The Season of Burning Nights... Gongju Roasted Chestnut Festival and Chestnut Industry Expo Open on February 4

Geumgang Singwan Park and Mireu Island:
From Experiential Winter Festival to Industrial Exchange

Last year's roasted chestnut festival scene / Gongju City

Gongju, located in South Chungcheong Province and renowned for its chestnuts, is set to heat up the middle of winter. An experiential winter festival centered around Gongju’s signature specialty, chestnuts, and an industrial expo connecting the present and future of the chestnut industry, will be held together at the same venue.

On January 21, Gongju City announced that the “9th Winter Gongju Roasted Chestnut Festival” and the “2026 Korea Chestnut Industry Expo” will be held concurrently from February 4 to 8, for five days, at Geumgang Singwan Park and Mireu Island.

This year’s roasted chestnut festival is themed “Burning Night, Sweet Gongju.” The event is designed as an experiential winter festival, featuring hands-on activities, performances, and sales all centered around Gongju chestnuts.

The festival’s iconic large fire pit experience will be expanded to 14 fire pits, each with a diameter of 2 meters. Visitors will be able to roast and share chestnuts themselves in front of the fire pits, capturing the unique atmosphere of a winter festival.

At the “Gongju Roasted Chestnut Grill Zone,” guests can grill chicken skewers, sausages, marshmallows, and more using chestnut charcoal.

Throughout the festival grounds, booths will offer Gongju chestnuts and other local agricultural specialties for sale. There will also be hands-on experiences such as making chestnut snacks and crafts, as well as traditional games like jegichagi and tuho throwing. The “Retro Arcade,” which recreates old neighborhood arcades and stationery shops, aims to evoke nostalgia and foster intergenerational connection.

Additionally, the “Winter Gongju Pet Kingdom” will be available for visitors accompanied by pets. The event area has been expanded to Mireu Island. The “Winter Gongju Snowflake Kingdom,” featuring a snow sledding hill and spinning sleds, will provide extended winter play experiences for families.

The “2026 Korea Chestnut Industry Expo,” held at the same location and time as the roasted chestnut festival, will explore the overall competitiveness of the chestnut industry under the theme “Korea’s Chestnut Industry: Adding Value.”

Chestnut-related companies and organizations from across the country will participate, exhibiting and promoting processed chestnut foods, health foods, lifestyle materials, and industrial technologies. The program will also feature an international academic conference, export consultation meetings, chestnut bakery and rice cake contests, and a chestnut magic show, integrating industrial, academic, and cultural activities.

In particular, on February 6, an export consultation event will be held, bringing together overseas buyers from the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Vietnam, as well as domestic companies.

The city hopes to expand overseas markets for Gongju chestnuts.

Choi Wonchul, Mayor of Gongju, stated, “This roasted chestnut festival and industry expo are opportunities to widely promote the value of Gongju chestnuts,” adding, “I hope this event will help Gongju establish itself as a cultural tourism destination and become a leading city in Korea’s chestnut industry.”