This post summarizes official announcements; it is not a review of a visit. Sources: the Chuncheon Cultural Center's performance timetable (October 1, 2026), its festival notice (poster September 30; site layout and schedule October 7) and its blog post (September 30), the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's regional festival listing, and Chuncheon City's 'Directions' page for City Hall buses and parking, checked on October 8, 2026. The character illustrations are GPT-generated images.
- Dates
- Sat, Oct 17, 2026 ~ Sun, Oct 18
- Hours
- 11:00–19:00 (Sunday until 16:00)
- Venue
- Chuncheon City Hall Plaza (춘천시청광장)11 Sicheong-gil, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon (강원 춘천시 시청길 11)
- Fee
- Free
- Organizer
- Chuncheon City (organized by the Chuncheon Cultural Center and the Soyang River Culture Festival Committee)
- Official
- Official notice (Korean) ↗
- Updated
- when we last re-checked the official notice
📅 Schedule at a glance
October 2026
Event daysHighlightsTodayKorean public holidays
Korea Meteorological Administration · 10/15, 5 AM issued · forecasts can change
📌 What's on each day
- 10/17Sat★ Parade & opening · ★ Yongsin-gut · Kids' showToday
- 10/18Sun★ Fishing play · Sound of ChuncheonToday
🔁 Daily · Hands-on zone · citizens' stage · random play dance
Soyang River Culture Festival 2026 (Chuncheon) — Schedule, Stage Timetable & Hands-on Zone Before You Take the Kids to Chuncheon City Hall Plaza
Two days of nongak farmers’ music
ringing out in the heart of autumn Chuncheon 🥁
The 47th edition this year!
The 47th Soyang River Culture Festival
(제47회 소양강문화제)
runs Sat, Oct 17 – Sun, Oct 18
at Chuncheon City Hall Plaza
(춘천시청광장).
Admission is free.
We put this together from the Chuncheon Cultural Center’s
performance timetable,
its schedule and site layout (October 7)
and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s festival listing.
🎪 What kind of festival is it?
The Soyang River Culture Festival
finds and carries on Chuncheon’s own
traditions that are fading away —
a folk culture festival
for the whole city to enjoy together.
The poster calls it
’Chuncheon’s history and culture, with its citizens —
Chuncheon’s signature local culture festival’.
This year, the Chuncheon Cultural Center says,
the focus is on putting more handed-down traditions on stage
and getting more young children
and teenagers involved.
Chuncheon City hosts it,
and the Chuncheon Cultural Center
and the Soyang River Culture Festival Committee
organize it.
🥁 What’s on stage on Saturday the 17th?
Day one starts at 11:00
and ends at 19:00 with a celebration show.
Here’s the performance timetable, as published.
| Time | Program |
|---|---|
| 09:00–10:00 | Chungui-je (충의제, a memorial rite) — at the Sunui-bi memorial on Bonguisan Mountain (poem, dance, rite and incense offerings) |
| 11:00–11:30 | Gilnori street parade · joint village nongak show — marching from the Gangwon State Office Plaza to Chuncheon City Hall Plaza |
| 11:30–12:05 | Opening ceremony (pre-show · official ceremony · post-show) |
| 12:40–14:00 | Yongsin-gut (용신굿, a shaman rite for the dragon god) — Chuncheon Soyang-gut Preservation Society (co-op) |
| 14:00–14:10 | Dalbodeure Multicultural Choir |
| 14:10–14:30 | Chuncheon Dwitturu Nongak — a show celebrating its designation as Gangwon State intangible heritage |
| 14:30–14:40 | Uri Donggeurami |
| 14:40–15:20 | Daycare kids’ show — four daycare centers (다온 · 다경 · 자람 & 하온 + 트루엘 · 홀츠하임) |
| 15:30–16:30 | Culture school folk songs · nanta drumming · saxophone, Doraesaem Taeyang Nanta, Uibyeong Arirang Preservation Society, Yumin Dance Academy |
| 16:40–17:20 | Random play dance — anyone can join |
| 18:10–19:00 | Celebration show — KK World Model Association fashion show, Ara Dance, Jiksi Band, Duda Street |
In the gilnori parade, a chwita band
(traditional military band) leads the way,
followed by manjang banners, village nongak troupes,
performers and citizens, all walking together.
The Chungui-je start time differs:
09:00 in the schedule (October 7),
09:40 on the Chuncheon Cultural Center blog (September 30).
The ministry’s listing says Saturday runs
until 18:00,
but the performance timetable goes on until 19:00.
🎶 And on Sunday the 18th?
Day two ends at 16:00.
The fishing play and ‘Sound of Chuncheon’
follow in the afternoon.
| Time | Program |
|---|---|
| 11:00–11:50 | Sangcheon Elementary School chwita band, culture school acoustic guitar · social dance · folk guitar |
| 13:00–13:50 | Hallym University ‘Chumbaram’ dance team, ‘Power Jumping’ jump-rope club demo team, Oneul Dance ‘New Moon’ |
| 13:50–14:30 | Random play dance — anyone can join |
| 14:30–14:40 | Chuncheon Women’s Organizations Council ‘Everyone’s Runway’ |
| 14:40–15:00 | Folk arts troupe — pansori · Korean dance |
| 15:00–15:40 | Udubeol Cheollyeop-nori (우두벌 천렵놀이, a village stream-fishing folk play) |
| 15:40–15:50 | Culture school harmonica |
| 15:50–16:00 | Chuncheon Municipal Arts Company (gugak orchestra) ‘Sound of Chuncheon’ |
In the October 1 timetable the random play dance
was only 10 minutes; in the October 7 schedule
it grew to 40 minutes (from 13:50).
The fishing play is spelled ‘Udubyeol’ (우두별) in the timetable
and ‘Udubeol’ (우두벌) in the ministry’s and the Cultural Center’s descriptions.
Performance times may change
depending on how things run on the day, the notice says.
🎨 What hands-on activities are there?
The hands-on zone (체험마당) next to the stage
is open 11:00–18:00 on Saturday
and 11:00–16:00 on Sunday.
Here are the booths
shown on the site layout.
| Type | Activities |
|---|---|
| Folk games | Old-school games — beanbag toss · gonggi (Korean jacks) · ttakji (paper-tile flipping) · biseok-chigi (stone toppling), folk play (spinning-top making) |
| Art | Balloon art / face painting · phone grip making · jukbangul (Korean diabolo) · paper hat making |
| Traditional | Tteokme rice-cake pounding · family motto calligraphy · wood & seal carving rubbings · a cup of traditional tea |
| Others | Mini-car racing · CPR · traditional furniture display / wood art · Chuncheon Village Bonghwang Coffee · cotton candy & popcorn |
Fees and group sizes for each booth
aren’t in the official notices.
The layout also marks the info desk & HQ,
a first-aid booth, a rest area for visitors
and restrooms.
🚌 Getting there & parking
The venue is Chuncheon City Hall Plaza,
at 11 Sicheong-gil, Chuncheon.
There’s no festival transport or parking notice yet,
so here’s Chuncheon City Hall’s own
’Directions’ info.
| Bus stop | City buses |
|---|---|
| Chuncheon City Hall (춘천시청) | 300 |
| City Hall Annex (춘천시청별관) | 300 · 2 · 2-S · 3-S · 7-S · 10-1 · 12 · 12-S |
| Bank of Korea (한국은행) | 3-S · 7-S · 10-1 · 12 · 12-S |
| Kangwon Ilbo (강원일보) | 300 · 10 · 10-S · 12 |
| Myeongdong Entrance (명동입구) | 200 · 1 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 15 and many more |
| Chuncheon City Hall car park | Usual rules |
|---|---|
| Opening | Open all year (may change for construction or special reasons) |
| Fees | Paid on weekdays 07:00–22:00 · free on weekends & public holidays |
| Regular spaces | 51 on B1 · 321 on B2 |
There’s no word on whether
the City Hall car park
will run as usual on festival days.
👨👩👧 Going with kids
On the kids’ stage,
four daycare teams perform from 14:40 on the 17th.
On the 18th at 13:15, the ‘Power Jumping’
jump-rope club demo team takes the stage.
In the random play dance,
anyone can come up on stage
and dance along when the music plays.
It’s at 16:40 on the 17th and 13:50 on the 18th.
The schedule says if you dance well on stage,
you could win a voucher (a Nami Island pass, a Gangchon Rail Park ride ticket
or a Chuncheon Sarang gift voucher)!
To catch the fishing play (40 min from 15:00)
do the activities before it starts
⏳ Not announced yet
□ Fees & group sizes for each booth
□ Parking & road closures on festival days
□ What happens if it rains
□ Food stalls (the layout shows only cotton candy, popcorn & coffee booths)
None of this is in the official notices yet.
We’ll update this post once it’s out.
Questions? Call the Soyang River Culture Festival Committee
at +82-33-254-5105.
👍 Recommended for these families
✔ Families looking for traditional activities like rice-cake pounding and spinning-top making
✔ Families who want to show kids Chuncheon traditions like the Yongsin-gut rite and the fishing play
✔ Families looking for a free autumn outing in downtown Chuncheon
Traditional shows, citizens’ stages
and a hands-on zone, all in one place —
a Chuncheon local culture outing.
We put this together from official announcements before going ourselves. The character illustrations are GPT-generated images.
🔄 Updates
- One-week check
- First write-up
📎 Sources
- 제47회 소양강문화제 (포스터·행사배치도·행사일정) 춘천문화원 · 2026.9.17 · 주최
- 제47회 소양강문화제 공연 시간계획 춘천문화원 · 2026.10.1 · 주최
- 제47회 소양강문화제, 춘천의 전통과 오늘이 한자리에! 춘천문화원 블로그 · 2026.9.30 · 주최
- 소양강문화제 문화체육관광부 지역축제 · 관공서
- 찾아오시는 길(춘천시청 버스·주차장 안내) 춘천시 · 2026.5.28 · 관공서
This is a guide based on official announcements, not a visit review. Schedules, programs and fees can change, so please re-check the official notice before you go.
Translated from our Korean post with AI assistance. Dates, times and other numbers were checked against the Korean original on October 8, 2026. The festival, performance and booth names are our own English renderings (romanized Korean with a short explanation); we did not find official English names in the sources. We did not check whether the festival offers guidance in English. Original post (Korean)