This guide summarizes official announcements (Naju City press releases and the festival website) and is not a firsthand visit review. Character illustrations are GPT-generated.
- Dates
- Fri, Oct 23, 2026 ~ Sun, Oct 25
- Venue
- Yeongsangang Garden area (영산강정원 일원)757-1 Yeongsan-dong, Naju, Gwangju-Jeonnam Integrated Special City (나주시 영산동 757-1)
- Performers
- 안성훈 · 이상우 · 변진섭 · 안유성 · 정관스님 · 천상현
- Organizer
- Gwangju-Jeonnam Integrated Special City and Naju City (organized by the Namdo Food Culture Festival Foundation)
- 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 · 10/16, 2 AM issued · forecasts can change
📌 What's on each day
- 10/23Fri★ Opening · Dinner showToday
- 10/24Sat★ Kids cooking · 2 dinner shows · ConcertsToday
- 10/25Sun★ Contest · ClosingToday
🔁 Daily · Exhibition hall of 27 cities & counties · Cooking classes & food activities
2026 Namdo Food Culture Festival Schedule, Dinner Shows, Kids’ Cooking Class – Before Visiting Yeongsangang Garden
It’s the season when the flavors of Namdo
gather in a garden by the Yeongsangang River 🍲
The 31st Namdo Food Culture Festival (남도음식문화큰잔치)
runs from October 23 (Fri) to 25 (Sun)
around Yeongsangang Garden in Naju.
From 22 cities and counties of Jeonnam
and 5 districts of Gwangju,
food from 27 local governments comes together in one place.
I’ve summarized Naju City press releases (August 26 and later)
and the festival website for you.
🎪 What Kind of Festival Is It?
It’s a Namdo (southwestern Korea) food festival
co-hosted by Gwangju-Jeonnam Integrated Special City
and Naju City.
This year’s slogan is
”United as One Special City through the Taste of Namdo.”
Naju City says it is turning this year’s festival into
a “stay-and-enjoy food festival” where you
taste, cook and linger in person.
Signature dishes of each area are cooked on site,
with more tastings and sales,
plus traditional dishes by master cooks and home-style food.
A separate Naju Special Pavilion
gathers the food of the host city, Naju.
🍽️ What Can You Taste and See?
Here are the main programs
listed on the website and in the press releases.
| Program | What it is |
|---|---|
| Open Kitchen | Watch master cooks and chefs cook, then taste freshly made dishes |
| Exhibition hall of 27 cities, counties & districts | Signature dishes of each area and master cooks’ table settings |
| Sales area | Jeonnam·Gwangju signature food stands · Youth Food & Dessert Zone |
| Namdo Food Masters’ Hall | Master cooks’ demonstrations, tastings and cooking shows |
| Paid tasting program | New this year, run by advance sign-up |
The price and sign-up method for the paid tasting program
have not been announced yet.
📅 What’s On Each Day?
These are the stage programs
from the festival website’s schedule.
The website notes the schedule
may change depending on circumstances.
| Date · Time | Stage program |
|---|---|
| 23rd (Fri) 18:00 | Opening ceremony |
| 23rd (Fri) 19:00 | Special Dinner Show Ⅰ: Master Chef Ahn Yu-seong × French MCF cooking show |
| 23rd (Fri) 20:00 | Opening celebration concert: singer Ahn Sung-hoon |
| 23rd (Fri) 20:30 | Opening fireworks show |
| 24th (Sat) 11:00 · 14:00 · 15:30 | Taste of Namdo Ⅰ·Ⅱ·Ⅲ (“Forests and Mountain Ranges” · “Deep Sea and Dadohae Islands” · “Gwangju’s 7 Signature Dishes”) |
| 24th (Sat) 17:00 | Special Dinner Show Ⅱ: temple food master Jeong Kwan Seunim |
| 24th (Sat) 18:30 | Special Dinner Show Ⅲ: Chef Cheon Sang-hyun + celebration concerts by Lee Sang-woo · Byun Jin-sub (until 20:00) |
| 25th (Sun) 11:00 · 14:00 | Taste of Namdo Ⅳ·Ⅴ (“Tidal Flats and Peninsulas, Yeongsangang River and Plains” · “Straits and Bays”) |
| 25th (Sun) 15:30 | Master cooks’ talk show |
| 25th (Sun) 16:40 | Cooking contest awards & closing ceremony |
On the 24th and 25th at 12:30 there is also
”Table of Namdo Masters” (tasting master cooks’ dishes).
In the schedule changed on October 15,
Chef Cheon Sang-hyun’s dinner show and the Lee Sang-woo · Byun Jin-sub
celebration concerts are grouped into one slot, 18:30~20:00.
The dinner show page lists only Chef Cheon’s show
until 19:30.
🧑🍳 What Can You Try Yourself?
The hands-on programs
are different each day.
| Date | Activities |
|---|---|
| 23rd (Fri) | Master Cooking Class 1~6 (13:00 · 14:30 · 16:30 · 16:40) |
| 24th (Sat) | Kids’ cooking class (12:00 · 13:30 · 15:30) · Master Cooking Class 7~12 (11:00 · 14:00 · 16:00) |
| All three days | Namdo side-dish making (12:00 · 14:00 · 16:00) · Traditional home-cooking, Namdo food culture and fermented food experiences (from 11:00 until ingredients run out) |
Each master cook has a different menu,
such as vegetable flying-fish-roe gimbap, perilla seed gangjeong
or dried persimmon rolls.
Busking at the Sky Garden (하늘정원)
is on the 24th at 15:00 and 17:30,
and on the 25th at 12:00 and 13:30.
🏆 You Can Watch the Cooking Contest Too
On the 25th (Sun), 12:30~14:30,
the general cooking contest takes place.
The theme is “Namdo picnic food.”
The website invites visitors to watch
the 90-minute live cooking right in front of them.
The contest for signature display dishes of the 27 areas
is judged in the exhibition hall throughout the three days.
🚗 Getting There & Parking
The venue address is
757-1 Yeongsan-dong, Naju (나주시 영산동 757-1), Yeongsangang Garden.
Yeongsangang Garden’s regular listing on Naver Place
shows four parking lots, marked as free.
| Parking lot | Address |
|---|---|
| Yeongsangang Garden Parking Lot 1 | 752-14 Yeongsan-dong |
| Yeongsangang Garden Parking Lot 2 | 765-1 Yeongsan-dong |
| Yeongsangang Garden Parking Lot 3 | 756-1 Yeongsan-dong |
| Yeongsangang Garden Parking Lot 4 | 758-1 Yeongsan-dong |
The festival website’s “Parking & Shuttle” page
still shows information from the previous edition.
I’ll update this post once this year’s shuttle buses
and traffic controls are announced.
👨👩👧 If You’re Visiting with Kids
The kids’ cooking class
appears only on the 24th (Sat) in the schedule:
12:00, 13:30 and 15:30, 30 minutes each.
That afternoon, side-dish making and busking follow,
and in the evening
there are dinner shows and concerts.
and its sign-up page still says "coming soon."
Check it as soon as it opens.
⏳ Not Yet Announced
□ Overall festival hours
□ Admission fee
□ How to sign up for cooking classes & Open Kitchen
□ Prices of the paid tasting program & dinner shows
□ Shuttle buses & traffic controls
□ What happens if it rains
These details are not in the official information yet.
I’ll update this post when they come out.
If you have questions, call the festival website’s
inquiry line at 070-7703-1238.
👍 Recommended for These Families
✔ Families who want to try a cooking activity with their kids
✔ Families who want to see food from many Jeonnam·Gwangju towns at once
✔ Families who want to watch master cooks and chefs up close
Taste, cook, and rest in the garden:
a three-day festival of the Namdo table.
This article is based on official information, organized before visiting in person. The character illustrations are GPT-generated.
🔄 Updates
- One-week check
- Extra check
- First write-up
📎 Sources
- 제31회 남도음식문화큰잔치 누리집 첫 화면 (기간·장소·대표 프로그램·스페셜 디너쇼·문의전화) 남도음식문화큰잔치 · 주최
- 큰잔치 소개 — 축제 소개 남도음식문화큰잔치 · 주최
- 축제 일정 (10.23 금 · 10.24 토 · 10.25 일) 남도음식문화큰잔치 · 주최
- 프로그램 — 스페셜 디너쇼 남도음식문화큰잔치 · 주최
- 경연대회 안내 남도음식문화큰잔치 · 주최
- 영산강정원에서 맛보는 남도음식…제31회 남도음식문화큰잔치 10월 개최 나주시 · 2026.8.26 · 관공서
- 남도의 맛 한자리에…나주시, 남도음식문화큰잔치 알리기 나서 나주시 · 2026.9.18 · 관공서
- 영산강축제서 홍스타 만나고 행운도 뽑고…나주 음식관광 홍보 나주시 · 2026.10.7 · 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.
AI-assisted translation. Numbers and article structure were checked against the Korean original on 2026-10-10 and re-synced with the Korean original on 2026-10-15. This is not a new verification of the event announcements. Original post (Korean)