Gwangju Memory Chungjang Festival

*The food and beverage information for the festival venue below reflects the previous year's (2025) festival contents, and the 2026 festival contents are currently being updated.* The Gwangju Memory Chungjang Festival is Gwangju's largest representative festival in the integrated special city of Jeonnam Gwangju, starting from 'Chungjang-ro' in Dong-gu, Jeonnam Gwangju, the city's best commercial district. This festival carries special meaning as the 'first memory-themed festival in Korea' that embraces generations and classes through the universal theme of 'memory'. It creates a space for producing memories by sharing precious memories that everyone has and by creating new memories where people of all ages and backgrounds come together as one. In particular, because it unfolds around Geumnam-ro and 5·18 Democracy Plaza, spaces with deep meaning in world democracy history, it holds historical and cultural value beyond that of a simple local festival. As a festival held at a sacred place of democratization, it has symbolic significance in showing citizens' will toward a hopeful future while overcoming the pain of the past. Chungjang Festival has had its excellence recognized externally, and after being designated for the first time in 2024 as an Honorary Cultural Tourism Festival by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, it was reselected as an Honorary Cultural Tourism Festival for 2026-2027, maintaining its position as an Honorary Cultural Tourism Festival for 4 consecutive years (2024-2027). It also won the 'Grand Prize in the Global Premium Category' at the 2026 Korea Festival Content Awards, achieving the distinction of winning the grand prize for 10 consecutive years and once again proving its status as a global premium festival representing Korea. Looking ahead, through cooperation with the National Asia Culture Center, it aims to develop into an international festival that embraces the culture and memories of all of Asia beyond the region, while playing a valuable role in enhancing Gwangju's status as an Asian cultural hub and providing a place for communication and harmony through culture.