Gangneung Coffee Festival

The 18th Gangneung Coffee Festival: Five Days at 20-1, Changhae-ro 14beon-gil

The 18th Gangneung Coffee Festival is scheduled to take place for five days, from Wednesday, October 21 to Sunday, October 25, 2026, at Gangneung Coffee Street and locations throughout Gangneung City. The main venue has been announced as Gangneung Coffee Street, Gyeonso-dong, 20-1, Changhae-ro 14beon-gil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon State. The official website has both Korean and English key visuals, making it easy to familiarize yourself with the dates and venue in advance. Gangneung Coffee Festival Official Website

However, the detailed program currently available is based on the 17th festival in 2025. In 2025, it was held for four days from October 30 to November 2, with operating hours listed as 10:00–21:00. In the downtown area, there were Welcome Coffee Shops and a Stamp Rally, while Coffee Street featured A Starry Night, All Kinds of Gangneung Coffee, Coffee Festival Radio, the Coffee Bean Shop, Coffee Picnic, 100 People 100 Flavors, Coffee Wave, Coffee Busking, Coffee and Humanities, and a Coffee Experience Zone. From the names alone, it felt like a festival that went beyond simply drinking coffee, bringing together baristas, music, and seaside strolls. Korea Tourism Organization Festival Guide

Opening reports from 2025 stated that a first-come, first-served tasting of Gangneung specialty coffee, Coffee Wave aboard a yacht, Coffee Busking, coffee and humanities lectures, radio booths, and a market operated daily. That year, 100 People 100 Flavors was held on the Saturday, the third day of the festival, along with a giant cake performance and fireworks. The flow of people along Coffee Street and the nighttime seascape in the photos were especially striking. MBC Gangwon Yeongdong 2025 Opening Report

100 People 100 Flavors and Coffee Wave: How to Explore Coffee Street by the Sea

If you are visiting with an international friend, it is worth noting first that Gangneung has no urban rail system, so this is not a destination where you navigate based on subway station exits. In 2025, a circulating bus operated between the Gangneung Coffee Festival, a robot competition, and a noodle festival. Detailed shuttle and parking routes for 2026 have not yet been released, but the venue address is clearly listed as 20-1, Changhae-ro 14beon-gil, so it is convenient to use that address as your destination when planning travel after arriving in Gangneung.

For language accessibility, the official website has an English poster for 2026, and the Korea Tourism Organization also provides a Japanese festival introduction. However, on-site English signage and interpretation services have not yet been announced, so saving the official English poster with the dates, venue, and program names may be helpful when asking for assistance on site.

Some programs were listed as paid, but prices by experience and the availability of cash, card, and mobile payments for 2026 have not yet been announced. In its 2025 results report, the festival stated that it promoted the use of Culture Nuri Cards and Gangneung Pay. It also promoted reusable cups for a disposable-free festival in 2025, so bringing a personal water bottle and a light day bag may provide peace of mind. Considering the 2025 schedule, which ran from 10:00 to 21:00 on outdoor Coffee Street, along with nighttime fireworks, it would also be wise to bring a light outer layer. Yonhap News Results Report

• After having coffee, take a leisurely walk along Gangneung Coffee Street, which is itself the festival venue.
• In 2025, the Stamp Rally and Welcome Coffee Shops operated as downtown festival programs, so planning a route around Gangneung City in addition to visiting Coffee Street made for a more rewarding trip.
• Applications for participating businesses in the 18th festival ran from July 31 through August 6 at 18:00 in 2026. Once more participating businesses are announced, it will be helpful to choose the roasteries and experiences you want to try in advance. Gangneung Cultural Foundation Participating Business Recruitment Notice

Anmok Coffee Street Drew 520,000 Visitors in 2025: Tips for Lines and Meals

A total of 520,000 people visited the 17th Gangneung Coffee Festival in 2025, held from October 30 to November 2, an 18% increase from 440,000 visitors the previous year. As it was a heavily attended festival, if you want to see timed events such as first-come, first-served tastings, 100 People 100 Flavors, or fireworks, it is better to arrive at Coffee Street with plenty of time rather than just before they begin. News photos also captured people waiting to taste All Kinds of Gangneung Coffee.

The most practical advice concerns meal planning. In 2025, there were no food booths inside the festival grounds, and visitors were directed to nearby restaurants. If you enjoy the coffee tastings and experiences first and set aside a separate time for a meal, you can avoid drinking caffeine repeatedly on an empty stomach. Reusable cups were promoted in 2025, but the actual scale of convenience facilities in 2026, such as wheelchair and stroller rentals and rest zones, has not yet been disclosed. If long walks are a concern, it is best to allow plenty of time for breaks.

It was especially advisable to plan parking and transportation conservatively. The 2025 results report mentioned reviewing the introduction of shuttle buses and linking spaces from Coffee Street to Songjeong Pine Grove as areas for improvement. In other words, transportation operations may change in 2026, so rather than driving directly into the inner area of Coffee Street, it is safer to decide on transportation after official transit announcements are released.

The 2026–2027 Cultural Tourism Festival Gangneung Coffee Festival: For Travelers Who Love Coffee Deeply

The Gangneung Coffee Festival has once again been selected as a 2026–2027 Cultural Tourism Festival. It is well suited to international visitors who want more than simply buying a cup of coffee and instead want to experience beans, drip coffee, baristas, music, literature, and seaside walks as one continuous journey. In particular, visitors who enjoy scenes that showcase Korean coffee culture firsthand, such as 100 People 100 Flavors, or who want to stroll slowly along Coffee Street during the day and watch fireworks at night, are likely to be highly satisfied. However, details about food booths and 2026 transportation, language services, and experience fees are still being finalized, so checking the official notice once before departure will make for a much more comfortable Gangneung trip. Yonhap News Report on Reselection as a Cultural Tourism Festival