Nestled in the remote Chilgapsan Mountain a couple of hours outside of Seoul, the Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival transforms this rural valley retreat into a glittering icy world that looks straight out of a fairy tale. This frozen festival of winter delights includes a giant wall of bubbling ice, snowy sculptures, igloos, ice caves, snow statues, ice carvings, and all round winter fun for the whole family.

In this article you can find out what there is to see and do at the Chilgapsan Festival, including the various ice-based activities and attractions, how to get there by tour or public transport, and information about whether this festival is worth visiting or not. If you’re thinking of visiting this Korean ice fountain festival, and want to know why I think it’s definitely worth it, then keep on reading.

Affiliate Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links and I may earn commission for purchases made after clicking these links.

Why Visit The Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival 2024?

The Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival (칠갑산 얼음분수축제) offers visitors the chance to see a truly unique sight – massive structures crafted entirely from long icicles that appear to sprout up from the ground and have earned this winter festival the nickname of ‘Ice Castle’. The icicles, sparkling to create the illusion of frozen ice fountains, are man-made but that makes them no less magical.

With its stunning mix of dramatic natural scenery and dream-like illuminations, the Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival promises a fairy tale experience found nowhere else in Korea. This festival runs from December 23rd, 2023 to February 28th, 2024, which makes it one of Korea’s longest winter festivals and gives you plenty of opportunities to see it if you visit Korea during winter.

By day, you can explore illuminated ice caves and sculptures that get more fantastical each year. But it’s at night when the full effect comes alive, with rainbow-hued lights reflecting off the icy landscape synchronized to festive music. Visitors wander through this winter wonderland with hot chocolate in hand, snapping selfies and admiring over 50,000 tons of magical ice art crafted just for the festival.

Who Will Enjoy This Korean Winter Festival?

I think the Chilgapsan festival will appeal to couples and families, as well as anyone who enjoys playing in the snow. There are many rides and activities aimed at children, so this is a great way to keep them entertained during winter and gives them a fun, snowy playground to play in. Couples will enjoy strolling around the snow-covered landscape, posing for pictures in the many photo zones.

Warning about Korea’s winter weather: Winter in Korea can be very cold, especially during January and February, with temperatures dropping below zero degrees Celsius even during the day. If you are travelling with children, make sure they’re wrapped up well so they don’t suffer from the cold. There are lots of markets in Seoul that sell winter clothes and you can get heat packs and hand warmers, too.

What To Do At The Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival

The Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival provides a whole day of fun for people of all ages with lots of activities available for everyone, especially children. The main draw during the day is the ice fountain, sculptures and ice caves, with winter illuminations bringing the festival site to life once the sun sets. There’s also Korean festival food to try, snow and ice-based sports, and children’s rides.

Here are some of the best things you can see and do at this festival:

Ice Fountain, Ice Wall And Ice Sculptures

The towering ice fountains, which give this festival its name, and giant ice wall really have to be seen to be believed. Created by shooting jets of water which then freeze in place, they look truly unique. They look impressive during the day, but look even more extraordinary once the sun goes down and the lights are turned on, illuminating them in an ever changing rainbow of colours.

As well as the ice fountains, there are carefully created sculptures (inspired by Korean cartoons, Disney, and Pokemon), cute animals, and lots more. There are also ice sculptures shaped like the famous Korean turtle boat, a frozen Gwanghwamun Gate, wild animals, and a life-sized train made from ice.

Ice Caves, Igloos And Illuminations

Head into the ice caves and igloos to escape the cold and see gleaming blocks of ice lit up with vivid lights bouncing from frozen surfaces. There are several icy buildings to wander around and, as with the ice fountains, these look best when it’s dark so you can appreciate the illuminations at their fullest. Speaking of illuminations, there are lots of displays with pretty lights to see at night.

Snow And Ice Sports

There are plenty of winter sports to keep you busy and this festival is a great place to see snow in Korea as there are many snow machines working just in case it doesn’t snow. Slide down the snow sledding slope on a rubber ring or the ice sledding slope on a small sleigh. If you prefer flat surfaces, try the traditional Korean wooden sleighs and push yourself along the ice with short sticks.

Besides sledding, you can also try your hand at other winter sports and activities such as ice fishing, bare hand fishing in frozen tanks of water, a zip line past the frozen fountains, and a cow-drawn sleigh ride through the snow. If you want to try ice fishing, the experience here isn’t as impressive as dedicated ice fishing festivals like the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival, but it’s still fun.

Children’s Activities At The Chilgapsan Winter Festival

I saw lots of families at the Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival and there were plenty of activities for kids to enjoy, including a tractor-pulled ‘can sled’. These ‘cans’ looked like big cut out barrels with chairs inside, but were quite safe and let the kids feel like they were in their own personal car. The activities aren’t exactly on par with Disneyland, but they’re a good way to play in the snow.

As well as the sled and skis, children can try horse riding while being led around a course by a handler. There are also cultural activities and arts and crafts in small tents, but you might need to know a bit of Korean to understand what’s going on there. Activities will probably vary each year and may only be open during the busier weekend day, but I’m not sure so they could be available.

Food At The Chilgapsan Festival

Fans of Korean food won’t be disappointed with the range of Korean winter snacks at the Chilgapsan winter festival. Inside the festival grounds you can try various winter street foods on skewers, including chicken, rice cakes, and fish cakes, as well as deep fried fish. There’s also a cafe to get coffee, but don’t expect a chain store cafe, this is a temporary hut with a coffee machine inside.

The best part about the food at this festival has to be the roasted chestnuts, sweetcorn, and sweet potatoes. You can roast your own chestnuts on a log fire and cook the sweetcorn over hot coals. The sweet potatoes are roasted inside big metal drum ovens and served piping hot and steaming. These provide not only hot and delicious snacks, but also a fun experience to try at the festival.

For proper meals, there are some restaurants serving traditional Korean dishes such as tteok-guk (rice cake soup), haemul pajeon (Korean seafood pancakes), guk-bap (soupy stew with rice inside), and my favourite, donkasu (pork cutlet). There are simple meals like Korean curry and soybean sauce rice, too.

Sights Near Cheongyang Alps Village

Chilgapsan is the name of the mountain that the Cheongyang Alps Village, home to the ice fountain festival, is located by, which is why this festival is sometimes called the Cheongyang Ice Fountain Festival. If you want to explore more of this area during winter, there’s a really nice suspension bridge, the Chilgapsan Suspension Bridge (천장호 출렁다리), and reservoir near the entrance to the festival.

The reservoir looks really pretty when it’s frozen over and covered in snow, as you can see in the picture above. You can walk around the reservoir by following the wooden pathways, which are decorated with cute Korean messages along the way. You might be wondering why the suspension bridge has two giant chili peppers at each end. That’s because this area is famous for growing chilies.

Ticket Prices And Essential Festival Information

The entry fee for the Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival is ₩8,000 per person (children under 36 months are free). This gives you access to the festival grounds and access to the sculptures, ice fountains, ice caves, igloos, and other sights and facilities at the festival.

The sledding pass, which includes access to the sledding hill for ice sledding, snow sledding, and bob sledding, costs about ₩20,000 per person. There are also additional costs for the zip line, ice fishing and children’s activities, such as horse riding and the can sled. The prices for these activities aren’t available on the festival’s official website yet, but I’ll update prices here when they are.

For more information about this festival (in Korean), you can visit the official Alps Village website.

Tours To Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival 2024

Despite the Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival becoming more popular each year, there aren’t many tours. If you don’t have a car, taking a tour to the festival is the best option and gives you the benefit of a guaranteed direct journey there and back, as well as a guide who can tell you more about the festival.

Here are two tours that I recommend for the Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival:

Cheongyang (Chilgapsan) Ice Festival & Other Winter Sights from Seoul: This all day guided tour from various locations in Seoul will take you to some of the hottest winter destinations in Korea, including the Chilgapsan festival. There are various options to add on extra destinations, such as Nami Island, the Garden of Morning Calm, Eobi Ice Valley, and a strawberry picking farm

Price: From ₩62,200 (about $47 USD)

Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival at Cheongyang Alps Village from Seoul: This all day tour from Seoul will take you to the Cheongyang Alps Village to see the Chilgapsan winter festival. You can add on extras, such as ice sledding, snow sledding, and bobsleigh, as well as extra destinations, to give you a full winter experience in Korea. You get over 4 hours to enjoy at the festival.

Price: From ₩69,100 (about $53 USD)

I always recommend booking tours in advance when visiting Korea for these reasons:

Learn more: Paying in your home currency is usually easier and cheaper than converting money into Korean won. Booking ahead is one of the tips included in my guide to paying in Korea, which covers ways to save on travel money in Korea and alternatives to relying on exchanging cash to travel.

How To Get To The Chilgapsan Winter Festival

Cheongyang Alps Village is a resort located in North Chungcheong Province, which is south of Seoul and about an hour west of Daejeon. It’s about 3.5 hours away from Seoul by car and can be reached by car or guided tour. Here are details about how to get to this Korean ice fountain festival by each of those means. There are instructions in Korean on the festival website, too.

From Seoul To Chilgapsan Festival By Car: If you plan to rent a car in Korea, or you live in Korea and have your own car, then you can drive to the festival in just over three hours from Seoul. You can find the main festival location by searching for “칠갑산얼음분수축제” or “알프스마을영농조합법인” in Naver or Kakao map apps. Use the address shown below to get directions with a sat-nav.

Address in Korean: 충남 청양군 정산면 천장호길 223-35 없음

From Seoul To Chilgapsan Festival By Tour: There are various tours to the Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival from Seoul, as detailed in the previous section. Taking a tour is a convenient way to see the festival and to save time vs. organising your own way there on public transportation.

Please note: You can get to the Chilgapsan festival by taking a train from Seoul to Gongju and then transferring to a local bus, but the options for buses are very limited and don’t run late. I strongly recommend either renting a car or taking a tour rather than trying to get there by public transport. If you do want to try, there are directions (in Korean) on the festival website.

Best time to visit the Chilgapsan Festival: The best time to visit this festival is in the afternoon so you can enjoy snowy sights during the day, but don’t have to wait so long for the sun to set and to see the night lights and illuminations. Avoid visiting during the weekends if you can as it will be very busy.

Is The Chilgapsan Festival Worth Visiting?

Should you visit the Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival? In the words of my friend Tim, who kindly contributed a lot of the pictures for this article, this festival is, “Totally worth it!“. This festival has plenty to see and do and will keep people amused in the afternoon and evening. If you take a tour that also visits another winter destination, such as a strawberry farm, then it’s a great day trip from Seoul.

Families will find plenty to do with lots of the activities aimed at children, such as the sledding slope, horse rides, and the can sleigh. Even if you’re not travelling with children, the beautiful winter displays at the Chilgapsan festival offer couples and solo travellers the chance to take unique pictures with snowy backgrounds and icy buildings, sample traditional Korean snacks, and experience a Korean festival.

This festival is worth visiting, but please consider the weather during winter in Korea. It’s cold and dry, which can be tough for people not used to such conditions. Be sure to wrap up warm and bring skin cream to protect against the dryness. Gloves are a must and heat packs that go in your pockets can save your fingers. Be aware of the cold weather and you should be fine here.

A Special Thanks To Photos Of Korea

I want to give a big shout out and thanks to Tim from Photos of Korea for letting me use his incredible photos from this festival and for sharing his thoughts about the Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival, which he visited in 2023. You can see loads of incredible pictures of Korea’s lesser-known locations and festivals from his Facebook page, Instagram page, and his uploads on Unsplash.

2024 Winter Festivals In Korea To See Snowy Sights

Besides this Korean ice fountain festival, there are many other winter festivals that you should check out for exciting activities, incredible views, and cultural immersion. These festivals introduce you to traditional Korean culture in beautiful surroundings and with lots of delicious Korean festival food. Here are some of the other major winter festivals you can see in Korea:

Garden of Morning Calm Winter Illuminations: Exploring sculpted gardens and electric forests when the sun has set is like entering into a magical world, a true winter fantasia with lots of photo opportunities. Every year the garden has a range of themed areas that focus on animals, plants, and even love for the sweethearts.

Seoul Lantern Festival: This dazzling festival is held in Gwanghwamun Square outside Gyeongbokgung Palace, which gives over it’s large pedestrianised areas to massive themed lantern installations. These installations feature different concepts each year like aquarium scenes, starry nights, nature landscapes, and Korean folktales.

Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Fishing Festival: This is one of Korea’s best winter festivals and made it into CNN’s top 7 ‘Wonder’s of Winter’ for a good reason. The Hwacheon Sancneoneo Ice Festival attracts over a million people each year to try ice fishing (with a rod or bare handed). There are winter activities, ice sculptures, and a Korean Winter Village with cultural games and Korean festival food.

Learn more: Discover all the best festivals to visit in Korea this winter with this guide to Korea’s winter festivals, which includes ice fishing festivals, illumination festivals, New Year festivals, and lots more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions about the Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival. These answers are based on my own experience and from research conducted to write this article.

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The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival is worth visiting because you get to experience a traditional Korean winter festival on a day trip from Seoul. There are also lots of other interesting ice-based games, cultural activities, and opportunities for sightseeing around this fish-focused town. This winter festival creates such a lively atmosphere it’s no wonder that it attracts over one million visitors every year.

In this article you can find out what there is to see and do at the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival, including the various ice-based activities and attractions, how to get there by tour or public transport, and information about other ice fishing festivals in Korea. If you’re thinking of visiting this fun winter festival, and want to know why it’s one of CNN’s “7 Wonders of Winter”, then keep on reading.

Affiliate Disclaimer: This site contains affiliate links and I may earn commission for purchases made after clicking these links.

Why I Love The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival

This festival was the first winter festival that I visited when I moved to Korea and it’s one I’ve gone back to and will go back to again in the future as it’s pretty, fun, and has plenty to do. I bought a souvenir wooden fish from Hwacheon on my first visit and it still sits proudly on the top of my bookcase as a reminder of this festival. The fish I caught for lunch that day, however, has long since gone!

If I know people are coming to visit Korea in January and want to experience a unique winter festival that offers a fun day out from Seoul, the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival is always the first I recommend to them. This festival provides a mixture of culture, sports, entertainment, involvement, and surprising sights that makes it so memorable. This is a great festival to visit as a group or family.

The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival runs from January 6th until January 23rd, 2024, right during the coldest part of winter in Korea when the river freezes over and there is ice over 40cm thick. Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe to walk on, or even slide and sled on, even with all those holes drilled in it for you to catch fish through.

What To Do At The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival

The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival provides a whole day of fun for people of all ages with lots of activities available for everyone. The main draw is the ice fishing, which is one of the first things you see, but as you eyes stretch out over the icy river, you’ll notice a whole town alive with things to explore.

Here are some of the best things you can see and do at this festival:

1: Ice Fishing & Cooking

Ice fishing is the main attraction at the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival and one that people typically start with when they arrive. All along the long stretch of frozen river running through the town are temporary ice fishing spots right above where the fish are swimming in the cold waters below.

You will be given a small fishing rod and bag to store your catch in and then shown to your own little hole in the ice. Now it’s your chance to prove your fishing skills by trying to hook the fish out from the frigid waters below. Once you’ve caught a few (limit of 3 per person), you can go to the kitchens and grill the fish or have it prepared as sashimi (raw fish). Both go well with a Korean beer.

Ice fishing on the river is probably not something most people have done and it’s fun to try at least once. There are lots of fun photo opportunities and the fact that you can cook your fish afterwards is a tasty bonus. Slipping along on the ice is also fun, as is watching others fail at walking on it so well.

2: Bare Hand Ice Fishing Competition

For those who want to test themselves in the frosty waters, there’s the chance to join in the bare hand ice fishing competition that’s held on the shore of the river. This is exactly what it sounds like – catching trout with your bare hands in a giant pool of ice cold water. It’s also a great spectator sport.

The contestants jump in the pool dressed in shorts and an overly large t-shirt (provided) and stuff trout down their tops until the 5 minute time limit is up. There’s a special prize for anyone who finds a trout with a golden ring attached, but otherwise you get to keep 3 of the fish you caught. You can eat your catch in the same way as the ice fishing and there’s also a hot foot bath provided to warm you up after.

The competition starts every hour (10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 13:00, 14:00, 15:00, 16:00) with up to 40 people jumping in the pool together – both locals and brave foreigners who have joined in. A friend of mine tried it one time and he really enjoyed it, but was happy to be out of the cold water by the end. I think he managed to catch 2 fish, which is pretty good. Definitely don’t miss watching this.

3: Ice Sledding And Snow Sports

There are all kinds of icy winter sports and activities to try at the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival that don’t involve fish. You can try your hand at ice sledding in the traditional Korean way – on a small wooden box with two poles to push yourself along. Grab a box and give it a go.

Alternatively, you can jump in a giant inflatable ring and zoom down the snowy slopes, ending on the frozen river below. I spent quite a while doing this as it’s lots of fun. Fans of the Winter Olympics can try out curling, bobsleigh, and ice skating. If you want something more extreme, there’s also a zip line over the ice and ice suit walking (ice zorbing).

4: Ice Displays And Illuminations

The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival is home to ‘the world’s largest indoor ice sculpture plaza‘, according to the sign outside the entrance to one of the top attractions at this Korean festival. Inside this large building you’ll find a frosty wonderland of frozen ice sculptures of all different shapes and sizes.

One of the most impressive ice sculptures in this display is the large Korean-style traditional building, which resembles a small palace that you’d find in Seoul. There’s also ice slides, frozen fish sculptures, romantic photo zones, and lots of other interesting icy sights that no doubt change every year.

When the sun starts to set, which happens before 6pm in January, you’ll be dazzled by the beautiful winter illuminations and lanterns strung up throughout the town of Hwacheon. These cover the central street and also spread out across other key areas in the town. Unsurprisingly, a lot of the lanterns are shaped like fish to represent the famous sancheoneo mountain trout the town is famous for.

5: Winter Culture Village And Sights

Between the ice sports, fishing, illuminations, and strange people jumping into pools of freezing cold water are cultural activities to check out, including traditional Korean games like the ones seen on Squid Game, at the Winter Culture Village. Koreans are keen to introduce foreigners to their traditional culture and this ice fishing festival is an opportunity for you to learn more about Korean culture.

Some of the activities you can try at the Winter Culture Village include archery, slingshot shooting, fire fighting, and games like yut nori. You can eat Korean traditional foods, such as fried rice cakes and nurungji (scorched rice). There’s also performances with traditional instruments on the weekend.

Hwacheon is a town that’s crazy about fish and to show their love for their slippery friends, they’ve painted lots of colourful murals on buildings throughout the town. These make for interesting photo spots and holiday snaps. There’s also a giant rotating fish statue looking over the river that rotates from atop a tall tower. There are many unique sights like this to check out in Hwacheon.

Ticket Prices And Tour Options For This Festival

The fee for the main activities at the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival (ice fishing and bare hand ice fishing) is normally ₩15,000 per activity for anyone 11+. However, to encourage foreign visitors to join in this winter festival, there is a discount for all non-Koreans. Foreign visitors to the festival only pay ₩10,000 (~$9 USD) per activity and children under 6 year enter free.

What is included in the entry price? The entry fee for this festival allows you to enter the frozen river and try ice fishing with the provided fishing equipment. You get to eat the fish after you’ve caught it, prepared on a grill or as sashimi (raw fish) for an additional fee of ₩3,000 per fish. There’s a limit of 3 fish per person and you can take them home with you if you like.

Walking around the town and joining in cultural activities is free, as are some of the activities such as curling and badminton. Other activities at the ice fishing festival, such as sledding, bobsleigh, rubber tube slides, zip line etc., come with additional charges as follows:

Tours To The 2024 Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival

There are a number of tours available to the Hwacheon Sancehoneo Ice Festival that depart from Seoul and are open only to foreign tourists. These tours include transportation to Seoul and back, a tour guide who speaks English, and entry fees to various activities, which means you can see the best of the festival for one price and without the hassle of organising your own transport.

Here are two tours that I recommend for the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival:

Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival Day Tour from Seoul: This 11 hour round-trip tour from Myeongdong and Hongdae will show you the best ice fishing festival in Korea with a professional English-speaking driver and guide. The tour fee includes ice fishing with grilled fish, 5 rides on the ice sled, the Ice Sculpture Square, and a complimentary ₩10,000 coupon to spend on other activities.

Price: ₩53,000 (about $43 USD)

Hwacheon Ice Fishing and Garden Of Morning Calm Lighting Festival: This combined tour from Seoul will take you to two of the hottest winter festivals in Korea – the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival and the Garden of Morning Calm Lighting Festival. The tour includes entry fee for the ice fishing activity with all equipment, an English-speaking guide, and entry to the Garden of Morning calm.

Price: ₩73,000 (about $55 USD)

I always recommend booking tours in advance when visiting Korea for these reasons:

Learn more: Paying in your home currency is usually easier and cheaper than converting money into Korean won. Booking ahead is one of the tips included in my guide to paying in Korea, which covers ways to save on travel money in Korea and alternatives to relying on exchanging cash to travel.

How To Get To The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival

Hwacheon is a town located in Gangwon Province halfway between Seoul and the east coast. It’s about 2.5 hours away from Seoul by car and can be reached by car, shuttle bus, or guided tour. Here’s some details about how to get to the ice fishing festival by each of those means. There are instructions in Korean on the festival website, too.

From Seoul To Hwacheon By Car: If you plan to rent a car in Korea, or you live in Korea and have your own car, then you can drive to the festival in a couple of hours from Seoul. The main festival location is “화천산천어축제”, but you will probably need to visit a temporary car park to park your car. The address of the festival is shown below. Use Naver Map or Kakao Map for directions.

Address in Korean: 강원 화천군 화천읍 중리 187-15

From Seoul To Hwacheon By Shuttle Bus: There is a special shuttle bus that operates for this festival exclusively for foreign tourists. This shuttle bus only runs once per day at 8:30am from Hongdae / 9:00am from Myeongdong and doesn’t include entry fees to any of the activities. The price for this shuttle bus is ₩20,000 per person.

From Seoul To Hwacheon By Tour: There are various tours to the Hwacheon Ice Fishing Festival from Seoul, as detailed in the previous section. Taking a tour is a convenient way to see the festival and to save time vs. organising your own way there on public transportation.

Please note: You can get to Hwacheon by bus and train from Seoul but this might be more expensive than taking the shuttle bus and definitely takes longer. I would recommend either using the shuttle bus or one of the tour options rather than trying to get there by public transport. If you do want to try, there are directions (in Korean) on the festival website.

Are Korean Ice Fishing Festivals Worth Visiting?

Should you visit an ice fishing festival in Korea this winter? In my opinion, you absolutely should. These winter festivals are a great opportunity to see snowy and icy landscapes, try a range of fun activities, eat delicious Korean festival foods, and create lasting memories from your time in Korea.

Just look at the guy in the picture. He’s standing in ice-cold water with a slippery trout in his hand and he’s got a big smile on his face. Whether you’re taking part or observing from the sidelines, there are so many entertaining sights and activities to enjoy at the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival.

The festival does involve a long trip from Seoul to attend, about 2.5 hours each way, but you get a full day of activities and unique photo opportunities. If you add a side trip to the Garden of Morning Calm Lighting Festival at the same time, you get your money’s worth in terms of travel time.

The only downside of this festival is its popularity. It can get busy on weekends, which might put some people off. As a tourist, you have the luxury to travel during the week and I would definitely recommend visiting on a weekday to avoid the crowds and get more time and space at the festival.

Other Ice Fishing Festivals In Korea

I would say that the Hwacheon Ice Festival is my favourite fishing festival in Korea, but it’s not the only ice fishing festival that’s on during winter. There are few other big ice fishing festivals that run at the same time of year and offer the chance enjoy more ice and snow-based activities in Korea.

Pyeongchang Trout Ice Fishing Festival 2024: Pyeongchang, home to the 2018 Winter Olympics, hosts a trout ice fishing festival each year with many people attending to try their luck with a rod. There are other events to enjoy, including bare hand fish catching, sledding, snow rafting, and a sleigh train. For extreme sports lovers, you can rent an ATV and zoom through the frozen landscape.

You can join this festival with a tour from Klook.

Inje Ice Fishing Festival 2024: Running for more than 20 years, this large ice fishing festival in Inje is a family-friendly winter festival that not only includes ice fishing, but a range of other activities, too. There’s the Ice Playground, Snow Playground, and Mountain Village, where you can build a snowman, learn to sled and ski, slide down slippery slides, see ice sculptures, and see cultural exhibitions.

Yangpyeong Ice Fish Festival 2024: Held in the Soomy Village resort, this winter ice fishing festival runs from December to February and hosts a range of activities for families and other visitors to enjoy. Besides ice fishing, you can experience kite-flying, top spinning, sledding, and making traditional Korean snacks (jin-bang).

2024 Winter Festivals In Korea To See Snowy Sights

Besides ice fishing festivals, there are many other winter festivals in Korea that you should check out for exciting activities, incredible views, and cultural immersion. Here are some of the other major winter festivals you can see in Korea:

Garden of Morning Calm Winter Illuminations: Exploring sculpted gardens and electric forests when the sun has set is like entering into a magical world, a true winter fantasia with lots of photo opportunities. Every year the garden has a range of themed areas that focus on animals, plants, and even love for the sweethearts.

Seoul Lantern Festival: This dazzling festival is held in Gwanghwamun Square outside Gyeongbokgung Palace, which gives over it’s large pedestrianised areas to massive themed lantern installations. These installations feature different concepts each year like aquarium scenes, starry nights, nature landscapes, and Korean folktales.

Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival: The Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival is a lesser-known gem among Korea’s winter festivals, but is fast becoming a must-see destination as a day trip from Seoul due to the unique ice fountains. There’s also a lot of delicious Korean winter foods to try, such as roasted chestnuts that you can cook yourself.

Learn more: Discover all the best festivals to visit in Korea this winter with this guide to Korea’s winter festivals, which includes ice fishing festivals, illumination festivals, New Year festivals, and lots more.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some frequently asked questions about the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival. These answers are based on my own experience and from research conducted to write this article.

Support In My Korea

Thanks for reading. If you want to help me to create more great content in the future, why not buy me a coffee? A strong coffee helps me write more and is a simple way to show gratitude for this free content.

Liked This? Pin It For Others

If you enjoyed reading this article, then please share this with your friends on Pinterest.

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