Dig your own ginseng at the Geumsan festival in October

Geumsan is the ginseng town of Korea, and its festival runs for 10 days.

Date: Friday 2 to Sunday 11 October 2026
Place: World K-Insam Expo Square, 30 Insamgwangjang-ro, Geumsan-eup, Chungnam
Price: The tourism listing says free entry, with some activities paid
Booking: Not needed
Good for: Families and friends

What you can do there, as the organiser describes it:

• Dig ginseng in the field and buy what you dig at a low price
• Soak your feet in a red ginseng foot bath, 2,000 won
• Make your own herbal ssanghwa-tang pouch
• Walk the ginseng food street and the trade fair

Good news for readers who do not speak Korean. The festival has its own English site, and pages in Chinese, Japanese and Vietnamese.

Getting there: By car, take the Chubu or Geumsan exit. Parking is free, as the organiser states. From Daejeon Station, the organiser says shuttle buses run during the festival. An express bus from Seoul takes about 2 hours 30 minutes.

See the event

Next step: if you want to dig ginseng, ring the organiser on 041-750-3811 first to ask about that day's times.

Sources: Geumsan World K-Insam Festival; Korea Tourism Organization. Checked 18 September 2026.