Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival, A Great Place To Visit In Spring

Are you looking to cherry blossoms in Korea? Want to visit the Gyeongju cherry blossom festival? When does the Sakura season starts in Korea?

The ancient capital of the Silla Dynasty, Gyeongju is the place to be when looking to see the beautiful cherry blossoms in Korea. The small city hosts the yearly Gyeongju cherry blossom festival which is an exiting event that attracts lots of local and foreign tourists.

Quick Facts About The Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival

• 2017 was the first year Gyeongju hosted the cherry blossom festival, which coincided with the 26th cherry blossom marathon around Gyeongju.
• The cherry blossom season in Korea or also called the Sakura season falls yearly around the end of March – beginning of April. This is the best time to visit Korea to see cherry blossoms.
• The best places to see the spring cherry blossoms are Bomun Lake and the Gyeongju Historic UNESCO area.
• Want to visit the cherry blossom festival? Then booking a package trip is a very comfortable option. Trazy offers packages starting at only $69. For more information, check them out here.

Want to visit this amazing Cherry Blossom festival? Click here for more information and prices!

The Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival

Gyeongju, also referred to as the museum without walls, hosts its yearly Gyeongju Cherry blossom festival. A festival that celebrates the cherry blossom trees being in full bloom. The city will be covered with these magnificent pink flowers. The perfect occasion for another family trip, a romantic escape (I don’t blame you!) or an just to take a bazillion selfies for instagram.

The Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival has many different kind of activities, that differ year by year, like live concerts and fireworks, the skewer festival, the Gyeongju cherry blossom marathon and a beer festival. You’ll also be able to find stalls all along the riverside, selling, souvenirs, toys and food.

1. Where To See Cherry Blossoms

The best place to see cherry blossoms is around Bomun Lake and Cheomseongdae Observatory. But there are 4 different locations in Gyeongju were you can enjoy the cherry blossom festival. Namely Gyeongju Expo, Bomun Lake and Gyeongju river side/down town and Cheomseongdae Observatory (첨성대).

The river side and the Cheomseongdae observatory are only a 10 minute walk from the express bus terminal. Getting to Bomun Lake (보문호) or the expo will take approximately 25 min by bus from Gyeongju Downtown. You can take bus number 10, 11, 100-1, 150, 154, or 600 and get off at Wolseong-dong Citizen’s Center Bus Stop.

Every year the opening ceremony of the cherry blossom festival is at Bomun Lake, which is close to the Teddy Bear Museum. During the opening ceremony various famous and infamous artists perform and ends with a fireworks.

2. Other Things To Do

Together with the cherry blossom festival falls the yearly Gyeongju Marathon. There are different distances runners can sign up for (full, half, 10 kilometers or 5 kilometers). The fee is between 20 000 and 30 000 krw. Sign up here.

Other events like beer and meat stands can be found at Gyeongju Expo, the river side, bomun lake or downtown Gyeongju. These stalls are typical Korean festival stalls.

When in Gyeongju for the festival make sure to check out Bulguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto, Cheomseongdae Observatory, the Tumuli Park, Gyerim forest, a Golgulsa temple stay and more wonderful things to visit in Gyeongju.

How To Get To Gyeongju

Gyeongju is easily accessible for all major cities around the country. It has great connections by KTX or intercity/express bus.

1. From Busan, Daegu, Ulsan Or Pohang

Gyeongju is located in the southeast of the Korean Peninsula between Daegu, Busan, Ulsan and Pohang. From each of these cities you can easily take the express bus which will take between 40 minutes to an hour. From each of these cities there are busses every 15-20 minutes. You can just buy your ticket 10 minutes before departure at the ticket office, no need for making a reservation in advance. The ticket price will be no more that 5000 won. More info here on getting from Daegu or Busan to Gyeongju.

2. From Seoul

From Seoul you can take the KTX, there are direct trains from Incheon Airport and Seoul Station once an hour. Depending on the train this will take around 2-2h30 and should cost 50 000 won for a normal ticket and 41 000 for a standing ticket. The KTX station in Gyeongju is located 20km from the city center, so you’ll have to take a taxi or bus to downtown. The bus will take around 40 minutes and should cost around 1200won. If you’re arriving after 21h30, there is no other option that the taxi. To the downtown this will take approximately 20 minutes as should cost around 15 000 won (depending on where you are going in downtown). More info here on getting from Seoul to Gyeongju.

Other Tips For Visiting The Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival

• Planning to visit different sites? Then check out the one day tour bus that will bring you to all the hot spots. You can easily get your bus tickets from Trazy.
• Rent a bicycle! Gyeongju is a very bicycle friendly city, with many cycling paths in downtown Gyeongju and along Bomun lake.
• Why not book a one day trip departing from Seoul, bringing you to all the cherry blossom ‘hot spots’. Book your tickets here.
• Visit the main Starbucks in Gyeongju as they will have special ‘Starbucks Korea cherry blossom’ merchandise and drinks.

Recommended Accommodations In Gyeongju

• Nomad house – cozy guesthouse in downtown Gyeongju, just a short walk from the express bus terminal and Gyeongju train station. Perfect when travelling on a budget or on a solo trip.
• Gyeongju Guesthouse – great guesthouse for solo travelers. Conveniently located in downtown Gyeongju, 5 minutes from Gyeongju train station and Cheomseondae observatory.
• Hwarang Guesthouse – located just next to Gyeongju train station, surrounded by a fair amount of Korean restaurants and coffee shops.

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Have any questions? Have you been to South Korea during the cherry blossom season? Let me know in the comment section!