Jarasum Jazz Festival (자라섬재즈페스티벌) is Korea’s best-known jazz festival. It is held on Jarasum, a river island on the North Han River beside Gapyeong town, an easy trip from Seoul. The 23rd edition runs Friday 9 to Sunday 11 October 2026. The daytime stages are on the island. In the evening the music moves into Gapyeong town, where every stage is free.
Official site: jarasumjazz.com. Checked on the official site, 30 September 2026. Prices, times, shuttle details and camping rules below come from the festival’s own pages and notices, dated where the festival dates them. Where the festival doesn’t say, we write “not published”.
The short answer
- When: Fri 9 – Sun 11 October 2026.
- Where: Jarasum (60 Jarasum-ro, Gapyeong-eup) and venues around Gapyeong town, Gyeonggi-do.
- Paid vs free: the two main stages on Jarasum’s middle island (Jungdo), Jazz Island and Jazz AI Lounge, are for ticket holders. The Welcome Post stage on the west island (Seodo) and all the town stages are free.
- Tickets for foreigners: use the official English ticket page. Its booking button goes to YES24 Ticket. Advance prices: 88,000 won for one day, 154,000 won for two, 198,000 won for three.
- From Seoul: train to Gapyeong Station (ITX-Cheongchun or Gyeongchun Line), or the festival’s official Ggotgama shuttle bus, which must be booked in advance.
Tickets
The festival’s English ticket page (jarasumjazz.com/2026ticket-en, checked 30 September 2026) lists these prices:
| Ticket | Price | Days |
|---|---|---|
| 3-Day Pass | 198,000 won | Fri 9 – Sun 11 Oct |
| 2-Day Pass | 154,000 won | Fri–Sat or Sat–Sun |
| 1-Day Pass | 88,000 won | Fri, Sat or Sun |
| On-site 1-Day Pass | 99,000 won | Sold on the day, 10:00 until the end of the performances, only if tickets remain |
| Early Bird 3-Day Pass | 165,000 won | Sold out |
- Advance sales close at 17:00 on Thursday 8 October. After that, the only route is the on-site one-day ticket, if any are left. The page warns that tickets may sell out early.
- Seller: the page’s Book Now button goes to YES24 Ticket. YES24 adds a 2,000 won booking fee per ticket. You can book up to six tickets per person. Ticket inquiries: 1544-6399.
- Children: free for children of elementary-school age and under (born 2014 or later), with an adult ticket holder.
- Discounts (disabled visitors, middle and high school students, over-65s, local residents, registered artists) apply only to the advance 1-Day Pass. You need documents to prove eligibility. There are no discounts on site.
- Refunds: cancel through the seller you bought from. For Friday and Saturday tickets, the deadline is 17:00 the day before; for Sunday, it’s 11:00 the day before. You can’t refund part of a 2-day or 3-day pass. There are no refunds if the lineup changes.
The foreign-buyer catch. The official English page links only YES24 Ticket. It doesn’t mention a separate foreigner route, and it doesn’t say whether foreign phone numbers or cards work there. The festival’s page doesn’t cover that, so it’s not published. For the Busan rock festival, YES24’s global site made foreign buyers pass a passport identity check before buying, and warned that some payment methods may not work: see Busan Rock Festival 2026. Give yourself time to try a second card before advance sales close on 8 October. If that fails, the published fallback is the 99,000 won on-site ticket.
Mobile ticket and wristband
- Mobile tickets only. Nothing is posted out. Your ticket is a QR code in the YES24 Ticket app or mobile web, under MY Tickets on the purchaser’s account. It goes live at 20:00 the evening before your day. Tickets shared as images are refused.
- Swap the QR for a wristband at the ticket and wristband booth, open 10:00 until the end of the performances. Staff put the wristband on you, and companions have to be there too.
- Re-entry is allowed with the wristband on. On a 2-day or 3-day pass you keep the same wristband until your last day. Lost or damaged wristbands are not replaced.
- A 1-Day Pass is valid only on the date you booked.
Timetable and lineup
We don’t list the lineup here. The official day-by-day timetables are the source, and the festival says the lineup can change without notice:
The festival doesn’t name headliners, so we don’t either. The artist pages are under LINE-UP.
How the day runs, from the stage notice (posted 27 September 2026) and the timetables:
- On the island: the timetables start the island stages at 12:30. All island performances finish at 20:00 on Friday and Saturday and 21:10 on Sunday.
- In town, after 19:00: evening stages are in Gapyeong town, and all are free. The Friday and Saturday timetables run the last town sets to 23:20. The Sunday timetable lists island stages only.
| Stage | Where | Paid or free |
|---|---|---|
| Jazz Island | Jarasum, middle island (Jungdo) | Ticket holders only |
| Jazz AI Lounge | Jarasum, middle island (Jungdo) | Ticket holders only |
| Welcome Post | Jarasum, west island (Seodo) | Free |
| Party Stage | Jatgoeul Market square (잣고을시장 광장) | Free |
| Jazz Street | Orinamu-gil, by Heungnong Seed (오리나무길 흥농종묘) | Free |
| Jazz Station | Music Station 1939 (음악역1939) | Free |
| Midnight Jazz Cafe | Kumho Tire (금호타이어) and Gapyeong Bus Terminal (가평 버스터미널) | Free |
The official map puts the ticket gate between Welcome Post and the middle island, so Welcome Post is outside the ticketed area.
Getting there from Seoul
By train
Take the ITX-Cheongchun (the faster train) or the Gyeongchun Line (a regular commuter line) to Gapyeong Station (가평역). Then walk or take a taxi to the Jarasum entrance. The festival site shows Gapyeong Station on its map but does not publish a walking time from the station, so check a live route in Naver Map, set to English. Load your fare card first: see where to buy and top up T-money. For buses, taxis and trains beyond the capital in general, see getting around outside Seoul.
Once you’re in Gapyeong, the official map (Jarasum Map page) lists these walking times from the Jarasum entrance:
- Midnight Jazz Cafe at Gapyeong Bus Terminal: 10 minutes
- Jazz Station: 13 minutes
- Jazz Street: 15 minutes
- Midnight Jazz Cafe at Kumho Tire: 18 minutes
- Party Stage: 19 minutes
A town shuttle loops from about 300 m before the Jarasum entrance, along Gapyeong-eup Jungang-ro and past Dahanwoo, to the Gapyeong Sports Complex, and back. Its times and fare are not published.
The official Ggotgama shuttle bus
The festival’s official shuttle is run by Ggotgama (꽃가마). The details below are from the festival notice posted 27 September 2026:
- Booking: required, in the Ggotgama app (links in the notice). There are no paper tickets. You board by showing the QR code in the app, and the festival recommends saving a screenshot in case the signal is weak. The notice doesn’t say whether the app works with foreign phone numbers or cards (not published).
- To Jarasum, all three days:
| Pick-up | Departs |
|---|---|
| Sadang Station, Exit 1 (public parking lot) | 09:20 |
| Seoul Station, Exit 15 (Korail building) | 09:20 |
| Hapjeong Station, Exit 8 (Holt Children’s Services) | 09:20 |
| Sports Complex Station, Exit 3 (Asia Park) | 09:50 |
- Back to Seoul: buses leave at 20:30, or about 21:40 on Sunday 11 October. If an encore runs late, departure moves to 30 minutes after the show ends. The routes are:
- A: Gangbyeon, Seoul Station, Hapjeong
- B: Sports Complex, Gangnam
- C: Express Bus Terminal, Sadang
- E: Migeum, Suwon
- Fares (one way):
- To Jarasum: 19,000 won, or 20,000 won from Sadang and Hapjeong, which count as long distance.
- Back from Jarasum: 25,000 won, or 28,000 won to Hapjeong, Express Bus Terminal, Sadang, Migeum or Suwon.
- Cancellation:
- Up to 28 September: 100% refund.
- Up to 30 September: 80%.
- Up to 2 October: 50%.
- From 3 October: no cancellations or refunds.
- You can’t change the date or time of a booking; cancel and rebook instead.
- On the day: boarding starts 30 minutes before departure, and the notice asks you to be at the stop about 15 minutes early. Seats are unassigned and there’s no standing, as each coach has 45 seats. Big bags and camping chairs go in the hold. A departure with too few bookings can be cancelled, and you’re then offered another bus or a full refund. At Jarasum, the official map puts the Ggotgama stop by caravan site A.
Camping and staying over
From the festival’s camping notice (posted 9 September 2026):
- There is no camping-plus-festival-ticket package this year.
- For Jarasum Camping Site or its caravans, book yourself through Thank You Camping (땡큐캠핑), the campsite’s official booking platform, once October bookings open.
- Campsite prices, opening dates and availability are not published on jarasumjazz.com.
- You can’t camp in the festival grounds. The ticket page bans every kind of tent, including shade tents, and cooking inside the venue. The official map shows caravan sites A, B and C elsewhere on the island.
The festival doesn’t publish hotel or guesthouse advice. Gapyeong town is walkable from the island (see the times above), so it makes sense as a base.
Practical tips
- Evenings by the river get cold. The ticket page warns that temperatures swing a lot during the day and recommends a hat, sunglasses and sunscreen for the afternoon, plus warm clothes. The island sits in the river, so bring a proper layer for after dark.
- Mats and chairs: chairs without legs are allowed in the general seating area; chairs with legs only in the designated chair zone. A picnic mat is the easy option. Don’t leave belongings to hold a spot: the festival bans reserving seats.
- Food: the official map shows 35 booths near the Jazz AI Lounge, with food vendors and a convenience store. No cooking in the venue. Rules on bringing outside food and drink are not published.
- Re-entry: allowed with your wristband on.
- Dogs: welcome in the outdoor performance area, in the designated pet zone. The breeds classed as dangerous under Korea’s Animal Protection Act (Tosa, pit bull types, Rottweilers and their mixes) are not allowed.
- Not allowed: anything on wheels except strollers and wheelchairs, tents, open flames, drones, and commercial filming or recording.
- Smoking: designated areas only.
Pair it with
Nami Island is right next door: the island trip starts from the same Gapyeong Station. A morning on Nami before the afternoon sets is easy, though it makes for a long day. See Nami Island and the Gapyeong loop. Gapyeong’s leaves usually turn later, from late October: see autumn foliage in Korea. For everything else on in October, see the festival season calendar.
Quick answers
- Dates: Fri 9 – Sun 11 October 2026.
- Free: Welcome Post and all the town stages. Paid: Jazz Island and Jazz AI Lounge.
- Tickets: official English ticket page → YES24 Ticket. Advance sales close 8 October at 17:00; after that, 99,000 won on site if any are left.
- From Seoul: train to Gapyeong Station, or the Ggotgama shuttle (book in the app; no refunds from 3 October).
- Camping: no festival package; book the campsite through Thank You Camping.
- Timetable: check the official day pages the morning you go.
