Andong Maskdance Festival
안동국제탈춤페스티벌 · Andong, North Gyeongsang
– Confirmed dates
Festival dates move every year — confirm on the organizer's own site before booking.
Last verified: 2026-08-22.
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Talchum mask dance drama, UNESCO-listed in 2022, in the region the tradition comes from.
Who it suits: Non-Korean speakers above all — talchum is built to need no shared language, and audience reaction is part of the performance.
When, where, how much
From the organizer
Organized by Korea Foundation for Cultures and Ethics. These pages are the organizer's own and open on their site. They are usually Korean only — but that is where the confirmed programme, stage times and site map appear first, and times and prices read the same in any language.
Program: Korean & International Mask Dance Performances, Madanggeuk & Original Plays, Mask Play Troupe Performances, World Mask Play Competition, Mask Talent, World Creative Mask Contest, Mask Dance Drawing Contest, Tallori Daedongnanjang, Street Parade…
Photos: Korea Tourism Organization · visitkorea.or.kr · KOGL Type 3
Read our longer write-up on this festival →
Where it is
Where it is in the country — 192 km south-east of Seoul
About 108 km across — 3 other places we cover sit inside it. The pick of them is listed below.
192 km south-east of Seoul, in Andong, North Gyeongsang (straight-line distance from Seoul City Hall, calculated from the venue's official coordinates).
Getting there, from our own checks:
- KTX-eum from Cheongnyangni — about 2h03 (the Jungang Line, fully electrified and double-tracked only since December 2024)
- Bus 210 from Andong Station or the bus terminal — about 1h10-1h17
- Taxi from Andong Station — about 44 min
Nearby, if you are making a trip of it
Within about 20 km of the venue, by distance:
- Grasswon Park (0.1 km)
- Andong Market Jjimdak Alley (0.6 km)
- Traditional Culture Contents Museum (0.8 km)
- Sinse-dong Mural Village (0.8 km)
- Imcheonggak House (1.4 km)
- Head House of the Tapdong Branch of the Goseong Yi Clan (1.6 km)
Places and distances from the Korea Tourism Organization's location data. We have not visited all of them.
What it is actually about
We have written about the Hahoe masks behind it — nine 12th-century faces, now a national treasure — read that first if you want to know what you are looking at before you go, rather than after.
Getting there and staying
We have a full guide to this area — see our Andong guide for where to stay and how the town fits together.
Festival weeks fill local rooms earlier than you would expect. What is available in Andong right now:
Outside the big cities, wifi is not something to plan around. Shuttle stops, stage times and the day's program are posted on the organizer's Korean-language page or a Naver Map pin, and they change on the day. A Korean eSIM is the cheapest way to have it working before you land.
Planning a trip around it
On at the same time
If your dates are fixed, these run within ten days of Andong Maskdance Festival and are worth checking before you commit to a route.
- Moonlight Tour at Changdeokgung Palace — 2026/09/10 – 10/17, Seoul, 2 km from Seoul.
- Jinan Red Ginseng Festival — 2026/09/18 – 09/20, Jinan, North Jeolla, 203 km from Seoul.
- Gimje Horizon Festival — 2026/10/01 – 10/05, Gimje, North Jeolla, 202 km from Seoul.
- Jeongseon Arirang Festival — 2026/10/01 – 10/04, Jeongseon, Gangwon, 150 km from Seoul.
- Geumsan World Insam Festival — 2026/10/02 – 10/11, Geumsan, South Chungcheong, 170 km from Seoul.
- Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival — 2026/10/03 – 10/18, Jinju, South Gyeongsang, 282 km from Seoul.
Other festivals in North Gyeongsang
Same province, different times of year — useful if you are choosing when to visit North Gyeongsang rather than when to leave home.
- Mungyeong Chasabal Festival — May, Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang
- Andong National Heritage Night - Wolyeong Night Stroll — July, Andong, North Gyeongsang
- Gyeongju Silla Cultural Festival — October, Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang
Running every week nearby
These are not tied to the festival and run on their own schedule, so they are there whether your dates line up with Andong Maskdance Festival or not.
- Hahoe Byeolsingut Tallori — May–October Saturdays and Sundays 15:00 · March, April and November Sundays 15:00. Mask Dance Theater, Hahoe Village.
Our own guide to the area
- Andong — Hahoe Village, the mask tradition it produced, and a KTX that finally reaches it.