Chuncheon Mime Festival (춘천마임축제)

The Chuncheon Mime Festival is one of Korea’s leading performing arts festivals, connecting the city, art, and its people through mime, an art form that communicates through movement. Held every year during the last week of May in Chuncheon, the city of water and springtime, the festival is recognized as one of the world’s three major mime festivals, alongside France’s Mimos Mime Festival and the London Mime Festival in the United Kingdom. Over the years, it has developed a distinctive artistic identity that blends Chuncheon, mime, and festival culture into a genre of its own. Through wordless movement and the creative fusion of water, fire, flowers, light, video, and other artistic forms, the festival expresses the emotions and spirit of the city and its people. It is also a vibrant “nanjang” festival that transforms the desires and energies of both the city and the times into artistic expression. Under the theme “Body Landscape,” the 2026 Chuncheon Mime Festival will take place from May 24 to 31. Beginning with the opening nanjang, Ah! Surajang, the eight-day festival will present diverse "body landscapes" throughout Chuncheon through theater performances, Walking Mime, Art Nanjang X, and the all-night Dokkaebi Nanjang.

Event Program

Opening Nanjang: Ah! Surajang, Art Nanjang X, All-Night Nanjang: Dokkaebi Nanjang, Theater Performances, Walking Mime, Dokkaebi Wandering Troupe  

Start date

2026-05-24  

End Date

2026-05-31  

Venue

Festival Theater MIME and other locations across Chuncheon  

Fee

Free (fees vary by programs)  

Host Company

Chuncheon Mime Festival, KBS Chuncheon Broadcasting Center  

Host's Contact Information

+82-33-244-0585  

Introduction

One of the three mime festivals in the world and one of the foremost arts festivals in Korea, this festival began in 1989 and went international in 1995 with the participation of artists from around the world. The festival sees performances held across the entire city of Chuncheon, in both indoor and outdoor spaces, focusing on the festival's annual theme based on water and fire. The program’s participatory nature means that visitors get to enjoy the festival in a more intimate manner.

Programs

City of Water: Ah! Surajang (water fight), City of Fire: Dokkaebi Nanjang (fire performance), City of Spring (farmers’ market)