Daegu Tteokbokki Festival 2026: A Day Trip from Seoul by KTX (Oct 23–25)

At a glance

Dates: Friday, October 23 – Sunday, October 25, 2026
Hours: 11:00–21:00 on all three days
Venue: Around Daegu iM Bank PARK (191 Goseong-ro, Buk-gu, Daegu)
Admission: Free (you order and pay for tteokbokki by QR code on site; no cash)
From Seoul: KTX Seoul Station → Dongdaegu Station, about 1 hr 40 min – 2 hr, ₩38,900, then subway Line 1 to Daegu Station and about 15 minutes on foot

Last checked: October 10, 2026

Good to know

This year's motto is "Three No's, Three Yes's" (3無 3有). No official ceremonies such as an opening ceremony, no big-name celebrity concerts and no long lines in front of the food booths (the three No's); more connection across generations, more audience participation and more support for local businesses (the three Yes's). To cut the lines, the festival uses the QR ordering system Comein (컴인): order first, then enjoy a show or an activity while your food is being prepared.

Good to know

The festival ambassadors are Kim Kwan-hoon, CEO of the tteokbokki buffet chain Dookki (두끼), and the creator Tteokbokqueen (떡볶퀸). Once the day-by-day stage timetable goes up on the official Instagram, @tteokbokki_festival, we'll add it to this guide.

Our pick

Take the KTX to Dongdaegu Station, then ride subway Line 1 to Daegu Station (3 stops) and walk. There's no parking at the venue, so public transportation beats driving.

Good to know

KTX and SRT are now one. Since September 1, 2026, Korail has run KTX and SRT as a single service. Trains from Suseo Station are now also booked on the Korail+ app, and fares came down by about 10%.

Tip

The tteokbokki booths open at 11:00. Order by QR code from the shop you want most before the lunch crowd arrives.

Tip

Jungang Tteokbokki is closed on Sundays. If you're going on a Sunday, pick Yunokyeon Halmae Tteokbokki or Miseongdang instead.

Jungang Tteokbokki (중앙떡볶이), "rice-cake tteokbokki with a hint of curry"

A tteokbokki shop that has stayed in the same spot next to 2·28 Memorial Central Park in Dongseong-ro for more than 30 years, with no other branches. (The park is named after the February 28, 1960 student protests for democracy in Daegu.) Unusually for Daegu, where wheat rice cakes are common, it uses thick rice cakes made from rice, and many reviews mention a subtle curry aroma in the sauce (DiningCode reviews). Lots of people order the seokkeo ("mixed"), tteokbokki and napjak mandu on one plate.

Type: Tteokbokki snack shop (bunsik)
Signature dishes: Tteokbokki ₩5,000 · Dumplings ₩5,000 · Sundae (Korean blood sausage) ₩5,000
Hours: 11:30–18:00, closes earlier when ingredients run out · Closed Sundays (so it's closed on the festival's Sunday)
Tip for visitors: Plenty of customers come alone. When you walk in, you get a number; sit down, and order when your number is called (DiningCode reviews). Credit cards accepted
Getting there: About a 5-minute walk from Jungangno Station (중앙로역), subway Line 1 (from the festival, Line 1 Daegu Station → Jungangno Station, 1 stop)
Address & phone: 81 Dongseong-ro 2-gil, Jung-gu, Daegu (대구 중구 동성로2길 81) · 053-424-7692

Visitor review (in Korean, use your browser's translate): 대구 중앙떡볶이 | 동성로 쌀떡볶이 납작만두 후기 (서로사랑하니, 2026-01)

Yunokyeon Halmae Tteokbokki, main shop (윤옥연할매떡볶이 본점), "spicy tteokbokki with a peppery bite"

It started in the 1970s as a halmae ("grandma") tteokbokki stall in Sincheon Market and took its current name when it moved nearby after the market was redeveloped. Its unusual, spice-forward heat makes it the original of Daegu's mayak tteokbokki (마약떡볶이; mayak literally means "drug," Korean slang for food so good it's addictive). Many reviews say it isn't sweet and has a peppery aroma.

Type: Tteokbokki snack shop (bunsik)
Signature dishes: Tteokbokki ₩2,000 · 4 dumplings ₩1,000 · 3 fish cakes (eomuk) ₩1,000
Hours: 10:00–20:30 · Closed Mondays and over the Seollal (Lunar New Year) and Chuseok (harvest festival) holidays (open all three festival days)
Tip for visitors: The basic tteokbokki isn't very spicy. To turn up the heat, add more dadaegi (spicy seasoning paste) from in front of the kitchen (visitor review)
Getting there: About a 13-minute walk from Exit 4 of Daegu Bank Station (대구은행역), subway Line 2 (from the festival, take Line 3 and change to Line 2 at Cheongna Hill Station)
Address & phone: 11 Deuran-ro 77-gil, Suseong-gu, Daegu (대구 수성구 들안로77길 11) · 053-756-7597

Visitor review (in Korean, use your browser's translate): 대구 로컬 찐맛집 ‘윤옥연 할매떡볶이 본점’ 내돈내산 리뷰 (여여러, 2026-01)

Miseongdang Napjak Mandu, main shop (미성당 납작만두 본점), "flat dumplings, one of Daegu's 10 flavors"

The best-known shop for napjak mandu, one of the "10 Flavors of Daegu" (대구 10미) chosen by Daegu City. The thin, flat dumplings are pan-fried and eaten with a sprinkle of soy sauce and chili flakes. There are only four things on the menu: napjak mandu, udon, ramyeon and jjolmyeon (chewy noodles in a spicy sauce). It's a good place to try, on its own, the same dumpling Daegu people eat with their tteokbokki.

Type: Snack food (napjak mandu, jjolmyeon)
Signature dish: Napjak mandu ₩4,500
Hours: 10:30–21:00 · Closed Mondays (open all three festival days) · Credit cards accepted
Tip for visitors: Daegu City's restaurant guide (Daegu Food) marks napjak mandu as a vegetarian dish. Everything on the menu can be taken out
Getting there: About 260 m, a 4-minute walk, from Exit 2 of Namsan Station (남산역), subway Line 3 (4 stops on Line 3 from the festival's Buk-gu Office Station, no transfers)
Address & phone: 93 Myeongdeok-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu (대구 중구 명덕로 93) · 053-255-0742

Visitor review (in Korean, use your browser's translate): 대구 납작만두 맛집 미성당 납작만두 본점 후기 (초이, 2026-01)

Gugil Ttaro Gukbap (국일따로국밥), "the restaurant that named ttaro gukbap"

Opened in 1946, this restaurant was the first to call Daegu-style beef soup served with the rice on the side "ttaro gukbap" (ttaro means "separately"). It's open 24 hours, so you can go late at night or early in the morning. A good proper rice meal after a day of tteokbokki.

Type: Gukbap, soup with rice (ttaro gukbap, one of the 10 Flavors of Daegu)
Signature dishes: Ttaro gukbap ₩11,000 · Special ttaro gukbap ₩12,000
Hours: 24 hours · Closed one day over the major holidays
Tip for visitors: Daegu City's restaurant guide lists English as available, and the restaurant is featured on the Korea Tourism Organization's English site. Seating is at tables with chairs. Credit cards accepted
Getting there: About 180 m, a 3-minute walk, from Exit 4 of Jungangno Station, subway Line 1 (from the festival, Line 1 Daegu Station → Jungangno Station, 1 stop)
Address & phone: 571 Gukchaebosang-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu (대구 중구 국채보상로 571) · 053-253-7623

Visitor review (in Korean, use your browser's translate): 대구 국밥은 역시 다르더라… 국일따로국밥 다녀왔습니다 (gardian, 2026-05)

Good to know

The former Novotel Ambassador Daegu at Jungangno Station closed in 2021. Listings for it that remain on some booking and travel sites are out of date.

Daegu Marriott Hotel (대구 메리어트 호텔), "right by Dongdaegu Station"

A five-star hotel a 5–10 minute walk from Dongdaegu Station. Getting on and off the KTX is easy from here, which makes it a good base for pairing Tteokpe with the Gimcheon Gimbap Festival or for catching an early train back to Seoul the next morning.

Type: Hotel
Check-in / check-out: 15:00 / 12:00
Booking-site price: From ₩205,046 (HotelsCombined, checked October 10, 2026)
Tip for visitors: Indoor pool, fitness center and free Wi-Fi in public areas (HotelsCombined)
To the festival: Subway Line 1, Dongdaegu Station → Daegu Station (3 stops) + about a 15-minute walk, or about 5 km by taxi
Address & phone: 6 Dongbu-ro 26-gil, Dong-gu, Daegu (대구 동구 동부로26길 6) · 053-327-7000
Booking: HotelsCombined · Trip.com

Visitor review (in Korean, use your browser's translate): [대구] 메리어트호텔 수영장 후기 (라띠, 2025-08)

Toyoko Inn Daegu Dongseong-ro (토요코인 대구 동성로), "a business hotel with breakfast included"

A business hotel in front of Banwoldang Station, right in the city center. Breakfast is free, and the Dongseong-ro shopping streets, Jungang Tteokbokki and the Modern History Alleys are all within walking distance, which makes it a good base for an overnight trip.

Type: Business hotel
Check-in / check-out: 15:00 / 10:00
Booking-site price: From ₩63,853 (HotelsCombined, checked October 10, 2026)
Tip for visitors: Free breakfast 07:00–09:30. The official website has English pages, so you can book in English
To the festival: A 3-minute walk to Exit 13 of Banwoldang Station (반월당역, Lines 1 and 2) → Line 1 to Daegu Station (2 stops) + about a 15-minute walk
Address & phone: 7F, 15 Dongseong-ro 1-gil, Jung-gu, Daegu (대구 중구 동성로1길 15, 7층) · 053-428-1045
Booking: Toyoko Inn official website · HotelsCombined

Visitor review (in Korean, use your browser's translate): 동성로에 있는 ‘파란 간판’의 어떤 미스터리한 호텔 (Ryunan9903, 2026-07)

Good to know

Daegu Taste Map (receipt coupons): If you live outside Daegu, register online in advance by October 18. Then bring paper receipts from restaurants, cafés, lodgings and other businesses in Daegu dated October 1–25, together with your ID, to the Taste Map booth at the festival, and you'll get tteokbokki coupons. Receipts totaling ₩30,000 to under ₩100,000 get a ₩10,000 coupon, ₩100,000 to under ₩200,000 get ₩20,000, and ₩200,000 or more get ₩30,000. Receipts from Buk-gu count double; receipts from inside the festival grounds, mobile receipts and screenshots of card statements don't count. One per person, and once the budget runs out, festival goods are given instead.

Seomun Night Market (서문시장 야시장), "Daegu's signature night market"

Opened in 2016, this night market lines the street in front of Seomun Market, Daegu's largest traditional market, with food stalls on the nights it's open. It's two subway stops from the festival, so it's easy to add to an evening at Tteokpe.

Getting there: Subway Line 3, Buk-gu Office Station → Seomun Market Station (2 stops)
Hours: March–December 2026, Fri–Sat 19:00–23:30, Sun 19:00–22:30 (closed Mon–Thu). Performances 19:30–21:30
Admission: Free (food is paid for separately)
Time needed: About 1 hour

Visitor review (in Korean, use your browser's translate): 대구 서문시장 야시장 실제 방문 후기 (라나쯰, 2026-08)

Chilseong Night Market (칠성야시장), "a riverside night market"

A night market that opened in November 2019 on the banks of the Sincheon Stream (신천) next to Chilseong Market, in Buk-gu like the festival. Stalls line the river, and you can eat while taking in the riverside at night.

Getting there: Walk from the festival to Daegu Station → subway Line 1, one stop to Chilseong Market Station
Hours: March–November 2026, Fri–Sat 19:00–23:30, Sun 19:00–22:30 (closed Mon–Thu). Performances 19:00–21:00
Admission: Free (food is paid for separately)
Time needed: About 1 hour

Visitor review (in Korean, use your browser's translate): 신천 산책길 따라 둘러본 대구 칠성야시장 나들이 (hmdnc, 2026-05)

Modern History Alleys: Cheongna Hill, March 1st Movement Road and Gyesan Cathedral (근대골목: 청라언덕·3·1만세운동길·계산성당), "a walk through old Daegu"

The heart of the Modern History Alleys (근대골목) in Jung-gu, Daegu. Start at Cheongna Hill (청라언덕), where red-brick houses built by missionaries still stand, and walk down the 90 steps of the March 1st Movement Road (3·1만세운동길). Students are said to have taken these steps to slip past the Japanese colonial authorities' watch during the March 1st Movement of 1919, Korea's nationwide protests for independence from Japanese rule. At the bottom stands Gyesan Cathedral (계산성당) with its twin spires.

Getting there: Subway Line 3, Buk-gu Office Station → Cheongna Hill Station (3 stops), then about a 7-minute walk from Exit 9 to Cheongna Hill
Hours: Outdoors and always open. The missionary houses are closed long-term for repairs, so you can only see them from outside
Admission: Free
Time needed: 1–2 hours

Visitor review (in Korean, use your browser's translate): 대구 청라언덕 산책 생각보다 좋았던 근대골목 (슬로우아카이브, 2026-06)

Sinjeon Museum (신전뮤지엄), "a tteokbokki museum"

A tteokbokki museum that Sinjeon Tteokbokki, the chain born in Daegu, built at its head office in Buk-gu. You can learn the history of tteokbokki, try the "My Cup Tteokbokki Factory," where a robot packs the tteokbokki meal kit you pick into a cup, and have the tasting that comes with your ticket.

Getting there: 43 Gwaneum-ro, Buk-gu, Daegu (대구 북구 관음로 43). About 9 km from the festival by taxi
Hours: Wed–Sun 10:00–17:30 (last entry 16:30) · Closed Mon–Tue (open on public holidays). Open all three festival days
Admission: Adults ₩10,000 · Children from 36 months through elementary school ₩8,000
Time needed: 1–1.5 hours
Contact: Email [email protected]

Visit report (in Korean, use your browser's translate): JoongAng Ilbo article on a visit to Sinjeon Museum (2026-05)