As the most famous festival commemorating traditional culture and arts in the greater Gimhae area, the Gaya Culture Festival extols the 창국 spirit of King Suro Kim who founded the Kingdom of Gaya, sublimates and enhances Gaya culture, and promote the unity and oneness of the residents.

The Gaya Culture Festival is a new event created in 2007 by combining

the Garak Cultural Festival and the Gaya International Festival of Culture. The former was intended to remind the people of the cultural heritage of the Kingdom of Gaya which was founded by King Suro Kim in AD 42 and which was bequeathed to us by the ancestors who created a splendid culture built on iron technology and sea trade that lasted for 500 years. Such a vivid reminder will enable the people of Gimhae to acquire a greater sense of dignity and pride in themselves. Moreover, the Garak Festival was designed to coincide with the Great Spring Ceremony of King Suro (March 15 by lunar calendar) and was organized since 1962 to inform the public and the global community of the outstanding culture of Gaya. The Gaya International Festival was organized for 2 years with the purpose of registering Gaya cultural heritage as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site.

Gaya Cultural Festival is a historical and cultural festival of Gimhae City, which boasts a history and tradition based on Geumgwan Gaya, the leader of 6 Gayas. Today, the festival has acquired much positive reputation both domestically and overseas.
In 42 AD, King Suro Kim was born and later founded the Gaya Kingdom. In 48 AD, he married princess Heo Hwang Ok from the Kingdom of Ayuta of India. This was the first international marriage on the Korean Peninsula. From early on, Gaya had a highly developed earthenware and iron culture, and this enabled the blossoming of a splendid culture based on trade with neighboring countries including China, Nakrang, and Japan and as a hub of international exchange of Northeast Asia.
As the cradle of Gaya culture which boasts a long history and distinctive culture, Gimhae preserves, succeeds, and develops Gaya culture as a world cultural heritage via the Gaya Cultural Festival and demonstrates that a Gaya existed as a 4th kingdom alongside Goguryeo, Baekje, and Shilla. Celebrating its 33rd festival, the Gaya Cultural Festival has prepared a packed program of approximately 40 events in 6 areas, under the theme, 'A Mysterious Encounter with 2000 Years of Gaya Culture'. The programs include a realistic and dramatized historical fantasy musical entitled, 'The 4th Kingdom'; a grand and extravagant 'Gaya Parade'; the 'King Suro Marriage Courtyard' which will keep alive the memory of King Suro's wedding to Princess Heo Hwang Ok, the first international marriage on the Korean Peninsula; 'Moving along Queen Heo's Waterway' and waterway culture that reenacts a part of the Gaya Age which was the hub of international exchange; the 'Asia International Performing Arts Festival' of the route of horseback riding culture; the 'Experiencing Indian Culture'; the 'Experiencing Gaya Culture Zone'.
This year's '33rd Gaya Cultural Festival' has developed programs that creatively relive Gaya culture and reenactment programs in which the visitors can participate themselves. We are confident that the festival will provide an arena where people can relive the splendid culture of Gaya Kingdom.