Held annually around the end of March to April, Jinhae Gunhangje Festival is Korea’s biggest spring festival, lasting over a week and attracting at least 2 million visitors. The festival first began as a memorial service to commemorate Yi Sun-sin, a notable naval admiral during the Joseon Dynasty (July 1392 – October 1897). Currently, it has now grown to become a festival enjoyed by everyone, even bringing in tourists from all over the world.
In Jinhae, you can follow the crowd to the main roundabout. Here you’ll see food stalls and shopping booths set up. There, you’ll find the informational booth that offers the festival itinerary as well as a map showing the location of all the events and main sights for cherry blossoms.
Due to the militaristic history of the festival, events include the Black Eagles Air Show, The Military Band and Honor Guard March, as well as a speech by the mayor. Other events include dance shows, music clubs, band performances, fireworks etc.
Around the area, there’s food stalls set up everywhere, selling all kinds of traditional Korean food to try. If you’re adventurous you can also try beondegi (silkworm larvae), a Korean delicacy that tastes like boiled black beans. If not, try classic street food like toppokki (spicy rice cake), Eomuk Tang (fishcake), Kimbap (Korean sushi), or even try Korean candy.
However, the festival’s main sights are the cherry blossoms! Good locations for cherry blossom viewing include Gyeonghwa Station Cherry Blossom Road, Anmingogae Hill, Jehwangsan Park and Jangboksan Sculpture Park. But for the most popular sight, head to the Yeojwacheon River.
In the day, you can see lots of cherry blossoms and at night, there’s various light setups. You can walk along the river and see all the different decorations.
You can check out the schedule for future Jinhae Gunhangje Festivals on the official Korean tourism website. Addresses for events are included so I recommend downloading Kakao maps as well!