Jikji Culture Festival

A Cheongju-only festival held on September 4 to mark Jikji Day

Have you ever heard of something called "Jikji"? It is the oldest existing metal-printed book in the world, even older than the Gutenberg Bible in Germany. The 2026 Jikji Culture Festival is held to commemorate September 4, the day Jikji was registered as UNESCO World Heritage of the Memory of the World. This year, it takes place over three days from September 4 to 6 in the Cheongju Jikji Culture Special Zone, where Heungdeoksa Temple once stood and where Jikji was actually printed. The theme is "Jikji, Opening the Door to Time," which I think is a very fitting phrase. It is a festival that brings together printing technology from the Goryeo Dynasty a thousand years ago and today's AI and VR content in one place.

The main venues are the Cheongju Early Printing Museum and Heungdeoksa Site right across from it. Since the Heungdeoksa Site, where a three-story stone pagoda stands next to the museum, is directly connected to the festival area, walking around the festival naturally turns into a stroll through historic ruins as well. During the day there are hands-on activities and exhibitions, and at night there is a illuminated nighttime landscape with wish lanterns, so I recommend arriving late in the afternoon and staying through the evening.

A foreign traveler's day — from arrival to the night view

First, some good news. Admission to the Cheongju Early Printing Museum is free. During the festival period, you can enjoy the museum and most festival programs without paying. However, popular experiences such as AI calligraphy and escape-room games have limited capacity, so there may be lines on site, and some require advance reservation. Reservation information is posted on the festival's official Instagram, so checking before you go can save you a wasted trip.

Cheongju is a city where KTX does not stop, so I went by express bus from Seoul. You can also enter through Cheongju International Airport. The museum is a little far from the city center, so once I arrived in Cheongju, taking a taxi was the most convenient option. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes from downtown, and the fare was not burdensome. City buses also run, but the routes are somewhat complicated, so if you're a first-time foreign visitor, it feels easier to open a map app, search for 'Cheongju Early Printing Museum,' and take a taxi.

I didn't have to worry much about payment on site. Food trucks and the free market inside the festival area generally accept cards and mobile payments, but some small booths or flea market sellers accept only cash, so it's a good idea to bring a few 10,000-won bills. The museum itself features videos showing Jikji's printing process, 3D models, and immersive content such as augmented reality and motion recognition, so even if you don't know Korean, there was quite a lot to enjoy just by watching the screens and using hand movements. Because you can see metal type up close and even try it yourself, the language barrier was lower than I expected.

As the sun sets, the atmosphere changes completely. At Heungdeoksa Site, where Jikji was first discovered, there is a nighttime lightscape called 'The Light Comes Down! The Night of Heungdeoksa.' Illuminated sculptures reinterpreting wish lanterns and a wish tree are lit up, and media art is projected onto the Geumdang Hall of Heungdeoksa Site, creating an impressive night view together with the three-story stone pagoda. There are also many photogenic spots in this section. The opening ceremony and performances take place in the evening near the plaza of the Cheongju Arts Center, so if you spend the day experiencing the museum and Heungdeoksa Site and then move to the performance venue at night, you can make the most of the whole day. After the night events, public transportation may become sparse, so I recommend keeping a taxi app ready in advance for the return trip as well.

Why it is fun even if you do not know what Jikji is — things to know in advance

The strength of this festival is that it is not limited to just "looking." This year, in particular, there are more high-tech experiences. There is a media message wall where messages left by QR code appear on a large LED screen in real time, AI calligraphy that lets you create your own typeface artwork with generative AI, and even an escape-room game based on Jikji and metal type, so neither children nor young visitors will have a chance to get bored. You can also watch a live demonstration of Eastern and Western type casting by a National Intangible Cultural Heritage metal-type artisan together with a Western printing expert, which is a rare sight you would hate to miss.

Here are a few preparation tips.

• In early September, Cheongju is hot during the day and cool after sunset. Bring a light outer layer and comfortable walking shoes. The festival area spreads out across the museum, Heungdeoksa Site, and the Arts Center, so you end up walking quite a bit.
• The museum is normally closed on Mondays, but it operates separately during the festival period. If you only plan to see the permanent exhibition, refer to the visiting hours (9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.).
• Popular experiences have long waits in the afternoon. If you want to focus on hands-on activities, arriving in the morning is advantageous.
• Bringing some cash and a portable battery pack is reassuring because you will use your phone a lot for AI and QR experiences.

Because the density of English guidance or interpretation may vary from year to year, if you need detailed explanations, it is safest to make use of the museum's multilingual materials or immersive content in the permanent exhibition.

Recommended for these travelers

If you are interested in printing, books, and history, this goes without saying, but it is especially suitable for travelers who want a quiet yet substantive cultural experience in a regional Korean city. It is not a flashy mega-festival, but the experience of handling type with your own hands on the very land where the world's oldest metal-printed book was born, and then walking under wish lanterns at night, is something you can only do in Cheongju. If you are traveling in Korea in early September, it is well worth setting aside a day for Cheongju.