Gaya Culture Festival

About the Festival

The 2026 Gaya Culture Festival is Gimhae's representative traditional culture and arts festival, celebrating its 64th anniversary since the launch of the Garak Culture Festival in 1962. This year's slogan is "Where 2,000 years have resided, the Gaya of light awakens." It is a festival that aims to promote the historical value of the Daeseong-dong Tombs, which were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2023, to the world, and to revive the brilliant culture of the Gaya civilization, shining brightly again beyond 2,000 years. It is held to honor the founding spirit of King Suro, who established the Garak Kingdom, to inherit and develop the excellent Gaya culture, and to promote harmony and unity among citizens. This festival, which commemorates the cultural heritage of the Gaya civilization that blossomed for over 500 years based on ironware culture and maritime trade after King Suro founded the Garak Kingdom in 42 AD, was newly reorganized in 2007 by integrating the Garak Culture Festival, which began in 1962 on the day of King Suro's Chunhyang Daeje (March 15th on the lunar calendar), and the Gaya World Culture Festival, held for two years starting from 2005. Various programs such as traditional performances, historical experiences, and cultural exhibitions are held in spaces where the spirit of Gaya lives and breathes, including Sureungwon Park, Daeseong-dong Tombs, Bonghwang-dong Historic Site, and Gaya-ui Street.