Written: October 10, 2026 · Updated: October 17, 2026

This guide summarizes official announcements (Jeju City press releases and the Jeju public library website's notices and sign-up pages) and is not a firsthand visit review. Character illustrations are GPT-generated.

2026 Jeju Reading Festival Dates, Magic Show & Park Joong-hoon Book Talk – Before Visiting Udang Library with Kids

2026 Jeju Reading Festival (제주독서대전) poster — Oct 24 (Sat)–25 (Sun), 2026, Udang Library area (outdoor lawn & book café) (우당도서관) (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 3)

An autumn library lawn
turns into a book festival 📚

The 2026 Jeju Reading Festival (제주독서대전)
takes place over two days,
October 24 (Sat) to 25 (Sun),
around Udang Library (우당도서관) in Jeju-si.

This is its 10th edition,
and the theme is ‘Chaekbate Modadeureong’
(roughly “gather in the book field” in Jeju dialect).

I rechecked the Jeju City press release (October 5)
and the notices and program sign-up pages
on the Jeju public library website
on October 10 and summarized them here.

🎪 What Kind of Festival Is It?

past festival — Festival entrance and visitors in front of the library (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 3)

past festival — Visitors enjoying the festival at the library’s outdoor event venue (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 3)

It shares the fruits of Jeju’s reading culture,
grown together with citizens over the past 10 years,
and is billed as Jeju’s largest book festival.

More than 80 reading-related organizations and groups
from across Korea join in,
along with publishers, bookstores and creators.

Under 6 themes with more than 100 programs
— meeting, reading, playing, seeing, protecting and enjoying —
events continue over both days.

📅 What’s On Each Day?

Toy (북카페) — Interior of a book café decorated with message cards (Oct 2010) (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization Photo Gallery · 한국관광공사 이범수 · KOGL Type 1)

Toy (북카페) — Book café terrace overlooking an urban alley (Oct 2010) (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization Photo Gallery · 한국관광공사 이범수 · KOGL Type 1)

These are the programs whose times are listed
on the public library website’s sign-up pages.

On the evening of the 24th, Hondi Madang
opens with an autumn night concert,
followed by awards for contributions to reading culture,
prizes for top finishers of the reading marathon,
and a special talk by actor Park Joong-hoon.

There will also be a Samyang Elementary School orchestra performance (24th)
and the ‘Bulleullak Deureullak’ Jeju-language children’s song contest (25th),
but their times have not been announced yet.

🧺 What Runs on Both Days?

past festival — Visitors purchasing drinks at an outdoor café booth (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 3)

past festival — Visitors looking around the lawn activity booths and event venue (Photo: Korea Tourism Organization · KOGL Type 3)

These programs run all day
on both the 24th and 25th.

The book market is open 11:00–18:00 on the 24th
and until 17:00 on the 25th
(according to the book market vendor recruitment notice).

There are also exhibitions: a 10th-anniversary special exhibition,
Jeju City’s Books of the Year from 2014–2026,
and “My Own Little Bookshop.”

📝 Do I Need to Sign Up in Advance?

Sign-ups for individual programs opened
at 10:00 on October 6
on the Jeju public library website
(lib.jeju.go.kr), first come, first served.

Go to the website → Events/Programs →
Program Sign-up.

Sign-ups for all four programs
close at 23:50 on October 18.

When signing up as a family,
the notice asks you to write the names
of family members joining you in the remarks field.

🚌 Getting There & Parking

The festival is held around
Udang Library (30 Sarabongdong-gil) in Jeju-si.

Most stage programs take place
on the library’s outdoor lawn,
and author talks are in the book café.

Parking, shuttle and bus information for the festival
is not yet in the official announcements.

👨‍👩‍👧 If You’re Visiting with Kids

The kids’ shows with announced times are
the children’s magic show at 13:00 on the 24th (Sat)
and The Bremen Town Musicians at 11:00 on the 25th (Sun).

The Bremen Town Musicians show
tells the story with sand art and songs.

Between shows, you can take a break
at the Japari Book Playground
and the outdoor library on the lawn plaza with a book.

⏳ Not Yet Announced

□ Overall festival hours (only book market hours are out)
□ Fees (no mention of “free”)
□ Parking, shuttle & buses
□ Outdoor programs in case of rain
□ Whether you can watch on-site without signing up
□ Times of the Jeju-language song contest & children’s orchestra

These are not yet in the official announcements.
I’ll update this post once they’re out.

👍 Recommended for These Families

✔ Families who want to enjoy a book festival with kids through magic and sand art shows
✔ Families who want to read at a relaxed pace in an outdoor library on the lawn
✔ Families who want to browse books from publishers and neighborhood bookshops across Korea in one place

Watch a show, read on the lawn —
a festival made for filling a day with books.

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 13

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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)