The 2025 Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival will be held for 16 days from 4th to 19th across Jinjuseong and the Nam River area. About 70,000 lanterns will light up the Jinju night sky. Moving lanterns incorporating 3D hologram technology have also been prepared. There are also lanterns made with direct participation by ordinary citizens.
According to Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, on the 2nd, this year's festival is organized under the theme "River of history, embracing peace." The festival carries on the spirit of peace and hope of the lanterns set afloat on the Nam River during the Battle of Jinju in the Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592, and unfolds history and culture through storytelling as Korea's representative honorary cultural tourism festival.
On the 4th, when the lantern festival opens with the soul-calling lighting ceremony, and on the 19th, the day before the closing, a performance combining a drone show and fireworks is scheduled. In addition, the drone show can be seen on the 8th and the fireworks on the 10th. This year, with waterborne drones and fireworks drones combined with a "light show," the performance has become even more spectacular.
The outdoor escape game will be introduced for the first time this year. It is a deduction-style mission game based on the Battle of Jinju, with a total of 10 missions carried out throughout Jinjuseong. The program runs seven times a day. You can search for Guardians of Jinju online to reserve in advance, or apply at the on-site booth at Gongbukmun, the mission starting point.
Starting on the 10th during the festival period, the 74th Gaecheon Arts Festival and the 2025 Korea Drama Festival will also be held together. The Gaecheon Arts Festival expanded participation to the national level. Contestants who passed the preliminaries, such as the National Brush Calligraphy Competition in Suncheon, South Jeolla, the Namgaram Song Festival in Mungyeong, North Gyeongsang, and the National Poetry Recitation Contest in Daegu, will gather in Jinju. For this year's Gaecheon Art Grand Exhibition, a governor's award was newly established in the minhwa category.
At the Korea Drama Festival, the sets of When Life Gives You Tangerines, this year's most talked-about work starring singer IU and actor Park Bo-gum, and Tastefully Yours, starring Kang Ha-neul and Go Minsi, have been recreated at the festival site.
Jinju introduced a smart map service that provides integrated real-time street crowd density and festival venue information, and a simple payment service that allows advance food orders and payments using mobile and QR codes for this year's festival. Visitors can easily use these services through the festival's official website or by scanning QR codes placed throughout the venue.
Mayor Jo Gyu-il of Jinju said, "The Jinju Namgang Yudeung Festival is a celebration of Jinju's unique history and tradition, and the passion of its citizens," adding, "We have completed all preparations so that some 70,000 lanterns can deliver an unforgettable impression to citizens and tourists. We hope many people will come to the festival grounds and enjoy Jinju's autumn together."