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FestivalAutumn 2026

Hongseong Namdang Port Prawn Festival

홍성 남당항 대하축제

This edition · Data as of · Published · Compiled by

Namdang is a small fishing port on the west coast in Hongseong, South Chungcheong, and each autumn it becomes a two-month prawn festival: you sit at an upstairs window in one of the harbour seafood restaurants and grill big prawns on a bed of salt, the heads fried in butter, with gizzard shad and crab on the side — or buy a kilo on ice to take away. Stages and activities are mostly at weekends. The 2026 festival (the 31st) runs 4 September – 8 November, free to enter. We read Korean blog posts from people who went in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Hongseong Namdang Port Prawn Festival
2026 홍성남당항 대하축제 (3).jpg2026 홍성남당항 대하축제 (4).jpg2026 홍성남당항 대하축제 (5).jpg2026 홍성남당항 대하축제 (6).jpg2026 홍성남당항 대하축제 (7).jpg2026 홍성남당항 대하축제 (8).JPG
Photos: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type3). Shown uncropped, as supplied.

What’s on

From the Korea Tourism Organization listing and the committee's blog (checked 11 October). Stage events were mostly in September; until 8 November it is prawn sales plus weekend and holiday shows. Open 09:00–24:00, varying by activity.

Harbour restaurants and fish market

Salt-grilled prawns, takeawayWalk-in₩45,000–60,000/kg
4 Sep – 8 Nov · All day
2026 fixed price ₩45,000/kg takeaway, ₩60,000 in restaurants (as reported).

Namdang port

Bare-hand prawn catchingWalk-in
Saturdays and Sundays · Time not published
In 2025: 2pm, ₩10,000 adults, ₩5,000 children.

Festival stage

Weekend and holiday showsWalk-inFree
4 Sep – 8 Nov · —
Trot singers and comic folk performers.

Fountain park

Musical fountain and splash parkWalk-in
4 Sep – 8 Nov · Set times
The rope course is extra (₩13,000 adults in 2025; closed Mondays).

Sources: the Korea Tourism Organization listing, the committee's official blog and press reports (prices).

The essentials

Dates2026-09-04 – 2026-11-08
WhereNamdang port, 1-1 Namdanghang-ro 213beon-gil, Seobu-myeon, Hongseong, South Chungcheong
CostFree entry · prawns ₩45,000/kg to take away, ₩60,000 in restaurants (2026 fixed price, as reported)
OrganisersNamdang Port Festival Committee (+82 10-5433-8196)
Address충청남도 홍성군 서부면 남당항로213번길 1-1
Contact010-5433-8196 · blog.naver.com/official_namdang
ProgrammeWeekend shows and prawn catching — see “What’s on” below.

Official poster

2026 홍성남당항 대하축제 포스터.jpg

The organisers’ own poster, in Korean. Source: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type3), shown unaltered. Tap to open full size.

What 30 visitors said

We searched Naver, the blog platform most Koreans use, for 30 posts from each year's festival season (September–October), read every one to the end, kept only people who went to Namdang during the festival (16, 24 and 15), and took ten per year. A restaurant review counts if they ate there during the festival. Sponsored and official-supporter posts were dropped and no writer is counted twice. Every number counts the posts that mentioned something.

What people liked

Big, sweet prawns13 of 30 posts

Salt-grilled, heads fried in butter, or raw 23-08 23-12 23-28 24-08 24-10 24-15 24-25 25-04 25-06 25-09 25-12 25-18 25-20

One fixed price everywhere5 of 30 posts

Every shop charges the same per kilo 23-09 25-03 25-12 25-17 25-20

Eating with a sea view10 of 30 posts

Upstairs window tables, sunsets 23-08 23-16 23-24 24-08 24-10 24-09 24-23 25-06 25-11 25-12

Things for children10 of 30 posts

A splash fountain park, musical fountain and rope course 23-09 23-20 23-23 24-01 24-07 24-08 24-26 24-28 25-03 25-12

Much cheaper to take away6 of 30 posts

₩15,000–20,000 less per kilo, packed on ice 23-17 23-23 24-25 25-04 25-17 25-18

What people struggled with

Parking chaos at weekend lunchtimes13 of 30 posts

Full after 11am; queues on the approach road 23-09 23-12 23-16 23-20 23-23 24-01 24-07 24-23 24-28 25-01 25-11 25-17 25-18

Little festival beyond the food8 of 30 posts

Most stalls shut on weekdays; stalls sell fried snacks only 23-17 23-28 23-29 24-08 24-25 25-01 25-03 25-04

Touting and patchy service4 of 30 posts

Touting, missing dishes, pricey stall snacks 23-28 24-15 24-28 25-11

These are raw counts, not percentages. Someone who did not mention something is not someone who disagreed.

Who goes, and when

Couples, friends and families in roughly equal numbers, nearly all driving an hour or two just to eat prawns. 12 of the 30 posts call it crowded — almost all weekend or holiday lunchtimes. Weekdays are quiet but most festival stalls are shut. Restaurants sell by the kilo (a kilo does two people) or as set menus with sashimi, fritters and noodle soup, about ₩90,000–100,000 for two.

Who they went with

With friends8 of 30 posts
With children5 of 30 posts
As a couple8 of 30 posts
In a group (incl. volunteer teams)2 of 30 posts

7 of the 30 posts did not say.

Time of day

Evening4 of 30 posts
Night1 of 30 posts
Day into night3 of 30 posts
Afternoon9 of 30 posts
Morning4 of 30 posts

9 of the 30 posts did not say.

Visiting from abroad

None of the posts mention foreign visitors and the information is in Korean only — but ordering is simple: prawns are sold by the kilo at one fixed price set by the organisers. It is a car trip, about two hours from Seoul. Ask for 소금구이 (salt-grilled), and have the heads cooked in butter (머리 버터구이) afterwards. A kilo feeds two.

Weather and crowds

September can be scorching (one day hit 36°C) and the restaurants are hot with gas burners; October mornings and evenings turn cool. Prawns are plumper from mid-September, one post said. At low tide the sea becomes mudflat.

Getting there and access

Almost everyone drove (Gwangcheon exit). The public car parks are big and free, but at weekends they are full by 11am–noon — people circled for 20 minutes or parked on the verge, and the approach road backed up. Arriving at opening time or after the lunch peak was easy. Some restaurants have their own parking, and the neighbouring Eosa port was quieter.

The harbour front is flat, but many restaurants are upstairs or floor-seated — check first. Several mention high chairs and child-friendly side dishes. The toilets at both ends were clean, but seating is scarce: bring a mat or camping chairs. Dogs are fine on the promenade; ask before taking one into a restaurant.

Year by year

Autumn 2023

9 September – 15 October (28th). ₩50,000 a kilo in restaurants, ₩35,000 to take away; fireworks and a star singer jammed the roads on opening day.

Autumn 2024

30 August – 31 October (29th). Prices unchanged; the musical fountain and splash park were a hit with children.

Autumn 2025

Festival 22 August – 7 September, prawn sales until 20 October (30th). ₩55,000 a kilo in restaurants, ₩35,000 to take away. Bare-hand prawn catching at 2pm at weekends (₩10,000 adults, ₩5,000 children), cancelled on the hottest days.

Tips from people who went

  • At weekends arrive before 11am
  • A kilo for two, heads fried in butter
  • Prices are fixed, so choose on side dishes and view
  • For home, buy from the fish market on ice (ask about box and ice charges)
  • Prawn catching is on weekend afternoons — bring spare clothes and a towel
  • Sun cover in September, a jacket on October evenings
  • On weekdays most stalls are closed

The 30 posts we read

  1. 23-08 · 2023-09-11 남당항 대하축제 내돈내산 맛집 후기 - 바위섬
  2. 23-09 · 2023-09-11 [홍성 남당리] 아이들과 가기 좋은 남당항 대하축제, 식당 리얼후기
  3. 23-12 · 2023-09-14 2023 충남 홍성 남당항 대하축제 맛집 뿌셔뿌셔!! :) :: 만나수산 맛집 ....
  4. 23-16 · 2023-09-21 홍성 남당항 대하축제 오션뷰 맛집 어량항횟집 가격 및 주차 정보
  5. 23-17 · 2023-09-24 2023 남당항 대하축제 가격, 후기
  6. 23-20 · 2023-09-26 남당항대하축제 매년 찾는 만중이네
  7. 23-23 · 2023-10-01 [홍성여행] 2023 남당항 대하축제 후기+남당항 주차, 대하가격, 대하....
  8. 23-24 · 2023-10-02 10월 국내여행 충남 홍성 가볼 만한 곳 남당항 '신일수산' 대하축제 ....
  9. 23-28 · 2023-10-11 충남 홍성 남당항 대하축제 대하구이 세트 가격 "선일회수산" 후기
  10. 23-29 · 2023-10-12 [충청남도 홍성 남당항 대하축제] A동 또오리회수산 칼칼칼-세트 방....
  11. 24-01 · 2024-09-01 홍성 남당항 대하축제, 해양분수공원 후기 (주차, 맛집 포함)
  12. 24-07 · 2024-09-08 [홍성 대하축제] 대하구이 맛집 나드리회수산
  13. 24-08 · 2024-09-09 2024년 홍성 남당항 대하축제 후기 ♥
  14. 24-09 · 2024-09-10 국내여행) 충청남도 홍성 남당항 대하축제 후기 - 새우소금구이 맛....
  15. 24-10 · 2024-09-10 홍성 남당항 대하축제 맛집 '푸른바다' A세트 내돈내산.
  16. 24-15 · 2024-09-20 충남 가을에 꼭 가야하는, 홍성 남당항 대하축제
  17. 24-23 · 2024-10-02 홍성군 남당항 대하축제 대하맛집 식당추천-가은회수산
  18. 24-25 · 2024-10-03 [홍성 맛집] 남당항 대하축제 후기 나만 가고 싶은 맛집 남당리수산 ....
  19. 24-26 · 2024-10-04 홍성 남당항 대하축제 아기랑 가기좋은 식당 내돈내산
  20. 24-28 · 2024-10-06 남당항 대하축제 볼거리 놀거리 먹거리 내돈내산후기
  21. 25-01 · 2025-09-01 홍성 남당리 대하축제 주차 먹거리 즐길거리 볼거리 대하튀김 솔직....
  22. 25-03 · 2025-09-04 충청남도 홍성 여행 추천 2025 홍성 남당항 대하축제 주차 및 시세
  23. 25-04 · 2025-09-04 가을 입맛 확 사로잡는 홍성 남당항 대하축제! 가격·기간 총정리
  24. 25-06 · 2025-09-06 홍성 대하축제, 덕호네수산
  25. 25-09 · 2025-09-08 충남 홍성 오션뷰 맛집 :: 가을 제철 음식 대하 소금구이 삼형제수산
  26. 25-11 · 2025-09-10 남당항 대하축제 대하구이 ‘어촌마을수산’
  27. 25-12 · 2025-09-11 홍성 남당항 대하축제 식당 추천 벌써소문난집 내돈내산 (2025/가격)
  28. 25-17 · 2025-09-15 남당항 대하축제 2025 시간 주차 가격 포장 후기
  29. 25-18 · 2025-09-16 (충남/홍성/남당리) 2025 남당리 대하축제-또오리회수산
  30. 25-20 · 2025-09-17 홍성남당항새우축제 세자매 횟집추천 새우축제 남당항가격 주차 포....

All posts are in Korean. We summarise them in our own words rather than quoting.