Seoul May 2026 Events & Festivals / May South Korea Events

Visiting Seoul in May? From the Seoul Lotus Lantern Parade and Festival to the end of the Seoul Spring Festival (with a drone show on May 5 and concerts!), there are lots of ways to have fun at Seoul events in May 2026.

May in Seoul is a great time to visit especially on Children’s Day (a South Korea public holiday on 5 May) where families celebrate together and attend fun events like the “Pokémon Run” – or enjoy Seoul Circus Festival on 4 and 5 May.

See the Seoul International Garden Show bloom at Seoul Forest from 1 May, combine Banpo Rainbow Bridge with the 2026 Car-Free Jamsugyo Festival, enjoy some alfresco arts at the Seoul Outdoor Library, make a ‘home run’ to the KBO baseball games or watch some K-League soccer live at the World Cup Stadium.

Plus Seoul’s May 2026 concerts include the Seoul Jazz Festival 2026, the HipHopPlaya Festival, the Asian Pop Festival and Sung SiI Kyung in concert.

Here is our pick of the best Seoul events in May 2026 along with several other South Korea festivals in May.

South Korea checklist

We love using agoda.com, expedia.com and booking.com for researching and booking all our hotels, and Hostelworld for booking hostels.

For booking tours, transfers and SIM cards we recommend Get Your Guide, Viator, Trazy or Klook.

For booking rental cars visit Discover Cars. For private drivers and taxis, check out our Transfer guide >

Check out our South Korea travel booking resources >

All set for South Korea? Do one final check with our Seoul first timers guide and our South Korea packing list

On Children’s Day on 5 May, lots of special family events and celebrations take place across South Korea whilst for Buddha’s Birthday, there are lantern parades and special ceremonies at temples.

In Seoul, the Lotus Lantern Festival 연등회 takes place on 16 May 2026, one of the main celebrations to mark Buddha’s Birthday (more on this shortly).

A Buddhist celebration, beautiful lanterns pop across the city and at temples like Jogyesa near Insadong and Bongeunsa in Gangnam – one of the best places to see lanterns is Cheonggyecheon stream.

On Saturday May 16 2026 from 7pm onwards, the famous Seoul Lotus Lantern Parade takes place with thousands of participants, lanterns, floats and performances like dragon dances, musical groups and acrobatics.

It runs from Heunginjimun gate via Jongno to Jogyesa Temple. There is also an opening rally (Eoulim Madang) on the same day from 4.30-6pm at Dongguk University.

On Sunday 17 May 2026 in Seoul, the main road in front of Jogyesa temple is closed to traffic and hundreds of stalls and cultural activities take place, culminating in the Yeondeungnori (final celebrations) in front of Jogye-sa Temple from around 7pm in the evening.

Celebrating the very best of Korean culture from K-Beauty to K-Pop, a wide variety of concerts, pop-ups and activities take place across the city.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by SEOUL SPRING FESTIVAL (서울스프링페스티벌) (@seoulspringfestival_official)

One of the Seoul Spring Festival 2026 highlights in May include a Seoul drone show featuring thousands of drones on 5 May 2026 at Jamsil Hangang Park.

Their ‘Signature Show’ also takes place 1 to 5 May 2026 at Seoul Yeouido Hangang Park featuring a merry go round carousel with lights and lasers plus on 3 May, there is a headline ‘Wonder Show’. On Children’s Day (5 May, not April), there is a “Pokémon Run” too!

Check out the official Seoul Spring Festival 2026 website >

From 23 April to June, and September to October, the Seoul Outdoor Library pops up in several picturesque locations across the city.

Each of the three Seoul Outdoor Libraries provides chairs, books and entertainment including an alfresco library which opens along the city’s Cheonggyecheon stream near Dongdaemun – sometimes there is music and performers too.

All three Seoul Outdoor Libraries are within walking distance of each other so you could combine all three for an epic reading session.

The 2026 Seoul Outdoor Library opening times are 11am to 6pm every Friday, Saturday and Sunday (but on hot / extreme weather days, this changes to 4pm to 10pm). During the summer months there may be occasional later openings.

Read our Seoul Outdoor Library guide >

Now in its 8th year, this is a large lineup of performances, exhibitions, hands-on programs, and special events. This year’s theme is “Children’s Day for Adults Too,” so mum and dad can make a ‘clown’ of themselves too.

Full programme details are still TBC but the Seoul Circus Festival 2026 takes place from 1pm to 8pm on 4 and 5 May at Nodeul Island, just down from Banpo Hangang Park.

This year’s 2026 KBO baseball season is hotly anticipated and there are KBO baseball games in May 2026 EVERY day of the week except Monday. Amazingly, there are 135 Korean baseball games happening in May 2026. Each team will play 144 games over the season with a short break in July 2026.

The baseball season in South Korea runs from late March until September every year, and Seoul is fortunate enough to have two home baseball teams – the Doosan Bears and the LG Twins (last year’s KBO championship winners).

There will often be several baseball games a week played at Jamsil stadium (it is a huge stadium, holding 25,000 spectators). Foreigners can buy Seoul baseball tickets at Jamsil stadium for as little as 13,000 Won (around £8 / $10 USD).

We’ve been to Jamsil Stadium baseball a couple of times and had an amazing time watching baseball (and eating, singing, dancing…).

Click here to read our guide on how to buy Seoul baseball tickets >

Over 150 garden displays (up from 111 in 2025) will be on show from May to late October and no doubt Hechi, Seoul’s cute tourism mascot will be part of the proceedings again).

Lots of K-companies and iconic Korean brands will be taking part including SM Entertainment Nongshim noodles, Musinsa fashion and Clio K-Beauty.

This is one K-Garden display and fine floral festival that you must visit whilst in Seoul.

Check out the official Seoul International Garden Show 2026 website here >

We went to this last year (in 2025) and the whole bridge is closed off to to traffic and is lined with dozens of food trucks, craft stalls and selfie spots like a huge Hechi.

This is a Seoul festival you can combine with the Banpo Rainbow Bridge Fountain, named in the Guinness Book of World Records as the “…world’s longest bridge fountain”.

The Seoul Banpo Rainbow Bridge Fountain is a free Seoul attraction and has almost 400 water jets that light up and spout around five to six nights a week between April to October.

It is one of the most colourful and unique attractions in Seoul (although we thought it was a bit overrated to be honest).

So if you are visiting Seoul in May, consider a FC Seoul K League Game at the Seoul World Cup stadium. Home FC Seoul games in May 2026 take place on 2 May (vs Gimcheon Sangmu FC) and 5 May (vs FC Anyang).

South Korea K League game tickets are easy to purchase (and very cheap) plus the World Cup Stadium in Seoul has good transport links with its very own subway station.

From purchasing K League tickets for FC Seoul through to what types of food, drink and entertainment you can expect at the stadium, here is our guide to all things K League South Korea and the Seoul World Cup Stadium >

You might like these Seoul neighbourhood guides:
Hannam-dong
Hongdae
Myeong-dong
Insadong
Ikseon-dong 
Gangnam
Seongsu-dong
Euljiro
Itaewon
Dongdaemun

Or check out our best neighbourhoods in Seoul Guide >

SPO Kids Concert
2 May 2026 at Lotte Concert Hall

2026 SUNG SI KYUNG Wedding Song Concert
2 May 2026 – 5 May 2026 at Yonsei University Amphitheater

2026 Seoul Jazz Festival featuring Herbie Hancock, of Monsters and Men, FKJ andJanelle Monae
22 to 24 May 2026 at Olympic Park

Asian Pop Festival with ichiko aoba
30 and 31 May at Incheon Paradise City

Billy Elliot The Musical dances into Seoul as part of a huge world tour.

Based on the 2000 movie ‘Billy Elliott’ and directed by Stephen Elliot and written by Lee Hall (the original creative team), this production features original music from Elton John and has won over 80 awards including 5 Oliver awards and 10 Tony Awards.

Join our Facebook South Korea Travel Planning and Tips Group!
Need help with your itinerary or have any South Korea related questions? Head on over to our friendly and active Facebook group with over 150,000 members!
Click here to join our group >

Or if you just want to see more of our South Korea photos, follow our South Korea Facebook page >

This world renowned comedy cooking show has been packing in audiences worldwide since 1997. Possibly the best known Korean theatre show, NANTA Theatre has been performed over 50,000 times in over 60 countries and is a fun mix of slapstick and physical comedy.

There are very few spoken words used throughout so not understanding Korean (or English) won’t be an issue.

Myeongdong NANTA Theatre has at least two NANTA performances every day, with evening shows held at 5pm and 8pm Monday to Saturday (on Sundays, it is 2pm and 5pm).

Book your Myeongdong Nanta theater show ticket on Klook >

To be honest, we thought it was going to be naff (terrible) but it was surprisingly good and the theatrics and artistry were amazing. Even if you don’t like K-Pop style shows, the way they create incredible paintings from nothing is spellbinding.

Korean ‘idols’ recreate famous paintings such as Michelangelo’s ‘Creation of Heaven’ and Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘Self-Portrait’ with splendid choreography and live drawings. It sounds like it will be kitsch AF but we both loved it. There is also a photo opp with the boys at the end.

For more info and tickets, check out ‘The Painters’ on Klook >

For something a little more ‘adult’ and for women over 19 years of age, check out the “WILD WILD: After Party” in Euljiro, Seoul or the ‘Touch Five’ show musical – remember to pick a ‘touch’ or ‘no touch’ sticker!

Listen to classical Korean performances on traditional instruments or amazing dance performances

Book your Saturday Gugak Concert tickets on Klook >

Seriously for us, this had to be one of the top 5 things to do in Busan, not just Gwangalli. It is also a great thing to enjoy in Busan with kids.

Every Saturday night at 8pm and 10pm in April, over 300 aerial drones take to the skies of Gwangalli Beach and create an incredible skyborne spectacle, with various scenes and characters created.

Each week, the official Gwangalli drone show website lists what the theme will be that Saturday.

More things to do in Gwangalli >

You can follow South Korea Hallyu on: 
Instagram
Facebook group
Facebook page
TikTok