Spring is Korea’s most active season. Here are the experiences that are genuinely worth planning your trip around. Korea in spring is not just about cherry blossoms, though the blossoms are genuinely extraordinary.
The season runs from late March through May and features festivals, outdoor activities, food events, and cultural experiences specific to this time of year. This guide covers the best things to do in Korea in spring, why each experience is worth it, and exactly when to do them.
1. Hanami (Flower Viewing) in Korean Style
Koreans have their own flower-viewing culture that is distinct from Japan’s famous hanami. Called beot-kkot picnicking, it involves spreading a mat under the cherry trees, buying food from nearby stalls or convenience stores, and spending an afternoon eating, drinking, and watching the petals fall. It is relaxed, social, and genuinely joyful.
The best spots for experiencing this in Seoul are Yeouido Hangang Park (bring a picnic mat and join the crowds on the riverside), Seokchon Lake (the lake loop is perfect for a slow walk with food and coffee), and Bukhansan’s lower trails (less visited, beautiful cherry tree spots throughout the foothills). Planning where to base yourself? See our spring break in Korea guide for accommodation and trip planning advice
Practical tip: Visit Yeouido on a weekday if possible. Weekend crowds during peak bloom are enormous. Early morning on any day gives you the best light and the quietest experience.
2. Attend the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival
If you only do one spring festival in Korea, make it Jinhae. The Jinhae Gunhangje Festival (March 27 to April 5 in 2026) is Korea’s largest cherry blossom event, held in a coastal city with over 360,000 cherry trees. The scale is unlike anything you will see in Seoul.
Key experiences at the festival: walking the Yeojwacheon Stream blossom canal, photographing the famous train at Gyeonghwa Station, and watching the night illuminations along the stream. The festival also includes special access to the Korea Naval Academy and a military band parade that is genuinely spectacular.
Jinhae is best accessed as a day trip from Busan (45 minutes to 1 hour by bus). See the Busan travel guide for where to stay and how to base yourself.
3. Wear Hanbok at a Royal Palace
Spring is the most beautiful season to rent a hanbok and walk the grounds of one of Seoul’s royal palaces. The combination of traditional Korean dress, palace architecture, cherry trees, and blue spring skies produces the most photographed images in Korean travel.
Hanbok rental shops outside Gyeongbokgung Palace charge around 15,000 to 25,000 won for 2 to 4 hours, including hair styling for women. Wearing a hanbok gives you free entry to the palace, which is normally 3,000 won. The Gyeongbokgung changing-of-the-guard ceremony takes place at 10 am and 2 pm, and watching it in hanbok from the courtyard is an experience worth timing your morning around.
See the full Gyeongbokgung Palace guide for visitor details.
4. Watch the Lotus Lantern Festival
The Lotus Lantern Festival is one of Korea’s most visually extraordinary events and one of the most underrated on the international travel calendar. Held in May to celebrate Buddha’s Birthday (the date changes each year based on the lunar calendar), the festival fills the streets of Seoul’s Jongno district with thousands of handmade lotus lanterns in every colour.
The main lantern parade starts at Dongdaemun and winds through Jongno toward JogyesaTemplel,e a procession of illuminated lanterns stretching for kilometres, with traditional music and dance performances throughout. The streets around Insadong and Jogyesa Temple are filled with lantern displays in the days leading up to the main eve—onene of the most beautiful spring evenings you will have in Korea.
5. Hike in a National Park
Spring is the best season for hiking in Korea. The trails at Seoraksan National Park in Gangwon Province, one of the most dramatic landscapes in the country, are at their most beautiful in spring, when azalea blooms cover the upper ridges in vivid pink from late April. Bukhansan National Park, within Seoul’s city limits, is accessible in the morning and offers excellent spring wildflower trails.
For something more accessible, the Namsan Mountain trails in central Seoul are lined with cherry trees in early April and give views over the city from multiple vantage points. The walk from Itaewon up to N Seoul Tower through the spring forest takes around 25 minutes and is one of Seoul’s best free spring experiences.
6. Try Spring-Only Korean Food
Korean food changes significantly with the season, and spring has some of the best seasonal ingredients of the year:
- Jjukkumi (webfoot octopus): At peak season from March to May. Stir-fried with gochujang and served over rice, or grilled and eaten with soju. Found at most Korean restaurants and pojangmacha tents throughout spring.
- Namul greens: Spring brings fresh mugwort, fernbrake, wild chives, and bracken to the banchan side dishes in every Korean restaurant. Lighter and more delicate than the preserved winter versions.
- Strawberries: Korean strawberries (ttalgi) are extraordinarily good in spring, large, sweet, and nothing like supermarket strawberries. Found at every market and street food stall from March onward.
- Ssuk tteok: Mugwort rice cakes, a spring specialty with a distinctive green colour and earthy flavour. Found at traditional markets and specialty tteok shops.
See the full Korean food guide for more on what to eat in Korea.
7. Take a Temple Stay
Spring is one of the most beautiful times for a temple stay (templestay) in Korea. The programme lets you spend one to two nights at a working Buddhist temple, following the daily schedule: pre-dawn meditation bell, walking meditation, traditional vegetarian temple food, and guided activities such as the tea ceremony and lotus lantern-making.
In spring, many temple stays include special programmes around Buddha’s Birthday in May. Lotus lantern crafting is a common activity that takes on particular meaning in the festival season. Templestay.com lists participating temples across Korea with English booking options. Prices start around 70,000 to 100,000 won per night,t including meals.
8. Watch a KBO Baseball Game
Korea’s professional baseball season (KBO) begins in spring, and attending a game is one of the most uniquely Korean experiences you can have. The atmosphere at a KBO game is extraordinary: non-stop crowd chants, individual songs for each player, fried chicken and beer delivered to your seat, and a general level of passion that makes it genuinely entertaining even if you know nothing about baseball.
In Seoul, games are held at Jamsil Baseball Stadium (near the Sports Complex subway station). Tickets cost around 10,000 to 20,000 won and are often available on the day of the event. Check the KBO schedule online for which teams are playing during your visit.
9. Explore a Local Spring Market
Spring markets pop up across Korea from March onward. The Insadong traditional market in Seoul has spring craft vendors and seasonal food stalls. The Gyeongdong Herb Market near Cheongnyangni sells spring herbs and medicinal plants. The Yangpyeong Dumulmeori area along the river east of Seoul hosts weekend spring markets and cherry blossom picnic areas popular with Seoul families.
Gwangjang Market in Jongno runs year-round but is especially good in spring when fresh seasonal ingredients appear in the stalls alongside the permanent vendors. Bindaetteok pancakes and mayak gimbap with a cup of makgeolli, rice wine, in early April are one of Seoul’s great spring eating experiences.
10. Day Trip to Nami Island
Nami Island (Namiseom) is 1.5 hours from Seoul and one of the most beautiful spring day trips from the capital. The island’s main tree-lined paths, with silver birch, ginkgo, and cherry, are at their most dramatic in spring, with new leaves and blossoms colouring the walks that became famous through the K-drama Winter Sonata.
Entry costs 16,000 won, including the ferry. Combine with nearby Petite France or the Garden of Morning Calm for a full day. The Garden of Morning Calm has over 5,000 plant varieties,s and its spring section is at its best in April and May.
Practical Notes for Spring in Korea
- Transport: T-money card covers all subways, buses, and most taxis. Get one at the airport. See the T-money guide.
- Navigation: Naver Map or KakaoMap. Not Google Maps.
- Crowds: Visit famous blossom spots on weekdays and before 9 am for the best experience.
- Yellow dust: Check the AirVisual app on bad dust days and pack a mask.
