2025 Jinhae Gunhangje Festival: Cherry Blossom Itinerary and Transportation Guide

Post date: 2025-03-18 | Categories: Korea Travel

South Korea is another country with a large number of cherry blossoms, second only to Japan. Especially in Jinhae, located in the southern part of the country, the streets are filled with cherry blossoms during the cherry blossom season.

Every year, from late March to early April, when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, Jinhae hosts the “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival“. Since the festival coincides with the peak cherry blossom season, it is also known as the “Jinhae Gunhangje Cherry Blossom Festival“.

Jinhae Gunhangje Cherry Blossom Festival

A few years ago, we visited the “Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival” and experienced the world of cherry blossoms in this top cherry blossom destination in Korea. It’s no exaggeration to say that after visiting Jinhae, you might feel “tired” of cherry blossoms.

After the Spring Festival, it’s almost time for cherry blossom season, and I can’t help but think of the cherry blossoms at the “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival”. Although I wrote some travel notes after that trip to Busan and Jinhae, the introduction to the “Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival” wasn’t very detailed.

So, here’s another article to organize the itinerary and transportation information for visiting the “Jinhae Gunhangje Cherry Blossom Festival”, as well as some cherry blossom spots near Jinhae in Busan, for those planning to visit Korea for cherry blossoms.

Table of Contents

“2025 Jinhae Gunhangje Cherry Blossom Festival” Dates

The dates for the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival are usually announced from mid-January to early February, and it typically takes place over about 10 days from late March to early April, during the peak cherry blossom season. In previous years, the peak cherry blossom period in Jinhae was around early April, so the “Jinhae Gunhangje Cherry Blossom Festival” has been held from April 1st to 10th.

However, in recent years, due to earlier warm weather, the cherry blossoms in Jinhae have bloomed earlier, shifting the peak period from early April to late March, and the festival dates have also been moved forward accordingly.

The 63rd “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival” in 2025 will be held from March 28th to April 6th, 2025, lasting for 10 days. The schedule has been pushed back by 5 days compared to last year, possibly reflecting the expectation that cherry blossoms in Korea will bloom later this year than in the past two years.

In the past, information about the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival was mainly released through the festival page on the Changwon City government website. However, starting from 2023, the official created a new dedicated website for the festival, consolidating information about the Jinhae Gunhangje Festival. The dedicated website is available in Korean, Chinese, Japanese, and English.

“Jinhae Gunhangje Festival” Itinerary and Transportation Guide

Jinhae is a small town with a small area and is not a major tourist destination. Except for the cherry blossom season from late March to early April, there are few tourists visiting at other times. Therefore, there are few hotels in Jinhae, and staying in Jinhae or other parts of Changwon City is not very convenient. It’s better to visit Jinhae for the “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival” and cherry blossom viewing as a day trip from other locations.

The closest major city to Jinhae is Busan, which is only about 40 kilometers away. The bus ride takes just over an hour. Busan is Korea’s second most important tourist city after Seoul, so using Busan as a base for visiting Jinhae for cherry blossoms is not only convenient for transportation but also allows you to explore Busan’s cherry blossom spots, killing two birds with one stone.

Map showing the locations of Busan and Jinhae

If you are only visiting Seoul and not Busan but still want to visit Jinhae for cherry blossoms, you can also take a day trip from Seoul. However, the distance between Jinhae and Seoul is over 300 kilometers, and the bus ride takes at least 4 hours one way, so traveling from Seoul is more tiring. But if you don’t mind the long journey, it’s still possible.

1. From Busan to Jinhae

The distance between Busan and Jinhae is very short, with a travel time of just over an hour. If you don’t want to get up too early and have enough time to enjoy the cherry blossoms and explore Jinhae, you should choose to stay in Busan and travel to Jinhae for the “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival”. Busan is Korea’s second most popular tourist city after Seoul, with many worthwhile tourist attractions. Busan also has many cherry blossom spots, and the blooming period coincides with Jinhae’s, so if you want to see Korea’s cherry blossoms in one go, it’s best to visit both Busan and Jinhae.

If you fly directly to Busan and skip Seoul, you can focus your itinerary on Busan, Jinhae, and nearby Gyeongju. A 6-day trip is ideal, with the first and last days spent on flights. The remaining 4 days can be arranged with 1 day for Jinhae, 1 day for Gyeongju, and 2 days for exploring Busan. If you are entering and exiting through Incheon Airport, you can take the KTX from Incheon Airport to Busan, follow the above itinerary to visit Busan, Jinhae, and Gyeongju, and then take the KTX back to Incheon Airport to leave Korea. If your trip is 8 days or longer, you can also visit both Seoul and Busan, traveling between the two cities by KTX.

From Busan to Jinhae, you can take a long-distance bus or a train. However, there are no direct trains from Busan to Jinhae, and you would need to transfer. The train schedule to Jinhae is also infrequent, making it more troublesome and time-consuming than taking a bus. Therefore, the most convenient way to travel between Busan and Jinhae is by long-distance bus.

The long-distance bus from Busan to Jinhae departs from the Busan Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal (Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal, also known as Busan Seobu Bus Terminal or West Busan Intercity Bus Terminal). As the name suggests, this bus terminal is located in the west of Busan City, near Gimhae International Airport. To get to the Busan Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal from downtown Busan, you can take Busan Metro Line 2 (Green Line) to Sasang Station. The bus terminal is right next to the metro station.

The closest metro exits to the Busan Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal are Exit 3 and Exit 5. After exiting from Exit 3, you will see a shopping mall next to the station, and the bus terminal’s ticket hall is accessible through the mall.

Jinhae Gunhangje Festival Transportation

Alternatively, Exit 5 of the metro station directly connects to the B1F level of the shopping mall. From there, you can take the escalator to the 1F level of the mall to access the bus terminal’s ticket hall.

Tip: Sasang is very close to Gimhae International Airport, just three stops away by light rail. If you arrive early and want to visit Jinhae for cherry blossoms first, you can store your luggage in the coin lockers at Sasang Station or the Busan Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal, then take the bus to Jinhae. After returning, you can retrieve your luggage and head to your hotel.

The ticket hall at the Busan Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal. You can buy tickets at the ticket counter by telling the staff your destination (Jinhae) and the number of people. There are also self-service ticket machines, but you need to pay by credit card.

Previously, there were frequent long-distance buses from Busan Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal to Jinhae, with 53 round trips daily. However, the number of buses has now decreased to 31 round trips, operating from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM, with a frequency of approximately 30-40 minutes. During the Gunhangje Festival, the bus frequency may increase. For the detailed schedule, please refer to this webpage (Note: The webpage is in Korean, but you can use Google Translate to convert it to other languages).

When we visited in 2015, the one-way bus ticket from Busan to Jinhae was 5,100 KRW. The current fare is 6,100 KRW. The bus tickets between Busan and Jinhae do not have a specified time, meaning you can take any bus on the day of purchase. Additionally, the tickets do not have assigned seats, so you can choose your seat freely.

The boarding point for the bus is just outside the ticket hall. The ticket will indicate the platform number. In 2015, the platform for the Jinhae bus was number 17.

Since there are no assigned seats, you will need to queue at the platform to board the bus.

Tips for Choosing Bus Seats: The bus from Busan Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal to Jinhae passes by the Nakdong River shortly after departure. The riverside is lined with dense cherry blossom trees, making it one of Busan’s popular cherry blossom viewing spots. If you want to enjoy this view from the bus, choose a seat on the right side, which is the side of the bus door.

Vehicle entrance and exit at Busan Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal.

The distance between Busan and Jinhae is approximately 40 kilometers. However, since it is not a highway, the bus speed is slower, and the journey takes about 70-80 minutes. However, it seems that the journey time has now been reduced to about 45 minutes. Along the way from Busan to Jinhae, there are many cherry blossom trees, especially as you get closer to Jinhae.

The bus station in Jinhae is the Jinhae Intercity Bus Terminal, which is relatively small and simple. The return buses to Busan also depart from here. Since the bus tickets do not have a specified time and are valid for the entire day, you can purchase your return ticket in advance after arriving. Of course, you can also buy it when you return after visiting Jinhae, but you may need to queue.

In addition to taking the bus to Jinhae to see the cherry blossoms, there are also local day tours from Busan during the “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival” that can be booked on KKday and Klook. However, these tours are much more expensive than taking the bus from Busan Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal. Below are the Jinhae cherry blossom tours from Busan on Klook and KKday:

2. From Seoul to Jinhae

The distance between Seoul and Jinhae is quite far, making it less suitable for a direct trip from Seoul to Jinhae. However, since many foreign tourists only visit Seoul, there are still many people who travel from Seoul to Jinhae to see the cherry blossoms. If you plan to make a round trip from Seoul to Jinhae in one day, you must depart very early. For example, if you leave at 7:00 AM, you should arrive in Jinhae by noon, giving you about 5-6 hours to explore Jinhae before returning to Seoul late at night.

In the past, during the “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival,” there was a special train from Seoul Station directly to Jinhae, but this train took 6 hours and is no longer available. Without the special train, taking the train to Jinhae requires transfers, and the train frequency is low, making it inconvenient and time-consuming. Therefore, the most convenient way to travel from Seoul to Jinhae is still by long-distance bus.

In Seoul, the Dong Seoul Bus Terminal and the Nambu Bus Terminal (also known as Seocho Bus Terminal) both have long-distance buses directly to Jinhae. There are 3 buses daily from Dong Seoul Bus Terminal to Jinhae. For the detailed schedule, please refer to this webpage. There are 4 buses daily from Nambu Bus Terminal to Jinhae. For the detailed schedule, please refer to this webpage.

Note: The Jinhae Intercity Bus Terminal is relatively small and does not seem to have coin-operated lockers. If you plan to bring luggage from Seoul to Jinhae by bus and then take a bus to Busan after visiting Jinhae, there may be no place to store your luggage. Therefore, if you are traveling from Seoul to Busan, it is best to go to Busan first and then take a bus to Jinhae from Busan.

During the “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival,” there are also some local one-day tours departing from Seoul, including round-trip buses. Below are the Jinhae cherry blossom tours from Seoul offered by Klook and KKday:

3. Driving to Jinhae

In addition to taking buses and trains, you can also drive to Jinhae. If you are departing from Busan, the drive to Jinhae is not far and not too strenuous. However, during the “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival,” there are many cars entering Jinhae, and there will be road closures and traffic control measures, so it may take some time to find parking. Although the festival has multiple parking lots, most are located far from the event venues and cherry blossom hotspots. After parking, you will need to take a shuttle bus to the event venues and cherry blossom hotspots.

“Jinhae Gunhangje Cherry Blossom Festival” Venues, Cherry Blossom Spots, and Routes

Jinhae is located in the southern part of South Korea, in Gyeongsangnam-do, and is a district of the capital city Changwon. It is one of South Korea’s main military ports. During the Japanese occupation, the Japanese planted many cherry blossom trees in Jinhae. Although many were removed after the Japanese left, they were later replanted in large numbers, so Jinhae has a very high density of cherry blossom trees. It is the city with the most cherry blossoms I have ever seen, possibly even surpassing Japan. However, since most of the cherry blossom trees are planted along the streets in the city, there are no particularly distinctive buildings or natural landscapes to complement them, so the view may lack some aesthetic appeal.

The original purpose of the “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival” was to commemorate the Korean national hero Yi Sun-sin. However, since the festival coincides with the cherry blossom season, the focus has now shifted to cherry blossom viewing, and the “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival” has become a cherry blossom festival exclusively related to cherry blossoms.

Every street in Jinhae is lined with cherry blossom trees, giving the impression that there are only cherry blossom trees here, with no other types of trees.

Cherry blossoms in full bloom at Yeojwacheon Stream, a popular cherry blossom spot in Jinhae.

Cherry blossoms at Jinhae’s Jehwangsan Park.

The festival venue, with various food and merchandise stalls.

1. Jinhae Gunhangje Festival Venues, Cherry Blossom Spots, and Transportation

The “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival” is held in the old district of Jinhae, around the Jungwon Rotary. Most performances take place at Jungwon Rotary, and during the festival, temporary stalls selling food and goods are set up here, mainly located on the streets between Jungwon Rotary and Jehwangsan Park. Basically, every street in Jinhae is lined with cherry blossom trees, and cherry blossoms are everywhere you look. The following are some of the most popular cherry blossom spots in Jinhae:

Yeojwacheon Stream
Gyeonghwa Station
Jehwangsan Park
Naval Academy
Jangboksan Park
Anmin Road

Below is the official distribution map of the 2024 “Jinhae Gunhangje Cherry Blossom Festival” venues, but the map is only available in Korean. However, starting in 2023, the organizers began using Google Maps to create the festival venue distribution map.

Among Jinhae’s cherry blossom spots, Jangboksan Park and Anmin Road are relatively far away. If you are driving, you can visit these two spots, but if you are taking public transportation and have limited time, you can skip them. Additionally, Gyeonghwa Station is also a bit farther away, but there are buses that can take you there. The other spots, such as Yeojwacheon Stream, Jehwangsan Park, and the Naval Academy, are closer to the festival venue at Jungwon Rotary, as well as the Jinhae Intercity Bus Terminal and Jinhae Station, and can generally be reached on foot.

Jinhae has several city bus routes, but the bus stop names are only in Korean.

During the “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival” weekends, there are four free shuttle buses (blue, yellow, red, and purple) running between the main event venues and parking lots. On weekdays, there is also a free loop bus (green).

2. Jinhae Gunhangje Festival Itinerary and Cherry Blossom Viewing Route

Generally, a day trip from Busan to Jinhae should provide enough time to visit Yeojwacheon Stream, Jehwangsan Park, Gyeonghwa Station, and the Naval Academy, as well as enjoy street food around Jungwon Rotary. The itinerary can be arranged as follows:

After arriving at Jinhae Intercity Bus Terminal from Busan, first walk to the Naval Academy to visit and view cherry blossoms;
Take a bus (or walk) from the Naval Academy to Yeojwacheon Stream to view cherry blossoms;
Take a bus from Jinhae Station to Gyeonghwa Station to view cherry blossoms;
Take a bus from Gyeonghwa Station back to Jehwangsan Park to visit and view cherry blossoms;
Enjoy street food at the stalls between the entrance of Jehwangsan Park and Jungwon Rotary;
Walk to Jinhae Intercity Bus Terminal to take a bus back to Busan.

When we visited the “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival” in 2015, we started late and there were occasional showers, so we only visited Jungwon Rotary, Yeojwacheon Stream, and Jehwangsan Park, and did not make it to the slightly farther Gyeonghwa Station and Naval Academy. Below is our 2015 Jinhae cherry blossom viewing itinerary:

We departed from Busan Seobu Intercity Bus Terminal at 11:30 AM and arrived in Jinhae around lunchtime, so we first went to Jungwon Rotary for lunch. The distance from Jinhae Intercity Bus Terminal to Jungwon Rotary is only 400-500 meters, about a 6-7 minute walk. Opposite the Jinhae Intercity Bus Terminal is a 7-11 convenience store, and the street next to the store leads directly to Jehwangsan Park and the temporary food stalls set up during the festival.

Not far away, we saw the food stalls set up for the festival.

We found an attractive stall and had lunch.

After filling your stomach, head to the most popular spot, Yeojwacheon Stream, to enjoy the cherry blossoms. Walk north from Jungwon Rotary for about 600-700 meters, which takes around 10 minutes. The entire path is lined with cherry blossoms.

At the end of the road is Jinhae Station. Although it’s not a major attraction, it’s worth a visit because there are restrooms here.

The path to Yeojwacheon Stream is next to Jinhae Station. Facing the station, the small road is on the left side. Walk through the pedestrian tunnel under the railway tracks to reach Yeojwacheon Stream.

Jinhae Gunhangje Festival Cherry Blossom Festival

Yeojwacheon Stream is crowded with tourists, especially in the front section, so it’s best to continue walking further to find a less crowded spot for photos. In the back section, not only are there fewer people, but you can also go under the bridge for photos.

There are also many food stalls along Yeojwacheon Stream.

After visiting Yeojwacheon Stream, we originally planned to go to Gyeonghwa Station, but due to unstable weather and the late hour, we decided not to go. Instead, we returned to the nearby Jehwangsan Park, and after exploring, we took a bus back to Busan, ending our “Jinhae Gunhangje Festival” trip.

Jehwangsan Park is located on a small hill, and there is a cable car to take you up. However, the lines are long, and the waiting time is considerable.

If you don’t take the cable car, you can hike up the mountain, but it’s quite strenuous.

At the top of Jehwangsan Park, there is a Jinhae Tower where you can go up to overlook the entire city of Jinhae (there is an entrance fee). Other than that, there isn’t much special, so if the cable car line is too long or you don’t have time, you can skip it.

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