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Gimcheon Gimbap Festival 2026: three days, Oct 23–25, with shuttles from Seoul

Reported 2026-10-14 / Posted 2026-10-14 · Compiled from Korean media reports and the festival's official site · By

The 2026 Gimcheon Gimbap Festival (김천김밥축제) runs from Friday, October 23 to Sunday, October 25 in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang Province, a day longer than last year's two-day event. Korean media report that the city has targeted last year's biggest complaint, the wait to order gimbap (김밥, rice rolled in seaweed), and traffic. Several fixes run through Kakao services, and some details for travellers from abroad are still missing.

Rows of round plates holding sliced gimbap rolls with carrot, cucumber and other fillings on a festival table
File photo: Plates of sliced gimbap set out at the Gimcheon Gimbap Festival in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang.Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (한국관광공사) via TourAPI · KOGL Type 3

The essentials

  • What: 2026 Gimcheon Gimbap Festival (2026 김천김밥축제), a three-day festival about one dish, held by Gimcheon city
  • When: October 23–25, 2026 (Friday to Sunday)
  • Hours: Friday 10:00–18:00; Saturday and Sunday 09:00–18:00, per the festival site
  • Where: Jikji Culture Park (직지문화공원), Samyeongdaesa Park (사명대사공원) and the Eco-friendly Ecological Park (친환경생태공원), Gimcheon
  • Getting there: festival shuttles from three stops, one of them KTX Gimcheon(Gumi) Station; Kakao T Shuttle buses from five cities
  • Status: dates, venues, ordering and transport come from the city's September and October announcements. Not on the festival site or in the reports as of October 14: admission, whether QR ordering takes foreign cards, the interpreters' languages, and Kakao T Shuttle fares and booking rules for foreign visitors.

What it is, and what changed after last year

The festival spreads across city parks in Gimcheon. Last year it used two of them, Jikji Culture Park and Samyeongdaesa Park; this year the Eco-friendly Ecological Park is added, so the grounds are bigger (Yonhap, October 13). Other additions announced by the city:

  • A festival map. QR codes around the grounds open a festival-only KakaoMap service showing routes between zones, the vendors taking part and performance times.
  • Five information centres, plus a dedicated booth for foreign visitors with interpreters on duty.
  • More women's toilets. Five extra units at three locations, according to Edaily on October 14.
  • Luggage storage. A new service lets you leave your bags while you look around.

Ordering gimbap without the wait

The queue fix is a phone system built with Kakao Pay. You scan a QR code with your smartphone and order and pay on the screen; Yonhap says this means no standing in line.

For older visitors and anyone else less at ease with phones, the festival runs dedicated kiosk booths, and guide staff are posted there throughout. That fallback is the useful one for visitors from abroad. If the QR page stalls at payment on your phone, go to a kiosk booth and ask the staff, or walk over to the foreigner information booth.

How to get there

  • Festival shuttle buses. More than 60 buses run to the festival from three stops only: Gimcheon(Gumi) Station (김천구미역) on the KTX line, Gimcheon Station (김천역) and the Gimcheon Sports Town car park (김천종합스포츠타운 주차장). The city has dropped routes with stops in between to cut confusion. The festival site lists a bus about every 20 minutes, traffic permitting.
  • By train to the shuttle. KTX seats to Gimcheon(Gumi) are booked in Korail+, the rail app covered in our Korail+ guide. If you carry a foreigner-only rail pass, see our KORAIL Pass guide.
  • Sopung Taxi (소풍택시). This new demand-responsive taxi runs from the three shuttle stops to the festival at a flat one-way fare. Per the festival site, it costs 8,000 won from either train station and 5,000 won from the Sports Town car park. You book it in its own app or by phone and pay the driver. Edaily pitches it for when the shuttle line gets long.
  • Kakao T Shuttle from other cities. Per Asia Business Daily (September 22), these direct buses run from Seoul (Jamsil, Sadang and Seoul stations), Daejeon City Hall Station, Daegu Banwoldang Station, Gwangju Comprehensive Bus Terminal and Busan Seomyeon Station. You book in the Kakao T app's Shuttle menu, and riders get a roll of gimbap and two souvenirs. Yonhap and Edaily call them round trips.
  • Directions. For the walk from a stop or station, use Naver Map or KakaoMap; our apps guide explains both.

Our verdict

Go if you like regional food festivals and are comfortable with a train plus a local shuttle. That route uses Korail+ and the city's shuttle stops rather than the Kakao T app. The Kakao T Shuttle from Seoul saves a transfer, but until its fare and booking rules for foreign visitors are public, treat it as a backup.

On a day trip, plan the ride back to Gimcheon(Gumi) before you book the return KTX. The festival site shows the city shuttle pausing at 12:00–13:00 and 16:00–17:00 and ending at 19:00, and the Sopung Taxi taking calls until 20:30.

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