Written: October 10, 2026 · Updated: October 10, 2026

This guide summarizes official announcements and is not a firsthand visit review. Character illustrations are GPT-generated.

2026 Ganggyeong Salted Seafood Festival Dates, Drone Show & Fireworks Times – Before Visiting the Geumgang Riverside with Kids

Official poster of the 2026 30th Ganggyeong Salted Seafood (Jeotgal) & Sangwol Sweet Potato Festival — Oct 15 (Thu) to Oct 18 (Sun), 2026, Geumgang riverside area, Ganggyeong-eup, Nonsan (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 3)

The breeze off the Geumgang River
is turning cool this autumn 🦐

It’s the 30th anniversary this year!
The 2026 30th Ganggyeong Salted Seafood Festival (강경젓갈축제)
runs October 15 (Thu) to 18 (Sun),
four days on the Geumgang riverside
in Ganggyeong-eup, Nonsan.

I’ve summarized Nonsan City’s press releases
and the festival website’s timetable
(updated October 7).

🎪 About the Festival

A jeotgal booth at a past festival — visitors tasting and choosing seasoned salted seafood (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 3)

This year’s theme is
”Ganggyeong Jeotgal and Sangwol Sweet Potatoes, Finally the Best!”
Admission is free,
while some activities and food trucks charge a fee.

The special 30th-anniversary feature is the
Ganggyeong Port Market (강경포구장터).
It brings “Ganggyeong-jang,” once counted
among the three great markets of Joseon,
back in a modern form, with food, activities and performances in one place.

There are also cooking activities with jeotgal (salted seafood),
gimjang (kimchi-making) programs,
Sangwol sweet potato activities and sales,
and dessert and bakery programs.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s festival listing
also names the “Global Ganggyeong Jeotgal Gimjang Festa”
and local specialty promotion and sales programs
among the main programs.

Booths are open daily 10:00–21:00.
The city’s culture calendar and the Ministry listing
give the hours as 10:00–22:00.

Gimjang (kimchi-making) at a past festival — kids and adults rubbing seasoning into cabbage (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 3)

✨ What’s On and When?

A past festival at night — crowds filling the area in front of the stage (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 3)

Here are the main stage events by date
from the festival website’s timetable.

Every morning 10:00–12:00,
there’s a pungmul (folk percussion) showcase at the Port Market.
On the morning of the 18th, “Nonsan Artist Rise &
Ganggyeong Musik Lounge” also takes place.

On the 15th, 13:00–17:00,
Nonsan residents’ clubs hold a joint showcase,
and at 17:30 on the 15th and 18th
the Nonsan City Choir gives a celebration performance.

Pungmul at a past festival — a folk percussion troupe spinning sangmo ribbon hats on the lawn, thatched-roof booths behind (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 3)

🌼 Chrysanthemums and the City Tour

The “Chrysanthemum Exhibition with Citizens”
is on at the festival site for all four days.
About 60 chrysanthemum sculptures
and some 1,000 potted chrysanthemums are on display.
There are strawberry and animal shapes, letters and tunnels,
plus figures of “Yukgun Byeongjang,“
the character of Nonsan’s farm-produce brand.

After the festival,
the exhibition moves to Nonsan Citizens’ Family Park
and runs again October 21 to November 4.

On the 17th (Sat), the Nonsan City Tour
runs a one-day Ganggyeong Jeotgal Festival special course.

🚌 Getting There & Parking

In its October 6 press release, Nonsan City said
it is preparing circulating shuttle bus routes,
festival parking and traffic control.
Routes and parking locations aren’t in the official information yet.

The city also plans more rest areas
and a joint situation room with related agencies
to watch over traffic, parking and safety.

The traffic guide on the festival website
is a post from last year’s festival, so I haven’t included it.

Ganggyeong Jeotgal Exhibition Hall — the ship-shaped building above a flower-covered slope (Oct 2012) (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization Photo Gallery · 한국관광공사 박은경 · KOGL Type 1)

👨‍👩‍👧 If You’re Going with Kids

The 'Ganggyeong Sunset Train' stop at a past festival — a colorful mini train (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 3)

The stage show for kids is the
Kids’ Magic Balloon Show at 13:00 on the 17th and 18th.
If you arrive around lunchtime,
you can go from the balloon show
on to the chrysanthemum sculptures.

Evening stages start at 18:30 and end around 20:30.
It can get chilly by the river after sunset,
so an extra jacket for the kids is a good idea.

⏳ Not Yet Announced

□ Shuttle bus routes and times
□ Parking locations and fees
□ Global Ganggyeong Jeotgal Gimjang Festa dates and how to join
□ Fees for each activity
□ Rain plan

These aren’t in the official information yet.
I’ll update this post when they come out.

For questions, call the number on the timetable:
041-730-2952 / 2928 (weekdays 09:00–18:00).

👍 Recommended for These Families

✔ Families who want to watch drones and fireworks with their kids
✔ Families who want autumn photos by the chrysanthemum sculptures
✔ Families curious about gimjang and jeotgal activities

Port market and chrysanthemums by day,
drones and fireworks by night:
a 30th-anniversary festival with stages all four days.

This article is based on official information, organized before visiting in person. Event photos are from the Korea Tourism Organization, released under KOGL Type 3 (attribution, no derivatives) and shown unedited. Photos marked ‘Photo Gallery’ are from the Korea Tourism Organization under KOGL Type 1 (shooting dates noted). The character illustrations are GPT-generated.

📷 The festival in photos 18

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AI-assisted translation. Numbers and article structure were checked against the Korean original on 2026-10-10. This is not a new verification of the event announcements. Original post (Korean)