Gangneung kicks off 11 days of festivals today, from downtown alleys to the seaside

【Financial News Gangneung = Reporter Kim Gi-seop】All of Gangneung will transform into an 11-day festival venue from today through the 25th, offering a taste of noodles, future transportation and coffee in turn.
According to Gangneung City on the 15th, the fifth Gangneung Noodle Festival opens that day in the area around Wolhwa Street, followed by the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) World Congress on the 19th and the 18th Gangneung Coffee Festival on the 21st. After a bread festival featuring 58 local bakeries was held earlier this month at Gangneung Ojuk Hanok Village, an 11-day festival relay linking downtown alleys, Olympic Park and the seaside is now getting underway.
The first in the lineup, the noodle festival runs for four days, from that day through the 18th. Admission is free, and it is open to everyone, operating daily from noon to 9 p.m. First held in 2022 under the name Gangneung Noodle Festival, the event has adopted the name “Noodle Festival” for its fifth edition this year, to capture local character in more familiar terms.
The food zone is centered on the Original Noodle Zone, showcasing traditional Gangneung flavors. It features signature local noodle dishes such as jang-kalguksu, along with jajangmyeon, jjamppong and fusion dishes. Visitors can sample noodle dishes from around the world in the Global Noodle Zone and the Multicultural Zone. A Pairing Zone serving drinks and snacks to go with the noodles will also be open.


A slurping contest will see who can finish a bowl of noodles fastest, and another contest will challenge participants to estimate noodle weight by eye. There will also be noodle-making activities, noodle painting and a flour-based sensory play area for children. Cooking shows featuring chefs demonstrating their skills on stage and busking performances will fill the streets, while the receipt-based Noodle Road event will extend the festival’s benefits to nearby alley restaurants. Last year, around 30 booths operated, and 153 noodle restaurants in the city took part in the receipt event.
Wolhwa Street, the festival venue, is a walkway built on a former railway site stretching from Gangneung Station to Namdaecheon, alongside Central Market. The city has selected it as an October recommended destination for the 2026–2027 Year of Visiting Gangneung, promoting it as an urban food tour where visitors can enjoy local dishes such as jang-kalguksu and potato ongshimi dumplings.
The noodle festival will pass the baton to Olympic Park on the 19th. The 32nd ITS World Congress, with around 90 countries participating, will run through the 23rd, featuring academic conferences, an international exhibition and demonstrations of advanced transportation technologies. Side events such as an ice show and a drone show will also give general visitors a chance to enjoy the international event. Gangwon State and the Gangwon Tourism Organization (GWTO) have designated it a special recommended destination for October, and the city opened the 18,967-square-meter Gangneung Convention Center last August to host the congress.
The final event in the relay will take place by the sea. The Gangneung Coffee Festival, running from the 21st to the 25th at Anmok Beach, Gangneung Coffee Street and across the city, has adopted the slogan “Gangneung, filled with coffee” and expanded its venues to Jumunjin, Central Market, Ojukheon and Okgye. Welcome coffee shops and a mobile stamp rally will draw visitors to locations across the city. The festival has also strengthened its readiness for ITS World Congress attendees by providing multilingual information, operating shuttle buses and expanding the use of reusable containers.
“From a bowl of noodles on Wolhwa Street, built along the old railway, to future transportation at Olympic Park and coffee by the sea at Anmok, festivals will connect locations across Gangneung for 11 days,” a Gangneung City official said. “I hope you’ll follow Noodle Road and the stamp rally, explore the alley restaurants and markets along the way, and enjoy autumn in Gangneung to the fullest.”

[email protected] Kim Gi-seop Reporter