Yeongju's Punggi Ginseng Festival returns Oct. 3–11 with chef showcase, concerts and hands-on experiences

Yeongju City in North Gyeongsang Province will hold the 2026 Yeongju Punggi Ginseng Festival from Saturday through Oct. 11 — a nine-day run centered on the Namwon Stream area and Punggi Ginseng Park in Punggi-eup, the city announced Friday.

This year's festival carries the slogan "Come to Punggi when you're feeling run down" and expands well beyond a simple ginseng market, bringing food, hands-on activities, performances and tourism together in one venue.

Organizers have also mapped out a consumer route that guides visitors who buy ginseng at the festival grounds naturally toward the ginseng market and nearby shops. Accessibility has been improved through temporary stops by the KTX-Eum train and a circulating shuttle bus service.

Punggi is one of South Korea's premier ginseng-growing regions, with a cool climate, wide daily temperature swings and well-drained soil — all ideal conditions for cultivating the root.

The area's ginseng heritage stretches back nearly 500 years, tracing to the Joseon Dynasty when Ju Se-bung, the magistrate of Punggi County under King Jungjong, is said to have promoted the cultivation of wild ginseng.

To strengthen confidence in the fresh ginseng brought into this year's festival grounds, Yeongju City has tightened its quality-control procedures.

Vendors must submit a harvesting plan in advance; inspectors then verify the harvest site and quantity on the spot, and approved ginseng is sealed in boxes and stored in designated refrigerated facilities.

The festival has also put together cooking demonstrations and hands-on programs to present ginseng as an approachable ingredient rather than a forbidding medicinal herb.

On Sunday at 3 p.m., chef Oh Se-deuk will headline "A Bite of Punggi Energy," cooking dishes made with Punggi ginseng, chatting with visitors and introducing new ways to enjoy the root's flavor.

Food stalls will serve ginseng braised pork, ginseng bibimbap, ginseng knife-cut noodles and ginseng fritters, among other offerings. Family-oriented activity programs — ginseng peeling, making ginseng injeolmi rice cakes and a ginseng herbal foot bath — will also run throughout the festival.

One of this year's standout features is the festival's deliberate tie-in with the local commercial district.

Visitors who spend 30,000 won ($22) or more on products at the festival grounds will be entered into a draw for discount coupons redeemable at five major ginseng markets in the Punggi area.

Winners will receive coupons worth between 20,000 won and 34,000 won to use at those local ginseng markets.

The festival grounds will also offer fresh ginseng and red ginseng products for sale, along with ginseng-washing and parcel-delivery services.

Yeongju City said its goal is to ensure visitors spend money not only inside the festival venue but also at the ginseng market and surrounding shops, translating foot traffic into real income for local farmers and merchants.

KTX-Eum trains will make temporary stops at Punggi Station during the festival period. A "Punggi Station Welcome Zone" will operate outside Exit 2, offering a roulette-style event for visitors who arrive by train that day.

Circular shuttle buses will connect Yeongju Station, the intercity bus terminal, Punggi Station and the festival grounds, and a separate loop bus will run between the festival site and the ginseng market.

"We will make this year's Yeongju Punggi Ginseng Festival one that leaves visitors with memories that bring them back, delivers real income to farmers and merchants, and builds lasting trust in Punggi ginseng," Yeongju Mayor Hwang Byeong-jik said.