The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival will be held in Ice Wonderland, Hwacheon, from January 11 to February 2.
The Sancheoneo Ice Festival, one of the world's top four winter festivals, has garnered global attention, even being featured in The New York Times as a must-visit winter event. Today, I will summarize the main schedule and share it with you.
Key programs of the Sancheoneo Ice Festival include ice fishing, lure fishing, bare-hand fishing, and night fishing. Sancheoneo ice fishing operates on weekdays from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM and on weekends from 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM, with one fishing site open on weekdays and two on weekends.
For on-site registration, it opens at 8:30 AM on weekdays and 7:00 AM on weekends. The maximum capacity is set at 8,000 people at a time, though this may be adjusted depending on ice conditions. Please note that on weekends, registration often fills up quickly in the morning.
The ice fishing fees for the Sancheoneo Ice Festival are 15,000 KRW for middle school students and older, and 10,000 KRW for elementary school students, families with multiple children, and seniors aged 65 or older. The 5,000 KRW agricultural and specialty product voucher provided upon entry can be used at the Agricultural and Specialty Product Sharing Village.
Night fishing at the Sancheoneo Ice Festival is available from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM, with a maximum capacity of 2,000 participants at a time. Registration is only available on-site.
For those staying overnight in Hwacheon, presenting a lodging receipt or confirmation allows you to receive night fishing vouchers as follows: 2 vouchers for stays under 100,000 KRW, 4 vouchers for stays under 150,000 KRW, and 6 vouchers for stays over 150,000 KRW.
Visitors who are not staying overnight can also enjoy night fishing at the same price as regular ice fishing.
One of the key programs of the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival, bare-hand fishing, runs seven times a day from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM at one-hour intervals. Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis and closes 20 minutes before each session begins.
Participants must wear the provided uniform and can catch up to three fish within three minutes. For safety reasons, only individuals aged 14 and older can participate. The fee is 15,000 KRW for middle school students and older, and 10,000 KRW for discounted groups. Like other programs, participants receive a 5,000 KRW agricultural and specialty product voucher.
At the Sancheoneo Ice Festival, in addition to ice fishing, bare-hand fishing, and night fishing, lure fishing is also available. The maximum capacity for lure fishing is limited to 60 participants at a time, and registration is only available on-site, with no online reservations.
The fee is 15,000 KRW for regular participants and 10,000 KRW for discounted groups, and participants will receive a 5,000 KRW agricultural and specialty product voucher. To prevent water pollution, the use of live bait is prohibited, and bringing in coolers or ice boxes is not allowed. Please note that, regardless of how many fish are caught, only up to three fish per person can be taken out.
At the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival, you can taste the Sancheoneo (mountain trout) you catch by visiting a nearby center, where you can enjoy it grilled or as sashimi. The cost is 3,000 KRW per fish, and since it is not sold separately, you’ll need to catch the fish to try it.
You can also experience thrilling sledding on the 40-meter-long snow slope and the 100-meter-long ice slope. The experience fee is 5,000 KRW for five sessions on weekdays and three sessions on weekends, and participants will receive a 3,000 KRW Hwacheon Love gift certificate.
Additionally, there are free attractions such as the Eolgomi-seong slide, ice soccer, and bubble suits on ice. These facilities are perfect for visiting with children!