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Gwangyang Maehwa Festival

광양 매화축제 · Gwangyang, Jeonnam-Gwangju

2026/03/13 – 03/22 Past

This edition has finished. Korean festivals usually keep to roughly the same window each year, so the next one should land near those dates — but the organizer publishes the confirmed dates and they move, sometimes by weeks.
Last verified: 2026-08-22.

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Hillsides of white plum blossom above the Seomjingang, the first blossom festival of the year.

Who it suits: Early travellers. Plum blossom opens before cherry, so this is the first flower festival of the Korean year — useful if your dates are too early for the cherry wave.

When, where, how much

From the organizer

Official site

Organized by Gwangyang-si. 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.

Photos: Korea Tourism Organization · visitkorea.or.kr · KOGL Type 3

Where it is

285 km south of Seoul, in Gwangyang, Jeonnam-Gwangju (straight-line distance from Seoul City Hall, calculated from the venue's official coordinates).

We have not timed these connections ourselves, so rather than print a number we have not checked, here is the route on the two apps Koreans actually use — Area of Gwangyang Maehwa Village as the destination, already filled in:

• Directions on Kakao Map — live bus and train times, and which platform
• Naver Map — the stronger of the two in English

From Seoul, journeys to Gwangyang start at Seoul Station (KTX and regular rail) or the Express Bus Terminal. Which of the two wins depends on how many cities you are stringing together — our rail pass guide works through the break-even, and getting around Korea covers why these two apps beat Google Maps once you are on the ground.

Nearby, if you are making a trip of it

Within about 20 km of the venue, by distance:

• Cheong Maesil Farm (0.0 km)
• Gwangyang Maehwa Village (0.5 km)
• Pyeongsari Park (7.0 km)
• Pyeongsari Field (8.5 km)
• Choi Champandaek (House of Choi Champan) (9.2 km)
• Baegunsan Recreational Forest (10.8 km)

Places and distances from the Korea Tourism Organization's location data. We have not visited all of them.

Getting there and staying

For a bed near the festival, Klook's accommodation search for Gwangyang is the quickest way to see what is left — festival weeks fill local rooms earlier than you would expect.

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 Gwangyang Maehwa Festival and are worth checking before you commit to a route.

• Gurye Sansuyu Festival — 2026/03/14 – 03/22, Gurye, Jeonnam-Gwangju, 254 km from Seoul.
• Jinhae Gunhangje Festival — 2026/03/27 – 04/05, Changwon, South Gyeongsang, 308 km from Seoul.
• Yeoju Ceramic Festival — 2026/03/19 – 05/01, Yeoju, Gyeonggi, 67 km from Seoul.
• Goryeong Daegaya Festival — 2026/03/27 – 03/29, Goryeong, Gyeongbuk, 235 km from Seoul.
• Nonsan Strawberry Festival — 2026/03/26 – 03/29, Nonsan, Chungnam, 153 km from Seoul.

Other festivals in Jeonnam-Gwangju

Same province, different times of year — useful if you are choosing when to visit Jeonnam-Gwangju rather than when to leave home.

• Gurye Sansuyu Festival — March, Gurye, Jeonnam-Gwangju
• Hampyeong Butterfly Festival — April, Hampyeong, Jeonnam-Gwangju
• Boseong Green Tea Festival — May, Boseong, Jeonnam-Gwangju
• Damyang Bamboo Festival — May, Damyang, Jeonnam-Gwangju
• Jeongnamjin Jangheung Water Festival — July, Jangheung, Jeonnam-Gwangju

See the full calendar →