Festival Contents
The Story Behind Gyeongsan’s Red Gold 2025 Festival Highlights and Local Experiences Tips for Visiting and Enjoying the Region
Scheduled for around October📍 Venue: Gyeongsan Jujube Experience Center and Festival Grounds
🍂 Main Attractions: Jujube picking, cooking shows, health product tastings, local performances, children’s play zones
The Story Behind Gyeongsan’s Red Gold
The Gyeongsan Jujube Festival celebrates one of Korea’s most prized autumn harvests—jujube, often called “daechu” in Korean. Grown in the warm, mineral-rich soil of Gyeongsan, these small red fruits are affectionately referred to as Korea’s “Red Gold” for their premium quality, health benefits, and cultural significance. Gyeongsan, located in North Gyeongsang Province, has long been renowned for its ideal jujube cultivation conditions. The clean air, abundant sunlight, and gentle hill slopes allow the fruit to ripen naturally with high sugar content, firm texture, and potent medicinal properties. Traditional Korean medicine praises jujubes for improving immunity, digestion, and sleep. Historically, dried jujubes were used in royal cuisine, temple food, and ancestral rituals. Today, Gyeongsan remains the largest jujube-producing region in Korea, and the annual festival not only boosts regional agriculture but also educates the public about this humble yet powerful superfruit. The Gyeongsan Jujube Festival began as a local agricultural fair and has grown into a full-fledged celebration of food, wellness, and community. It's a time when farmers, artisans, chefs, and wellness advocates come together to highlight the versatility of jujubes through tastings, craft shows, health seminars, and fun activities. Visitors come not just to taste or buy but to understand the journey of this fruit—from tree to table. Farmers offer guided tours of jujube orchards, share drying and fermentation methods, and demonstrate how the fruit is used in both modern and traditional dishes.
Festival Highlights and Local Experiences
The Gyeongsan Jujube Festival 2025 offers a rich lineup of engaging activities that appeal to all ages. Here’s what you can expect during your visit:
1. Jujube Harvest Experience:
Step into the orchards and pick your own ripe jujubes straight from the trees. Guided tours explain cultivation methods, and all guests can take home a bag of freshly picked fruit.
2. Jujube Market & Health Zone:
This is where tradition meets wellness. Explore booths selling dried jujubes, jujube teas, jujube honey, syrups, fermented vinegar, and skincare items made with jujube extract. Free sampling is encouraged.
3. Jujube Cooking Classes:
Learn to make dishes like jujube rice porridge (daechu-juk), jujube tteok (rice cake), and jujube-infused bulgogi. Local chefs host live demos throughout the day.
4. Wellness Talks & Tea Ceremonies:
Traditional medicine practitioners offer mini lectures on the benefits of jujube, including detox recipes and energy-boosting tonics. Some sessions include calming tea ceremonies in traditional Korean settings.
5. Cultural Performances:
Enjoy a variety of local entertainment including samulnori (Korean percussion), fusion dance, youth orchestras, and senior choir performances. Evening shows feature LED performances and folk storytelling.
6. Children’s Jujube World:
A safe and creative space for families. Kids can enjoy jujube-shaped bounce houses, clay modeling, cartoon puppet shows, and a treasure hunt.
7. Agricultural Machinery Fair:
For those interested in farming, this section displays modern harvesting tools, drying systems, and eco-friendly jujube processing equipment. The festival site is fully accessible, stroller-friendly, and designed for comfort with shaded rest areas, mist zones, and first-aid stations.
Tips for Visiting and Enjoying the Region
Gyeongsan is a welcoming city where tradition, health, and nature blend beautifully. Here’s how to make the most of your trip:
🚆 Getting There:
From Seoul, take the KTX to Dongdaegu Station, then transfer to a local train or intercity bus to Gyeongsan. Shuttle services operate during festival days.
🏨 Where to Stay:
Hotels and guesthouses near Gyeongsan Station offer easy access. Consider staying at a local farmstay (nonghyup village) for a more immersive experience.
🎟 Entry & Reservations:
Entry is free. Workshop slots, cooking classes, and wellness seminars can be booked online. On-site registrations are also accepted on a first-come basis.
🧃 Local Cuisine:
While in Gyeongsan, try local dishes like jujube-pilaf, barley bibimbap, and traditional chicken soup with dried jujube broth. Visit nearby jujube cafés offering creative desserts and iced herbal teas.
🛍 What to Buy:
Recommended souvenirs include jujube tea packs, natural jujube snacks, honey-soaked dried jujube, and jujube beauty masks.
📸 Best Photo Spots:
The jujube orchard entrance gate, dried jujube towers, and the sunset-lit performance stage offer great Instagram moments.
🌿 Extra Tip:
Don’t miss the nearby Palgongsan hiking trails or a half-day trip to Donghwasa Temple if you have extra time in the region. Whether you're drawn by health trends or cultural curiosity, the Gyeongsan Jujube Festival offers a wholesome, flavorful, and unforgettable Korean autumn experience.