Busan Events This Autumn and Winter 2026: Dates and Tips

Autumn is a busy time for events in Busan. A film festival, two history and fortress festivals, a bridge festival and a fireworks night all fall between early October and early November. Winter then brings a light festival on Gwangbok-ro.

This guide lists the events our own guides cover, with their official dates and what we could and could not confirm. It also marks which events have already ended as of 22 October 2026. Always re-check the official site before you plan a trip around a date.

Quick answer – Already past by the listed dates (as of 22 October 2026): Busan International Film Festival (6 to 15 October), Geumjeongsanseong Festival and Dongnae Eupseong History Festival (both 16 to 18 October). – Coming soon: Yeongdo Bridge Festival, 30 October to 1 November. – Next: Busan Fireworks Festival, Saturday 7 November. – Winter lights: As of 2 October 2026 we found no 2026 to 2027 Gwangbok-ro dates. – Saturdays (October to February): the drone show at Gwangalli. – Any day: autumn walks.

Events at a Glance

Events That Have Already Ended

These three are past, but the guides still show what to expect in a future year. The next year’s dates are not in our sources.

Busan International Film Festival (6 to 15 October)

Our film festival guide says the official English site gave 6 to 15 October 2026. It names Busan Cinema Center and Shinsegae Centum City as venues. Visit Busan’s 2025 page gives a walk of 12 minutes from Exit 12 of Centum City Station. The guide also lists ticket prices, such as 10,000 won for general screenings, and a cancellation rule. Per the BIFF ticket guidance, both booking dates were in September, so ticket sales were already open before the festival began.

Geumjeongsanseong Festival (16 to 18 October)

KTO’s Korean listing, used in our Geumjeongsanseong guide, gives 16 to 18 October 2026, 10:00 to 19:00. It lists walking events, an ecology tour, a village history tour, a VR tour and a makgeolli festival. The venue differs between KTO and Visit Busan, so even before it ended we advised checking the official page.

Performers in traditional costumes holding colorful flags in front of a stone fortress gate — Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 3)

The fortress itself is open 24 hours all year, and Visit Busan lists Geumjeongsan as free. So you can still visit the walls after the festival.

Dongnae Eupseong History Festival (16 to 18 October)

Our Dongnae Walled Town guide lists the 32nd festival at 10:00 to 21:00, around the North Gate and the Dongnae Cultural Center. KTO’s listing named a procession of the Dongnae magistrate and a musical reenactment of the 1592 battle. Some programs cost money, such as an outdoor escape room at 10,000 won.

Other October festivals have no 2026 dates in our sources. Visit Busan says the Jagalchi Festival is held every October for about four days, and the Bosu Book Street Culture Festival every October. We found no official 2026 dates for either.

Upcoming: Yeongdo Bridge Festival (30 October to 1 November)

Our Yeongdo Bridge Festival guide says the Yeongdo-gu official page lists the 34th festival for Friday 30 October to Sunday 1 November 2026. The venues are Amir Park and the Bongnae-dong pier.

A group of people posing on a road in front of a raised red bridge span with city buildings behind — Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 3), from a past edition of the festival

We found only three 2026 programs: a flea market at the pier from 30 October to 1 November, “Yeongdo in(in)Star” on 31 October and 1 November, and the Yeongdo Bridge Song Contest on 1 November. We found no full timetable, no 2026 opening hours and no 2026 admission information. KTO lists the 2025 edition as free, from 10:00 to 20:00. Do not assume that applies this year.

For the route, the guide gives Visit Busan’s directions to the nearby National Maritime Museum: Nampo Station Exit 6 on Line 1, then bus 186 or 66. We found no official festival transport page.

Upcoming: Busan Fireworks Festival (7 November)

The fireworks festival guide says the official site shows the 21st festival on Saturday 7 November 2026. It names Gwangalli Beach and Igidae, plus Dongbaek Island (official site) or Haeundae (KTO). KTO lists hours of 13:00 to 20:00 with pre-events and a main program. We found no official start time for the main show.

KTO marks it as paid. It lists an early-bird S seat at 56,000 won, a regular R seat (table and chair) at 100,000 won and a regular S seat at 70,000 won. The official site says regular tickets are on sale from 4 September 2026 at 14:00 until 6 November at 17:00 through NOL Ticket. We could not confirm whether you need a ticket to watch from the beach. The committee phone is +82-51-713-5000, 09:00 to 18:00.

To get there, Visit Busan says to take Line 2 to Gwangan Station Exit 5, then walk 13 minutes, or take bus 42 or 62. The metro runs 05:00 to 23:59, with times varying by station. Our Millak Waterfront Park guide also lists a Saturday drone show at Gwangalli. From October to February it runs at 19:00 and 21:00.

Winter: Gwangbok-ro Lights

Our Gwangbok-ro guide says KTO lists a winter light festival on Gwangbok-ro every year from December. The most recent edition ran from 5 December 2025 to 22 February 2026, with lights on from 17:30 to 22:00. KTO listed it as free.

Green tree and gold reindeer light displays over a busy street at night during the Gwangbok-ro Winter Light Tree Festival — Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 3)

We could not confirm the dates or theme for the winter of 2026 to 2027. We checked on 2 October 2026 and found no announcement. Check the Jung-gu district office, the city’s event calendar or Visit Busan closer to December. The street is a 5-minute walk from Nampo Station Exit 3.

Autumn Walks Beyond the Festivals

If you miss a festival, our autumn walks guide lists five places Visit Busan describes. Samnak Eco Park has white reed flowers, which Visit Busan says can be seen from mid-September to the end of October. Eulsukdo has a garden with pink muhly grass, but we cannot confirm it is planted now. KTO says many migratory birds visit its restored wetland in winter. The Eulsukdo guide lists the Eco Center and museum, closed on Mondays.

A field of silver grass with feathery seed heads in warm sunlight, with a hill and a pale sky behind it — Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 1)

KTO says the silver grass at the top of Seunghaksan is famous and draws hikers in autumn. Our Dadaepo guide covers the sunset fountain, whose October season is unconfirmed. The details are in our beaches and coast guide.

Tips for Event Days

These are our suggestions, not sourced rules.

Re-check the official site. Dates, programs and venues can change.
Check your last train. The metro runs 05:00 to 23:59, but times vary by station.
Dress warm for the fireworks. Our fireworks guide gives this as general advice, since the festival is in November by the sea.
Read the best time to visit guide for typhoon and winter-wind notes.
Carry cash for festival stalls. We found no source on card use.

FAQ

Is the film festival still on? No. It ran from 6 to 15 October 2026.

Can I still see the Geumjeongsanseong Festival? No, it ended on 18 October. The fortress is open 24 hours all year.

When is the next big event? The Yeongdo Bridge Festival starts on 30 October, and the fireworks are on 7 November.

Are the fireworks free? KTO marks the festival as paid and lists seat prices. We could not confirm whether viewing from the beach needs a ticket.

When do the Gwangbok-ro winter lights start? As of 2 October 2026 we found no 2026 to 2027 dates. The last edition started on 5 December 2025.

What We Could Not Confirm

The 2026 to 2027 Gwangbok-ro winter light dates and theme.
The Yeongdo Bridge Festival full timetable, hours and admission.
The start time of the main fireworks show, and whether viewing from the beach needs a ticket.
Dates for the 2026 Jagalchi Festival and the Bosu Book Street Culture Festival.
Whether pink muhly grass is in bloom at Eulsukdo.
Next year’s dates for the events that have ended.

How We Made This Guide

This hub combines our checked event guides. Those guides were checked between 30 September and 2 October 2026, and this hub was assembled on 3 October 2026. The past and upcoming labels are calculated from the guides’ dates compared with 22 October 2026. We did not check whether the events took place. For short visual guides, follow us on Instagram: @rolo.koreaguide.

Related guides

Sources

The underlying guides were checked 30 Sep to 2 Oct 2026; this hub was assembled on 3 Oct 2026 without re-checking the official sources. Facts come from our own guides, which cite the BIFF English site, the Yeongdo-gu official festival page, the Busan Fireworks Festival site, the Korea Tourism Organization (TourAPI) and Visit Busan. Photographs: KTO (KOGL Type 1 and Type 3), used unaltered; some show past editions of the festivals.