Gilpost · Festival calendar · Yeongam-gun
FestivalAutumn 2026
Wolchulsan Chrysanthemum Festival
월출산 국화축제
This edition · Data as of · Published ·
Every November the small county town of Yeongam, in the far south-west, fills Gichan Land — a park in a stream valley at the foot of Wolchulsan's granite peaks — with around 200,000 chrysanthemums: flower tunnels, a flower gate, towers and animals built out of blooms, and bonsai chrysanthemums in the courtyard of a gayageum museum. The 2026 festival runs 30 October to 15 November and is listed as free. It is a local, county-run event that Koreans from Gwangju and Mokpo drive to for an afternoon; nothing we read was written with overseas visitors in mind. The question that matters is timing: in past years the flowers were often not fully out in the first week. We read Korean blog posts from people who went during the 2023, 2024 and 2025 festivals.
What’s on
As of 20 October the 2026 timetable has not been published — the county's festival page has new dates but still shows an older programme underneath. Below is only what we could confirm for 2026. Evening lighting and shuttle buses have not been announced either.
All over Gichan Land
Gichan Land
Gichan Land outdoor stage
On site and on social media
Near the entrance
Nothing matches.
Sources: Korea Tourism Organization festival listing (updated 12 October 2026), Yeongam County festival page (updated 12 October 2026), and county press releases of 1 and 19 October. Details may change.
The essentials
| Dates | 2026-10-30 – 2026-11-15 |
|---|---|
| Where | Wolchulsan Gichan Land, at the foot of Wolchulsan in Yeongam-eup, Yeongam County (South Jeolla) |
| Cost | Free (Korea Tourism Organization listing). Parking was free in past years. A couple of museums inside Gichan Land charge separately — the insect museum was ₩8,000 in 2024–25 posts. |
| Organisers | Yeongam County (tourism office +82-61-470-2259) |
| Address | 전남광주통합특별시 영암군 영암읍 기찬랜드로 19-10 |
| Contact | 061-470-2259 |
| Programme | About 200,000 chrysanthemums of 23 kinds — sculptures, bonsai and model pieces, plus four new pieces this year on a renewable-energy (RE100) theme; flower paths and a silver-grass photo area; local-produce stalls. Hours 10:00–18:00 according to the Korea Tourism Organization listing. |
Official poster
The organisers’ own poster, in Korean. Source: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type3), shown unaltered. Tap to open full size.
What 30 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
Families with children were the largest group we could place (8 of 30), then couples. Nearly everyone drove in from nearby cities such as Gwangju and Mokpo for the afternoon; a few came down off Wolchulsan after a hike and walked through on the way home. Weekday and weekend visits were split about evenly.
Who they went with
Time of day
How far the flowers were out
This is the real question with a flower festival. The second week was a safer bet than the first. Of the 11 writers who found the flowers not yet out, 10 went within ten days of the opening. 2024 was the late year: seven of our ten saw mostly green buds, and the person who went on the final day was the one who found it in full bloom. In 2023 and 2025, almost everyone who went from the second week of November on found it at its best. Sunny spots open first; shady corners and the inside of the flower tunnel lag. In all three years the county left the flowers up after the official end — to 26 November in 2023 and 30 November in 2025, and in 2024 the county office told one writer it would keep them until early December — so a late visit can still work. Check before you go.
Visiting from abroad
Two of the thirty posts mention foreigners: one writer brought foreign co-workers along and showed them round (2025), and another noticed many foreign visitors at a separate hanok (traditional house) exhibition nearby the same day. Nobody mentions English signs or interpretation, and the county's English website has nothing on this year's festival — expect Korean only, and use a translation app for the map at the entrance. The good news is that this is a festival you can do without language: you walk a signposted loop and look. The county's Korean festival page still shows an older line-up that included a song contest for foreign residents broadcast by GFN (Gwangju's English-language radio); we could not confirm whether it returns in 2026.
Weather and crowds
Early-to-mid November in the south-west is usually pleasant walking weather, and most writers who mentioned it had sun; a few went on grey days after rain. But it gets cold fast once the sun goes down — three writers who went on the closing weekend found it cold, and the one who stayed for the evening lights recommends a padded jacket and hand warmers. Bees love the flowers too. Crowds depend on the day: weekday and early-morning visitors mostly had the place to themselves, while weekend afternoons, concert days and the final weekend jammed the car parks.
Getting there and access
Almost everyone came by car — 40 minutes to an hour or so from Mokpo or Gwangju. There are large car parks at the Gichan Land entrance, free in all three years. Weekday visitors parked close to the gate; on weekend afternoons, concert days and the final weekend they filled up, and people circled or used a supermarket car park nearby. Without a car: buses run from Gwangju's U-Square bus terminal to Yeongam Bus Terminal about 16 times a day (around 1 h 20 min, ₩8,700, per a timetable site — check before you go), then take a taxi to Gichan Land; we did not confirm the distance, but both are in Yeongam town. From Mokpo, one 2024 writer took Yeongam county bus 101 or 102 from Mokpo Bus Terminal and got off at the Gichan Land stop. In 2025 a weekend shuttle linked the festival with another event in the county; nothing has been announced about shuttles or parking for 2026 yet.
Year by year
Autumn 2023
28 October – 12 November. The best year for the flowers: seven of ten found them in full bloom. There were food and craft stalls and a local-food hall; 4 November, a concert day, was packed and one writer had to park at a supermarket. The display was extended to 26 November.
Autumn 2024
26 October – 10 November. A late year: seven of ten saw mostly buds, and only the writer who went on the last day found it in full bloom. The stamp hunt (rice or dried persimmon as prizes) went down well, but some missed the activity stalls of earlier years. The county office said it would leave the flowers up until early December.
Autumn 2025
30 October – 16 November, later extended to 30 November. The county pitched it as a display without big-name concerts, and visitors mention only a puppet show and buskers. The first week was patchy; from about 5 November people found it in full bloom. One writer found only three food trucks; on the closing weekend there was a queue for Yeongam beef tasting. A visitor on 14 November stayed for the evening lights.
Tips from people who went
- If the flowers are the point, aim for the second week (after about 5 November) rather than the opening days
- At weekends, arrive early; weekdays are usually calm
- Bring a warm layer for late afternoon
- Pick up a stamp-hunt sheet at the entrance — past prizes were rice or dried persimmon
- Photograph the flower tunnel with the sun behind you, or at an angle from outside
- Don't skip the chrysanthemum bonsai inside the gayageum museum
- Lots of bees — skip the perfume
- The display has been extended after the official end every year; check with the county (+82-61-470-2259) before a late visit
The 30 posts we read
- 23-14 · 2023-11-03 영암 월출산 국화축제에서 꽃길을 걸어요
- 23-15 · 2023-11-04 영암 월출산 기찬랜드 국화축제 (2023.11.3)
- 23-16 · 2023-11-04 2023 월출산 국화축제(feat.민경훈님 만나러 가는 길)
- 23-17 · 2023-11-05 [영암 여행]월출산 기찬랜드 2023년 국화축제 - 국화 축제 장소로 천....
- 23-22 · 2023-11-07 영암 국화축제 기찬랜드 볼거리 먹을거리 가득 (feat. 무화과빵)
- 23-23 · 2023-11-08 [영암] 2023년 월출산 국화축제 기찬랜드!
- 23-25 · 2023-11-09 전남 영암군 월출산 국화축제
- 23-29 · 2023-11-13 전남 가볼만한 곳 월출산 기찬랜드 국화전시기간 연장 광주근교 애....
- 23-30 · 2023-11-14 전남 국화 축제 2023영암 월출산 국화축제 내돈내산-방문후기
- 23-31 · 2023-11-15 2023 월출산 국화축제 전시기간 연장, 11월 26일까지 국화 24만 점과 함....
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- 24-10 · 2024-11-01 2024 영암 월출산 국화축제 스탬프투어 대동체험 정보
- 24-11 · 2024-11-02 전남 영암 월출산 국화축제 기찬랜드 가을풍경
- 24-14 · 2024-11-05 영암 기찬랜드 2024년 월출산 국화축제
- 24-15 · 2024-11-06 2024 영암 월출산 국화 축제 후기 (11월 6일 기준)
- 24-17 · 2024-11-08 영암월출산국화축제
- 24-18 · 2024-11-09 전남 영암 월출산 국화축제 기찬랜드 11월 가을 꽃여행
- 24-19 · 2024-11-10 목포 인근 영암 월출산 국화축제 (feat.영암 한옥문화비엔날레)
- 24-24 · 2024-11-15 2024 영암 월출산 국화축제 기찬랜드 / 기본정보
- 24-30 · 2024-11-22 영암월출산기찬랜드 11월 목포 근교 국화축제 가볼만한곳 매년 꽃구....
- 25-37 · 2025-12-03 〔남도 한달 여행Ⅰ장흥 8박9일 〕 6일차 #1- 영암 하루여행 _영암 월....
- 25-41 · 2025-11-01 영암 기찬랜드 국화축제 월출산 국화축제 첫날 방문후기
- 25-42 · 2025-11-01 영암 가볼만한곳 2025 월출산 국화축제 기찬랜드 개화현황 및 볼거리
- 25-52 · 2025-11-13 영암여행 월출산 국화축제 11.10 개화 절정
- 25-54 · 2025-11-14 2025 월출산 국화축제 후기, 개화현황
- 25-55 · 2025-11-15 [영암] 2025 월출산 국화축제 방문 후기(2025.11.15. 방문)
- 25-57 · 2025-11-16 영암 당일치기 여행코스 : 영암기찬랜드 국화축제와 영암도갑사 그....
- 25-60 · 2025-11-11 가을향기 가득한 영암 월출산국화축제 아이와 함께한 힐링 여행
- 25-61 · 2025-11-06 광주근교 꽃구경-전남 영암 기찬랜드 2025월출산 국화축제(가을꽃축....
- 25-62 · 2025-11-02 2025 월출산 국화축제
All posts are in Korean. We summarise them in our own words rather than quoting.