What's on in Gyeongju, South Korea through the year

Peak crowds — Seollal, Winter break (gyeoul banghak) in South Korea

• Holiday

  Seollal

  20 Jan – 20 Feb · usuallyLunar New YearCrowdedClosures

  Three days when the country drives to its home town and a good share of Gyeongju's restaurants shut. The tomb park and Bulguksa stay open and fill with families in hanbok. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Seollal, Winter break (gyeoul banghak) in South Korea

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Seollal (20 Jan – 20 Feb (usually))

Peak crowds — Cherry blossom, Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival

• Nature

  Cherry blossom

  28 Mar – 12 Apr · usuallyCrowded

  Gyeongju plants cherries along everything — the Bomun lake ring road, the walls of the Daereungwon tombs, the approach to Bulguksa. Peak is usually the first week of April, a few days behind Busan.

• Festival

  Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival

  28 Mar – 10 Apr · usuallyCrowded

  The festival is set to the bloom rather than the calendar and is announced late, so the dates move each year. It centres on the stone-walled road at Daereungwon and a marathon around Bomun Lake. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Cherry blossom, Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Cherry blossom (28 Mar – 12 Apr (usually)), Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival (28 Mar – 10 Apr (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Jangma, the rain front

  25 Jun – 31 Jul · usuallyMonsoon

  The summer front parks over the south-east for a few weeks. It is the least crowded stretch of the year at the tombs, and the one time the pine woods at Bulguksa are worth the wet feet.

Busy — Summer break (yeoreum banghak) in South Korea, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Jangma, the rain front (25 Jun – 31 Jul (usually))

Busy — Summer break (yeoreum banghak) in South Korea, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in August.

Peak crowds — Chuseok, Chuseok in South Korea

• Holiday

  Chuseok

  5 Sep – 10 Oct · usuallyNational holidayCrowdedClosuresBook early

  The harvest holiday empties the cities and fills the old capital. Expect closed shops for two or three days, full trains to Singyeongju, and the historic sites busier than at blossom time. Source ↗

Busy — Chuseok, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Autumn colour

  25 Oct – 15 Nov · usually

  The gingkos along the tomb park go yellow before the maples at Bulguksa and up at Seokguram turn. Usually the first ten days of November, and quieter than the spring equivalent.

Still on: Chuseok (5 Sep – 10 Oct (usually))

Shoulder season — an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Autumn colour (25 Oct – 15 Nov (usually))

Busy — Winter break (gyeoul banghak) in South Korea, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in December.