Hampyeong Chrysanthemum Festival 2026 (until Nov 8): Tickets, Hours, Concerts and How to Get There

Every autumn, Hampyeong, a small county in South Jeolla, fills its riverside Expo Park with chrysanthemums. The 2026 Korea Gukhyang Grand Chrysanthemum Festival (대한민국 국향대전) runs from October 23 to November 8 at Hampyeong Expo Park (함평엑스포공원), with giant flower sculptures, bonsai halls, greenhouses and music every day. This year's theme is "Garden of Chrysanthemum Myths".

Why it's worth the trip

• Flower sculptures with a story: the central plaza has chrysanthemum figures of a water goddess (Naias), a talking tree, a legendary tiger, a unicorn and two dragons, plus a rainbow tunnel and a mirror cave.
• Bonsai up close: one hall shows 130 masterpiece chrysanthemum bonsai and about 1,800 large-bloom pots.
• Indoor halls for cold or rainy days: a succulent house with 650 species, a subtropical farm hall with banana and papaya trees, an aquatic plant hall and the county art museum.
• A very Hampyeong oddity: a golden bat statue made with 162 kg of pure gold, inside the Hampyeong Memory Workshop.
• Food from home and abroad: local stalls sell raw-beef bibimbap, octopus bibimbap and gukbap, and a world food street has German, Japanese, Vietnamese and Filipino dishes.

When

• Dates: October 23 – November 8, 2026 (17 days)
• Hours: 09:00–18:00 every day
• Brass band parade: on weekend afternoons, 14:00–15:30, around the central plaza
• Banana picking: weekends at 11:00 and 15:00 in the subtropical farm hall
• Today, October 31: singer Kim Ki-tae on the main stage, 17:30–18:00
• November 1: Lee Young-ha Band, and The Vocal (KCM, Ko Yoo-jin, The One)
• November 3: finals of the TV singing show *Jeonguk Noraejarang*, 09:00–12:00, at the Hwangso parking lot
• November 8: closing ceremony 17:00–18:00, with singer Na Tae-joo

Cost

• Adults KRW 7,000, youth and soldiers KRW 5,000, kindergarteners, children and seniors 65+ KRW 3,000.
• Groups of 20 or more pay KRW 6,000 / 4,000 / 2,000.
• Free entry: children under 4, people with disabilities (plus one companion for severe disabilities) and national merit recipients with proof.
• The official ticket table lists a coupon of KRW 2,000 per adult ticket and KRW 1,000 per youth ticket. Ask at the ticket office how to use it.
• The 10% early-bird sale ended on October 22, so everyone now pays the on-site price.

Getting there

• Address: 27 Gonjae-ro, Hampyeong-eup, Hampyeong-gun (함평군 함평읍 곤재로 27)
• By bus: ride to Hampyeong Public Bus Terminal (함평공영터미널). On the official festival map, the terminal sits right beside the Hwangso (Bull) Gate ticket office.
• By car: use Hampyeong IC on the Seohaean Expressway, or Dong-Hampyeong IC on the Muan–Gwangju Expressway. The festival map shows four parking areas (P1–P4).
• Gates: there are three ticket offices, at the Butterfly Gate (나비의 문), the Hwangso Gate (황소의 문) and the Theme Video Hall.

Tips

• Crowds: the concert days (November 1 and November 8) and the TV show morning (November 3) will be the busiest. A weekday morning is calmer for photos.
• Plan your time: the park is large. The official leaflet suggests a loop route from each gate, so pick up a map at the entrance and give yourself a few hours.
• Last bus: the park closes at 18:00 and it gets dark early in November. Check your bus back from Hampyeong before you go in.
• On site: there are cash machines at the Butterfly Gate and the Hwangso Gate, two first-aid stations, and stroller and wheelchair rental.
• Weather: November mornings in the countryside can be cold. Dress in layers.

Going alone?

The nearest omeetu meetup spot is Gwangju Songjeong Station (광주송정역). Open a meetup there to find others heading to Hampyeong, or join one already planned for the same day. Meet first in a busy public place, and keep chats inside the app. Teen members have limits on meetups between 22:00 and 06:00, so plan an early return.

Questions on the day

• Festival control room: 061-320-2245
• Hampyeong Festival & Tourism Foundation: 061-320-2247
• Emergencies in Korea: 112 (police), 119 (fire and ambulance), 1330 (travel hotline with English support)

Official site: Hampyeong Festival & Tourism Foundation – Gukhyang Grand Chrysanthemum Festival