Gwangju Kimchi Festival

The food information below is from the previous (2025) festival; food details for the 2026 festival are being updated.

The Gwangju Kimchi Festival, which represents Korea's kimchi culture, carries on its 33-year history this year, held over three days from October 23 to 25 at the Gwangju government complex of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City. Staged in Jeonnam-Gwangju, the kimchi capital that has kept the tradition and value of kimchi alive, the festival is a place to meet the past, present, and future of kimchi in one venue, from traditional gimjang culture to new kimchi content. Visitors can experience Korea's own food culture and its stories through colorful programs including the Korea Kimchi Contest, kimchi-making experiences, the Kimchi Market, and Cheoninui Bapsang (a food-and-drink space enjoyed alongside cultural performances). In particular, the festival keeps growing into a food-culture festival with a color uniquely Gwangju's own, linking the region's food culture, art, and tourism content with kimchi and bringing citizens into it together.