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

This guide summarizes official announcements (the festival website's front page and notices of August 19, September 10 and October 8, and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism festival listing, plus local news reports of Gimhae City announcements) and is not a firsthand visit review. Character illustrations are GPT-generated.

2026 Gimhae Buncheong Ceramics Festival Dates, Hours & Pottery Fun – Lotte Garden Park with Kids

It’s the season to see bowls
shaped from clay and fire up close 🏺

The 31st Gimhae Buncheong Ceramics Festival
(김해분청도자기축제) runs
from November 6 (Fri) to 10 (Tue),
five days at Lotte Garden Park
in Jangyu, Gimhae.

I’ve summarized the festival website’s notice (October 8)
and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
regional festival listing.

🎪 What kind of festival is it?

The Ministry’s listing introduces Gimhae
as a leading production area of buncheong ware in the early Joseon era.
This is a ceramics festival where you can see, buy,
and try making that buncheong pottery yourself.

According to the same listing,
it centers on exhibitions and sales by local potters,
pottery-making experiences and pottery demonstrations,
with hands-on activities, performances and events
prepared for children and families.

For the past 30 years
it was held in Jillye-myeon, home to the potters’ village.
This year, for the first time, it leaves Jillye
and moves to the park inside Lotte Outlet Gimhae.

Gimhae City said it moved the festival to Jangyu
because many people visit the outlet
and it is easy to reach from Busan and Changwon (Gyeongnam Ilbo, August 25).

It is hosted and organized by the Gimhae Ceramic Artists Association
and the Gimhae Culture and Tourism Foundation, sponsored by Gimhae City.

⏰ What are the opening hours?

Through the weekend it runs until 8 p.m.,
and on Monday and Tuesday it closes at 6 p.m.

The festival notice and the Ministry listing
give the same hours.

✨ What can you see and do?

These are this year’s program names
from the October 8 notice.
Dates and times are not announced yet.

According to a news report of Gimhae City’s announcement (Gimhae News, October 1),
the awards of the 17th Korea Buncheong Ceramics Competition
will be presented at the opening ceremony on November 6,
and the winning works will be shown from the 6th to the 10th
in the 1st-floor lobby of Lotte Hotel & Resort.
This year 75 artists from across Korea
entered 101 works, and 50 won prizes.

The festival website announced
that there will be no busking performances this year.

🚗 Getting there & parking

The venue address is
551 Jangyu-ro, Gimhae (Sinmun-dong 1410),
Lotte Garden Park inside Lotte Outlet Gimhae.

The website’s “Directions” page still shows
last year’s bus and parking information
for the old Jillye venue.
Parking, shuttle and bus information for this year’s venue
is not in the official guide yet.

👨‍👩‍👧 If you’re going with kids

Pottery wheel and dig experiences, the stamp tour,
and the family clay tower contest
are on the program list as things to do with kids.
There is also a children’s tea ceremony demonstration.

The opening ceremony is on the first day, Friday the 6th,
so if you go on the weekend (7th–8th), it will already be over.

However, experience fees and how to enter the contests
have not been announced.
When the detailed schedule is posted,
pick your child’s experience times first.

⏳ Not yet announced

□ Program timetable by date
□ Opening ceremony start time
□ Fees (the Ministry listing only says “paid”)
□ Experience fees and contest entry
□ Parking, shuttle and public transport
□ This year’s food (the Ministry listing shows last year’s)
□ Operation in case of rain

These are not in the official information yet.
I’ll update this post when they are.

For questions, call the festival office at 055-345-6036~7
or Gimhae City’s Tourism Division at 055-330-3245~6.

👍 Recommended for these families

✔ Families looking for pottery wheel and dig experiences with kids
✔ Families looking for an autumn festival close to Busan or Changwon
✔ Families who want to see buncheong exhibitions and master potters’ demonstrations

In its 31st autumn, it’s
Gimhae’s buncheong ceramics festival, out in the city for the first time.

This guide was put together from official information before visiting in person. The character illustrations are GPT-generated.

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)