JEONNAM-GWANGJU — Autumn festivals across the Jeonnam region of Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City are coloring the season with food, flowers and night lights. Chrysanthemums are blooming on the island of Jindo at the western edge of the sea, while Haenam is setting a banquet table of rice and local dishes. Mokpo's modern-era alleys are awakening under evening lights, and the reed fields of Suncheon Bay are swaying with the breath of life.
Suncheon: Life Walks Among the Reeds
In the eastern part of the region, Suncheon Bay opens the fall season. The city of Suncheon is holding the 27th Suncheon Bay Reed Festival on the 24th and 25th across the Suncheon Bay Wetland area. This year's theme is "A Community of Life Where All Things Live Together."
The Suncheon Bay Reed Festival is the ecological and cultural festival that represents autumn in Suncheon. This year's program weaves together ecology, culture, history and resident participation. Events include the Suncheon Bay Mudflat Sled Olympics, a reed concert, busking, a VR mudflat experience, a wetland exploration mission and birdwatching at the red seepweed colonies. Rice harvesting at the hooded crane conservation farming complex and village tours around Suncheon Bay are also planned.
The Suncheon Bay Mudflat Sled Olympics, held at the Geocha mudflat sled experience site, brings together fishing village cooperatives from across the Suncheon Bay area. Organizers expect it to carry on traditional fishing culture and strengthen ties among the villages.
The festival also serves as the main side event marking the start of the 2026 Suncheon International Forum, which runs from the 24th through the 30th.
Jeonnam's fall festivals offer their appeal in many other places as well. Visitors can come to see the flowers or simply for a meal. They can enjoy an evening stroll or catch their breath in a reed field. Autumn in Jeonnam is now ripening at its deepest, under the name of festival season.
Jindo: A "Fairy-Tale Island" Grown From Chrysanthemums
Jindo County is holding the 2026 Treasure Island Chrysanthemum Festival from Nov. 5 to 15 around the Jindo Dog Theme Park. This year's theme is "The Treasure Island Where Chrysanthemums Bloom Becomes a Fairy Tale." The festival grounds will be decorated to look like a garden out of a storybook. More than 500 chrysanthemum sculptures and about 100 bonsai will greet visitors.
Of the 160,000 chrysanthemum plants on display, 120,000 were grown by local farms, meaning each flower carries the work of a farming household. Chrysanthemum exhibition spaces will also be set up at Cheolma Square and the Local Culture Center. From Nov. 13 to 15, programs aimed at children will be concentrated, including magic shows, street performances, stages for local children and children's electronic music performances. Separate outing periods will run before and after the festival.
Haenam: This Year's Star Is Rice
Haenam is laying out its autumn table as well. The 2026 Haenam Minam Festival runs from the 30th through Nov. 1 around Duryunsan Provincial Park in Samsan-myeon. This year's featured agricultural product is Haenam rice.
With its broad farmland and clean environment, Haenam is considered one of the country's leading rice-producing regions. Centered on its flagship brand "Ttangkkeut Haetsal," the county has maintained its reputation as a source of high-quality rice.
A Haenam rice pavilion will be set up at the festival grounds, where visitors can take in the history of rice, how it is grown and the current state of processed rice products at a glance. Rice tastings and cooking experiences using rice will also be held. At the 1,000-seat Minam Food Hall and snack pavilion, visitors can sample Haenam's eight signature dishes along with other local fare. The lineup brings together the abundant flavors of the southern provinces, including Haenam-style chicken course meals, Daeheungsa barley ssambap, Haenam seaweed wraps with mackerel sashimi, dishes made with hwangchil (a native lacquer-tree extract used in Korean cuisine) and Ttangkkeut Korean beef.
Mokpo: Modern Alleys Awaken at Night
Mokpo is holding a festival of the night. The city is staging the 2026 Mokpo National Heritage Night Tour from the 30th through Nov. 1, daily from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., across the Mokpo Modern History and Culture Space. This year's subtitle is "Modern Times: Mokpo's Port Opening Story 129." Performances, hands-on programs and exhibitions tell the story of how Mokpo grew after opening its port on its own terms.
On the first day, the original musical "Ode to Mokpo" takes the stage, a production depicting the anti-Japanese resistance narrative of modern Mokpo. At venues including the Modern History Museum, Gyeongdong Cathedral and Gukdo Starting Point Park, the program continues with an orchestra, a concert of modern-era songs, jazz performances, traditional dance and stages featuring master singers of the southern provinces.
There is plenty for families as well, including jade craft demonstrations, maritime relic programs, science and culture activities, ceramics and a mobile stamp tour.
At Mokpojin, overnight visitors can join a history tour and the "Manho Salon," where they can enjoy Mokpo chanhap, a traditional tiered meal set, along with Mokpo makgeolli. Light and media installations on the walls of the Modern History Museum and along the streets add to the mood of an autumn night in Mokpo.
