Jinju Namgang Lantern Festival Guide: Dates, Lighting Hours, Bridges

At a glance

• 🗓️3–18 October

  Sixteen days in 2026. The dates move every year, so check before booking.

• 🏮Lanterns lit 18:00–24:00

  The lanterns come on in the evening; in daylight only the bridges and booths are running.

• 🌉Bridges and booths 13:00–23:00

  They open earlier than the lanterns and close an hour before them.

• 🏰Fortress and river

  Two connected settings, not one riverbank — the views differ from each side.

The easy thing to get wrong when planning is not the date but the hour. The official site publishes two separate windows.

• Lantern lighting — 18:00 to 24:00.
• Floating bridges and experience booths — 13:00 to 23:00.

The two windows do not line up, and that is the whole planning problem. Arrive at 2pm and you can cross a bridge but the lanterns are not lit; arrive at 11:30pm and the lanterns are on but the bridges and booths have shut. To do both, be on site between dusk and about 11pm.

The Korea Tourism Organization's VISITKOREA lists the festival as free. It also notes that its write-up is based on the 2025 festival and will be updated as 2026 details become available. Check the official notice shortly before visiting for any separate charge for experiences or the floating bridges, and for programme details and traffic controls.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the lanterns go back to the Siege of Jinju during the Japanese invasions of the Imjin War. In that battle they were lit at Jinjuseong Fortress to stop the Japanese army crossing the Nam River, and were also used to send word to families outside the walls. The festival is presented as continuing that practice of floating lanterns to make a wish.

Because the story belongs to both the fortress and the river, walking both makes it clear why the festival is held exactly here.

The Korea Tourism Organization lists the programme as floating lanterns on the Nam River, hanging wish lanterns, floating yudeung and a fireworks display. It describes lanterns of many shapes and sizes coming on at sunset, fireworks and lighting shows alongside other cultural performances, and food trucks. That description is based on the 2025 festival, so check this year's line-up on the official site.

• The lanterns — on the water and along the banks, and the centre of the whole event. They can only be seen after lighting.
• Cross a floating bridge — walking across the river puts you somewhere different from the bank to see the lanterns. Bridges run until 23:00.
• Hang a wish lantern or float a yudeung — check the experience-programme notice for how to take part and what it costs.
• Fireworks and shows — check the programme schedule for which days they run and at what time.

The festival uses Jinju Fortress as well as the river. The fortress side and the riverside show you different things, so seeing only one is seeing half of it.

It suits travellers who can stay in Jinju into the evening. The lanterns come on at 18:00, so on a day trip, find the last departure home first and plan the evening backwards from it.

A straightforward order:

1. Before lighting — look around the fortress side and the experience booths.
2. Just after lighting — walk the riverbank with the lanterns on.
3. Before 23:00 — cross a floating bridge. The bridges close an hour before the lanterns go off.

If the bridge queue is long, walk the riverbank and fortress side first and come back before the bridges close. This is an outdoor riverside event, so weather can change bridge or programme operations; one more look at the official notice on the day is the safe move.

Check transport to Jinju and any festival parking or shuttle arrangements in the transport section of the official site. During the festival, allow extra time for moving around the venue in the evening.

This is an itinerary that keeps you outdoors by a river well after dark. Bring a jacket. You will also spend a long time walking in the dark, possibly on uneven ground, so choose comfortable shoes.

The dates change annually. This guide covers 2026; if you are visiting in another year, re-check that year's schedule on the official site.

Frequently asked questions