Hallyu Dream Festival is a three-day celebration of everything Hallyu (Korean cultural wave). Starting with an evening tour of historic sites in Gyeongju, the capital city of the ancient Silla Kingdom, the festival will present various opportunities for global Hallyu fans to fully indulge in the new cultural wave that is rapidly spreading outside Korea.Line Up: SHINee, KARA, SISTAR, B1A4, VIXX, Apink, T-ARA, SECRET, GOT7, EXID, BTOB, Dal★shabet, 9muses, Red Velvet, Boys Republic, Lovelyz, LABOUM, CLC, OH MY GIRL, SONAMOO, MONSTA X, Seventeen, April, DIA, Verry Good, 24K, LU:KUS, myB, WANNA.B, HIGH4, TREN-D, A6P

Bonghwa’s song-i mushrooms (pine mushroom) are regarded as a special delicacy, they grow only on the very best types of pine trees called ‘Chunyangmok Pine Trees’. They can be stored for long periods of time. At the Bonghwa Pine Mushroom festival, visitors will be able to observe the mushrooms in their natural habitat, and get the chance to harvest them. They will also be able to sample various alcohols and specialty dishes made from the delicious pine mushroom.

The 2013 Gyeongju Cherry Blossom Festival will be held from April 12 to 14 at Gyeongju City's three most beautiful sites for viewing cherry blossoms: Bomun Lake Resort (경주 보문관광단지), Dongbu Historic Complex (동부사적지), and Heungmu Park & Geumjangdae (흥무공원, 금성대). Each area will have a variety of events and programs, including musical performances, traditional wedding ceremonies, and photo contests.  

Cheongsong Apple Festival is held in October and November every year to promote the excellent quality of apples grown in the area. Cheongsong, said to be a clean area, has the perfect conditions for superior tasty and quality of apples, from being surrounded by mountains with an average altitude that is quite high, providing a huge daily temperature range to the fact that there are no industrial factories in the area. The festival offers various unique events to entertain visitors and the market sells qualified apples for a low price.  

Sangju-si in Gyeongsangbuk-do is known as Gamgoeul (literally "persimmon village") since it exports a large quantity of persimmons annually. Naturally, there are many local stories related to the fruit. Every autumn as persimmons ripen, the city holds a festival to celebrate its specialty and to continue the tradition of telling its Gamgoeul stories. The Sanju Gamgoeul Story Festival puts on major programs, including an opening ceremony, performances, and various hands-on experience programs.

Silla Sori Festival mainly focuses on the King Seongdeok Divine Bell (Emille Bell), established during the Unified Silla period, and takes place in Gyeongju, embracing its thousand-year-old heritage. The festival is managed by BBS (Buddhist Broadcasting System), and sponsored by Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Bulguksa Temple and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. The festival venue is a grass field around Cheomseongdae Observatory, where the varied programs such as the tolling of the model Emille Bell, weighting about 6 tons, and Silla Culture experience, reappearance of Silla Gandeunghoe (lamp ceremony) and others are prepared. The festival has been held since 2012 to acknowledge the value of the ‘King Seongdeok Divine Bell’, featuring the most beautiful bell existing in the world, made in our own way, and honoring the spirit.

Silla's Wonderful Entertainment Culture, Customs and Historical Sites Resurrected as a Performance "Song in Praise of Giparang" is a 10-line folk ballad written by the monk Chungdamsa to praise the Hwarang during King Gyeongdeok’s reign. It is a ballad that aims to portray the proud spirit and character of Hwarang Gi-pa. "Song in Praise of Giparang" recreates the activities and customs of the Silla Dynasty including the five traditional banquet acts "Silla Ogi," full moon pagoda circling "Daeboreum Tapdori" and a traditional Buddhist ritual of throwing flowers on the road for Buddha "Sanhwa Gongdeok" that are recorded in Choi Chi-won's Chinese-styled poetry, Hansi. In addition, Gi-pa and Bo-guk's great love story that continues from the world of the living to the afterlife is beautifully recreated with ancient ruins from the time of Silla such as Donggung Palace, the palace of the crown prince of Silla, Wolji Pond, Bulguksa Temple, and the nine-story pagoda of Hwangnyongsa Temple as backgrounds. -Courtesy of Jeongdong Theater

Since 1962, the Silla Cultural Festival has been a representative cultural celebration held in Gyeongju’s Bonghwangdae, Hwangseong Park, and the downtown area. It is a cultural festival that brings out the spirit of the ancient Silla kingdom, which has a remarkable history and culture. It also introduces Gyeongju’s vision of being a hub of culture and tourism that combines the old and the new. The festival allows residents and tourists to unite while building an ambience of positive interaction, as well as spreading an image of Gyeongju as a historical and cultural tourism city that embraces its thousand-year-old heritage.

Andong Folk Museum holds a Traditional Folk Game Event each year to greet Lunar New Year's Day for tourists and visitors returning to their hometown. During the event, visitors can revisit local history through watching traditional folk plays, and make New Year's resolutions. Traditional activities offered include yutnori, neolttwigi (seesaw jumping), jegichagi (Korean hacky sack), kite-flying, paengichigi (top-spinning) and tohu (arrow throwing), rolling a hoop, geunettwigi (traditional swing), and skipping rope.

Fifteen hundred years ago, there was a story about the Heroes of the Silk Road. Silla: Basilla was inspired by Kush-Nama, a Persian epic poem. It was then recompositioned centering around the characters in Kush-Nama, Prince Abtin and his son Fereydun, as well as the princess of Silla, Farārang. It takes place after the Sasanian Empire, the last pre-Islamic Persian empire, had ended. The story depicts the collision and harmonization of the three different cultures of Persia, Silla, and Arab. Dynamic storytelling is created through the characters and scenes. The spectacular stage sets, lighting, and video give the production incredible visual appeal. Also, specially designed props crossing the Silk Road and battle scenes of Zahhak and Fereydun allow the audience to feel as if they are part of a page in history.