42nd Korean Parade and Festival 2026 in Manhattan

The Korean American Association of Greater New York is running the 42nd Korean Parade and Festival on Saturday, October 3, 2026.

The parade is noon to 2 p.m. on Avenue of the Americas, from 38th Street south to 27th. The festival is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on 32nd Street in Koreatown. You can do both without leaving Herald Square.

KAAGNY dates the series to 1980 and calls it one of New York's five major parades. The Korea Times, which helps produce the day, is treating 2026 as the largest edition yet. As of late September they had more than 100 groups and 1,400 marchers signed up, including Korean-school students in hanbok. That count can still move. Expect a crowded Saturday.

The 2026 page talks about floral floats, marching bands, a mounted unit, and pungmul troupes. Korea Times listed eleven floats in late September, including LG, H Mart, and Kiss Beauty Group. A Hanwha turtle-ship float is expected. Treat that as a day-of sight.

The 32nd Street festival is the food-and-stage half. KAAGNY lists a 500-serving bibimbap performance, K-pop, folk dance, and booths. The Korea Times preview also names a hanbok model contest and traditional games. The association is framing the year around K-food, K-beauty, and K-pop, which is organizer language for a street that already sells all three on a normal Saturday.

2026 is 123 years after the first official Korean arrivals in Hawaii, which is why KAAGNY is calling this a revival year. For a reader it just means Midtown will be slower than a usual October Saturday. Herald Square (B, D, F, M, N, Q, R, W) and 34th Street–Penn Station are the useful stations. Do not drive this.

The same afternoon, Welcome to Chinatown's Mid-Autumn weekend is open until 7 at Gotham Park, and JAPAN Fes is on 4th Avenue between 9th and 10th. Those are downtown walks, not a double header you should pretend is next door.

KAAGNY's office is at 149 West 24th Street, sixth floor, weekday hours 10 to 6. Questions go to (212) 255-6969 or office@nykorean.org. Confirm street closures the week of.

Our take: stand on Sixth Avenue for the noon step-off, then eat on 32nd. If you only have two hours, skip the parade and do the festival block.

When: October 3, 2026. Festival 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Parade noon–2 p.m.
Where: Sixth Avenue, 38th to 27th St, and West 32nd Street, Manhattan