Gumi City in Gyeongbuk (North Gyeongsang Province) said it will hold the '2026 Gumi Food Festival' for 2 days, from Saturday, October 17 to Sunday, October 18, around Songjeong Matgil (food street). On the 29th, the city held a final report meeting in the International Trade Cooperation Office at City Hall and reviewed preparations in each area, including venue construction, food operations, performance and hands-on programs, promotion, and traffic and safety management.
The centerpiece of this year's festival is the '9味 Zone' ("nine flavors" zone), made up of 9 themes. They are a Gumi agricultural specialty food market, the Samgyeop Gupgup Zone, the Bakery Cafe Zone, the Local Restaurant Zone, the Asian Gourmet Zone, the Gumidang Kimchi-Maek Zone, the Local Makgeolli Zone, the Kids' Tasty Zone, and the Food Tech & Experience Zone. The city said it commissioned 3 professional chefs to provide food consulting, raising the quality of participating vendors' menus.
The 'National Costume Contest', held for the first time this year, is open to anyone nationwide, regardless of place of residence, as individuals or teams. The contest will take place at 2 p.m. on October 17 on the main stage, proceeding in the order of character introduction, runway and performance, with total prize money of 5,600,000 won.
In the food tech area, Gumi-based companies including LSB Co., Ltd., Uri Papas and Ichan F&B will take part to introduce future food technologies, and the ECRC club of Geumo Institute of Technology will also present technology content. For family visitors, food and hands-on programs in the Kids' Tasty Zone will be expanded. A new 'QR ordering system', which lets visitors check menus and order with their smartphones, will also be introduced to reduce on-site waiting and congestion.
Gumi City plans to reflect opinions raised at the report meeting and inspect venue facilities, safety, traffic and visitor amenities in detail before the opening. Gumi Mayor Kim Jang-ho said, "We will carefully look after every corner of the site until the very end so that citizens and tourists can enjoy themselves to the fullest with peace of mind."
The Gumi Food Festival is a Gumi City food festival first held in October 2022 to comfort citizens and small business owners after COVID-19 and to revitalize the local economy. According to Korea Tourism Organization festival information, visitors can taste about 200 menu items. Inquiries can be made at 054-480-5593.
The detailed schedule can be found on the festival details page.