What’s Hot in Gangwon Now: Events & New Spots

Right now in Gangwon: ARI-The Spirit of Korea(아리아라리) · Raftman(뗏꾼) · Gangneung Coffee Festival (18th). Festivals from the Korea Tourism Organization’s listings, plus new places, pop-ups and things to do reported in the last 45 days — each with the outlet and date it came from. We have not visited them; check the source before you go.

On now (4)

Festival / event	Dates	Where
ARI-The Spirit of Korea(아리아라리)	Apr 4 – Nov 27	강원특별자치도 정선군 정선읍 애산로 51
Raftman(뗏꾼)	Apr 4 – Nov 28	강원특별자치도 정선군 정선읍 애산로 51
Night of Light Show (나오라쇼)	Apr 25 – Oct 31	127 Sogeumsan-gil, Jijeong-myeon, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do
Jeongseon Arirang Festival (정선아리랑제)	Oct 1 – Oct 4	104, Bongyang-ri, Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do

Starting in the next 45 days (4)

Festival / event	Dates	Where
Hoengseong Hanu Festival (횡성한우축제)	Oct 7 – Oct 11	221 Bukcheon-ri, Hoengseong-eup, Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon-do
Chuncheon Makguksu & Dakgalbi Festival (춘천막국수닭갈비축제)	Oct 14 – Oct 18	586, Onui-dong, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do
Yangyang Pine Mushroom & Salmon Festival (양양송이연어축제)	Oct 16 – Oct 18	589 Ilchul-ro, Yangyang-eup, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do
Gangneung Coffee Festival (강릉커피축제)	Oct 21 – Oct 25	20-1, Changhae-ro 14beon-gil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do

New & trending — from recent news (5)

Collected from news published in the last 45 days and from official event pages with current dates. One line per item, in the source’s own terms; follow the link for the details.

• 🎉 Event — Gangneung Coffee Festival (18th) (2026-10-21 to 2026-10-25)
  City-wide coffee festival in and around Gangneung Coffee Street · Gangneung Coffee Street and throughout Gangneung City
  Reported by nocutnews.co.kr, Sep 29
• 🎉 Event — K-Misik 2026 Chuncheon Makguksu Dakgalbi Festival (2026-10-14 to 2026-10-18, 11:00–21:00 (last order 21:00))
  Chuncheon’s signature dakgalbi and makguksu food festival with performances (Oct 14 Handadok/Isona, Oct 16 V.O.S, Oct 17 Nasanghyun), free horse-riding experience, AR experiences; free entry, food paid separately · Gongjicheon waterfront walkway, Myeong-dong, Soyang Art Circle / Hwadong 2571, Chuncheon
  Reported by hosu-news.com, Sep 27
• 🎉 Event — Gongji Stream Coffee, Jazz and Lake Garden Festa (opens Thursday, runs 3 days (late September/early October, exact end date not stated; Midnight Jazz Club Oct 9)
  Three-in-one lakeside festival: coffee/dessert stalls (26 local businesses), latte art competition, jazz performances including ticketed ‘Midnight Jazz Club’ on Oct 9–10 at Hades and Gamja Island, garden experiences (seed bombs, terrariums), street food zone ‘ · Gongji Stream walking path and area around 586 Onui-dong, Chuncheon
  Reported by biz.heraldcorp.com, Sep 29
• 🎉 Event — 2026 Inje Autumn Flower Festival (2026-09-24 to 2026-10-11)
  18-day flower festival with ~31,000 m² ‘Path of Love’ zone (verbena, aster, cockscomb, petunias, sunflowers), photo zones and chrysanthemum bonsai; expanded after 300,000+ visitors last year · Yongdae Tourist Site, Buk-myeon, Inje County
  Reported by asiae.co.kr, Sep 22
• 🎉 Event — Chuncheon Autumn Welcome Tour (Gaeul Majeung Tour) (2026-10-02 to 2026-11-29, 10:30–17:30; fee 6,000 KRW (4,000 for discounted groups — preschoolers, 65+, disable)
  Autumn city tour bus, 2 courses: Geumbyeongsan/Pungmul Market course (market days Oct 2 & 7) and Cheongpyeongsa/Saembat Market course (Oct 4 & 9), linking foliage spots, traditional markets and local food; 24 departures total · Departs Chuncheon Station; Cheongpyeongsa, Soyanggang Skywalk, Pungmul Market, Saembat Mar
  Reported by newsro.kr, Sep 29

Where foreign visitors went in Gangwon (Aug 26 – Sep 1)

Foreign visitor-days by district from roaming mobile data (each day counted, so a three-day stay counts three times) — the latest week published, about a month behind. Gangwon as a whole: 65k foreign visitor-days that week (-2% vs the week before).

District	Foreign visitor-days, 7 days	vs previous week
Chuncheon-si 춘천시	16k	+20%
Gangneung-si 강릉시	9,266	-14%
Wonju-si 원주시	7,477	+3%
Sokcho-si 속초시	7,225	-11%
Hoengseong-gun 횡성군	5,958	-17%
Hongcheon-gun 홍천군	5,727	-18%
Pyeongchang-gun 평창군	5,469	-24%
Samcheok-si 삼척시	5,382	+15%
Yangyang-gun 양양군	3,491	-21%
Donghae-si 동해시	3,291	-8%

Where people are heading in Gangwon (August 2026)

The places most often used as a destination in each district, from Tmap car-navigation data published by the Korea Tourism Organization for August 2026. It is a ranking, not a head count, and it reflects people driving — mostly locals — so it shows what Koreans are heading to right now. Hotels and local facilities are left out.

District	Top places	Shopping
Chuncheon-si 춘천시	Chuncheon Samaksan Lake Cable Car 춘천삼악산호수케이블카 Soyanggang Skywalk 소양강스카이워크 National Chuncheon Museum · Main Hall 국립춘천박물관/본관	Enta 엔타 Moda Outlet · Chuncheon branch 모다아울렛/춘천점
Gangneung-si 강릉시	Anmokhaebyeon Beach 안목해변 Gyeongpo Beach 경포해변 Gangmun Beach 강문해변	Gangneung Central Market 강릉중앙시장 Jumunjinsusan Market 주문진수산시장
Wonju-si 원주시	Okeubaelli Resort · Billiji Center 오크밸리리조트/빌리지센터 Museum San 뮤지엄산 Wonju Sogeumsan Suspension Bridge 원주소금산출렁다리	Miroyesul Wonju Central Market 미로예술원주중앙시장 AK Plaza · Wonju AK플라자/원주
Sokcho-si 속초시	Sokcho Beach 속초해변 Daepohang Port 대포항 Yeonggeumjeong Observatory 영금정전망대	Sokcho Tourist Fish Market 속초관광수산시장 Dae Pohang Fish Market 대포항수산시장
Hoengseong-gun 횡성군	Gungnipcheongtaesan Recreation Forest 국립청태산자연휴양림 Hoengseong Luge 횡성루지체험장 Hoengseong Lake Gil · 5 Section 횡성호수길/5구간	Hoengseong Market 횡성시장 Dunnae Market 둔내시장
Hongcheon-gun 홍천군	Bibaldi Park Osyeon World 비발디파크 오션월드 Sonopelliche CC Bibaldi Park Iseuteu 소노펠리체CC 비발디파크 이스트 Sutasa Temple 수타사	Hongcheon Central Market 홍천중앙시장 Hongcheon Market 홍천시장
Pyeongchang-gun 평창군	Woljeongsa Temple 월정사 Hwinikseu Park 휘닉스 파크 Barwangsan Cable Car 발왕산케이블카	Bongpyeong Traditional Market 봉평전통시장 Jinbu Traditional Market 진부전통시장
Samcheok-si 삼척시	Janghohang Port 장호항 Saecheonnyeon Coastal Road Observatory 새천년해안도로전망대 Chogogyonggulchotdaebawi-gil 초곡용굴촛대바위길	Samcheok Central Market 삼척중앙시장 Samcheok Beongae Market 삼척번개시장
Yangyang-gun 양양군	Naksansa Temple 낙산사 Naksan Beach 낙산해수욕장 Gangwon Hyuhyuam Hermitage 휴휴암	—
Donghae-si 동해시	Chotdaebawi 촛대바위 Mukhohang Port 묵호항 Cheongok Golden Bat Cave 천곡황금박쥐동굴	East Sea Jungang Market 동쪽바다중앙시장 Mukho Market 묵호시장
Inje-gun 인제군	Baekdamsa Temple 백담사 Soksagineun Birch Forest 속삭이는자작나무숲 Baekdam Valley 백담계곡	Inje Traditional Market 인제전통시장 Wontong Traditional Market 원통재래시장
Goseong-gun 고성군	Ayajin Beach 아야진해수욕장 Songjiho Beach 송지호해변 Goseong Unification Observatory 고성통일전망대	Ganseong Traditional Market 간성전통시장 Geojinhang Seafood Market 거진항수산물판매장

Climbing since May 2026

• Hwinikseu Park 휘닉스 파크 — Pyeongchang-gun: new in the district top 20, now #2
• Taebaek Sunflower Festival 태백해바라기축제 — Taebaek-si: new in the district top 20, now #5
• Taebaeksi Hwangji-dong Guwau Village 태백시 황지동 구와우마을 — Taebaek-si: new in the district top 20, now #10
• Samil Valley 삼일계곡 — Hwacheon-gun: new in the district top 20, now #11
• Guktojeongjungangcheongchunyanggubaekkop Festival 국토정중앙청춘양구배꼽축제 — Yanggu-gun: new in the district top 20, now #11
• Hwacheon Tomato Festival 화천토마토축제 — Hwacheon-gun: new in the district top 20, now #12
• Cheonmi Valley 천미계곡 — Yanggu-gun: new in the district top 20, now #15
• Jeongseon Gariwangsan Cable Car 정선가리왕산케이블카 — Jeongseon-gun: new in the district top 20, now #16
• Yonghwabangpaje 용화방파제 — Samcheok-si: new in the district top 20, now #20
• Sutasa Valley 수타사계곡 — Hongcheon-gun: new in the district top 20, now #20

More for Gangwon

• Trains from Seoul
• All festivals in Korea this month
• What’s hot in other regions

FAQ

What’s on in Gangwon this weekend?

ARI-The Spirit of Korea(아리아라리) (Apr 4 – Nov 27); Raftman(뗏꾼) (Apr 4 – Nov 28); Night of Light Show (나오라쇼) (Apr 25 – Oct 31) — from the Korea Tourism Organization’s festival listings. The news list below the festivals adds pop-ups and openings.

How do you pick the news items?

A web search collects reports from the last 45 days; we keep an item only if its source link opens and has a publication date, and show it with that outlet and date. We do not rank or endorse places.

How old is the visitor data?

It is the latest week the Korea Tourism Organization has published — usually about a month behind — so it shows where foreign visitors have been going, not today’s crowds.

Sources: Korea Tourism Organization festival data (TourAPI), big-data visitor counts (SK Telecom mobile data) and district destination rankings (Tmap navigation), all via data.go.kr; news items are linked to the outlet that reported them. Page rebuilt 2026-10-01.