 너티크림라떼 비교 후기
- 23-02 · 2023-10-15 (커피축제) 강릉에는 무려 5개의 달이 있다
- 23-03 · 2023-10-22 일상로그 │ KTX이음 타고 강릉가는길 , 마이 앤트 메리의 '강릉에서....
- 23-04 · 2023-10-23 가을 강릉 갈만한곳 강릉커피축제와 여행 코스 추천
- 24-07 · 2024-10-24 강릉 커피축제, 송정~안목 커피거리 방문기
- 24-08 · 2024-10-25 2024년 제16회 강릉커피축제
- 24-10 · 2024-10-26 [2024강릉커피축제3]커피커퍼, 안목회관, 설레이나봄, 스탬프랠리 끝!
- 24-11 · 2024-10-26 상강(霜降), 1박2일 강원도 강릉 동해 바다 여행 (feat. 날씨,단풍,안목....
- 24-14 · 2024-10-27 [포덤챌] / 강릉 커피축제 밤에 다녀온 후기 (간게 아까워서 블챌 참....
- 24-17 · 2024-10-28 2024년 강릉커피축제 후기(10/24-27)
- 24-18 · 2024-10-28 2024 훈아콘 강릉
- 24-19 · 2024-10-29 [햇살강릉 주말걷기 1] - 토요일, 홍제숲길건강걷기대회, 남항진어촌....
- 24-21 · 2024-11-11 [월간 강릉 10월호] 강릉 커피 축제의 낮과 밤 후기
- 24-23 · 2024-11-16 안목해변 카페거리에서 즐긴 강릉커피축제(ft. 강원도 강릉 가볼만....
- 25-15 · 2025-10-30 2025 강릉커피축제 내돈내산 후기 아이와함께
- 25-20 · 2025-10-31 강릉항 안목카페거리 강릉커피축제 주차장 : 11월 2일 일요일까지 행....
- 25-21 · 2025-10-31 별의별 강릉커피, 커피 향기로 물든 도시 — 2025 제17회 강릉커피축....
- 25-22 · 2025-11-01 커피향 가득한 가을, 제17회 강릉커피축제 다녀왔어요
- 25-25 · 2025-11-02 2025 강릉 커피축제 후기
- 25-26 · 2025-11-02 강릉 커피콩빵 강릉당 안목해변점 안목해변 카페 추천 :)
- 25-27 · 2025-11-03 강릉 기념품 간식 쇼핑 강릉 특산물 먹거리로 유명한 강릉샌드 카페....
- 25-29 · 2025-11-06 11월초 강릉당일치기여행 자차여행 오죽헌 강릉단풍 강릉중앙시장 ....
- 25-30 · 2025-11-07 2025 제17회 강릉 커피축제
All posts are in Korean. We summarise them in our own words rather than quoting.