Gangneung’s Hasla Festival Runs to October 25: Closing Music, City Stages and Four Stops
Love and Friendship connects orchestral music, Korean traditions and illusion in 2026. Distinguish completed performances from the closing program, then add coffee, brewing and seafood.
The 2026 Hasla International Festival of the Arts takes place in Gangneung from October 16 to 25 under the theme Love and Friendship, connecting classical music with Korean traditions, dance and illusion. The third edition since its 2024 debut extends beyond Gangneung Arts Center to city hall, a museum and historic government buildings. Music can help shape a Gangneung itinerary, with coffee, local brewing and seafood placed around a performance.
An orchestra performs at Gangneung Arts Center.Historic government buildings become a stage for the festival’s city performances.
The Closing Concert Is October 25; Read Other Programs by Date
“From Love to Passion” is scheduled for 5 p.m. on October 25 at Saimdang Hall, Gangneung Arts Center, with pianist Kun-Woo Paik, conductor Adrien Perruchon and Bucheon Philharmonic Orchestra. Debussy’s La Mer, Vincent d’Indy’s Symphony on a French Mountain Air and Respighi’s Pines of Rome also mark 140 years of Korean-French diplomatic relations, bringing French music and broader orchestral color into one closing program.
The opening Brahms Double Concerto, Op. 102, and Beethoven Symphony No. 5 were performed on October 16 by Fumiaki Miura, Young Song, Min Chung and Gangneung Philharmonic Orchestra. Texu Kim’s commissioned “Beyond the Inner World” was presented on October 18 through an open rehearsal followed by a complete performance. Eun-Gyeol Lee and Jae-Hyuck Cho’s illusion-and-music collaboration was listed for October 23. These are separate parts of the festival, not one forthcoming package of tickets.
City Music Changes the Distance to a Place
The “우덜” community music program turns familiar spaces into stages, including Gangneung City Hall, the historic Gangneung Daedohobu Government Office, Solol at Gangneung Museum of Art, Chodang Catholic Church and Gangneung Asan Hospital. The official schedule also lists ARTE MUSEUM Gangneung at 2 p.m. on October 24 and “Gestures of Sound” at 7 p.m. that evening. Different scales and everyday uses create different ways to enter a performance.
Unlike a single-hall festival, a concert can expand into a neighborhood itinerary. Historic architecture, movement through a hospital lobby and the viewing rhythm of a museum alter the relationship between people and performers. Consider the venue alongside the artist. Check ticketed events and city performances separately on the official schedule rather than relying on the main poster alone.
Food and Walking Keep the Local Context in View
Choi Il-sun Jjamppong Sundubu, at 517 Haean-ro, serves soft tofu in seafood broth and a cheese-and-chewy-noodle variation. Jeumeu Roastery, at 7 Toseong-ro 123beon-gil, offers a slower stop for filter coffee. One begins with regional food, the other with coffee selection; choose according to the neighborhood of the day’s performance rather than trying to visit everything.
Choi Il-sun’s cheese, chewy-noodle and soft-tofu dish.Coffee and a wooden tabletop at Jeumeu Roastery.
Budnamu Brewery transforms the former Gangneung joint brewery, opened in 1926, into a contemporary craft-beer venue at 1961 Gyeonggang-ro, with rice, pine imagery and coffee connecting drinks to place. Fish Culture, in Building S of The Grove Table at 210 Haean-ro, uses East Sea seafood and Gangwon vegetables. These four places are not included in a festival ticket; they offer different ways to read Gangneung. Use the official 2026 program for sessions, access and ticketing, and the restaurants’ current menus and hours for dining.
Budnamu Brewery presents several beers in a tasting selection.Fish Culture brings seafood and vegetables together on a plate.
