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Fish Through the Ice. Dress for It.
Korea winter festivals for January and February 2027: Hwacheon ice fishing dates, foreigner fees, buses from Seoul, and trout and snow festivals.
Picture a frozen river the size of a few dozen football pitches, covered in people on tiny stools, each staring into a hole the width of a dinner plate. Every few seconds someone yells, a silver fish flips onto the ice, and a stranger claps. That is a Korean winter festival, and it is far more fun than it sounds on paper.
Below: the 2027 dates that are actually confirmed, what you do there, what it cost last winter, how to get there without a car, how cold it gets, and how the other January and February festivals compare.
Updated November 2026. Dates, fees and bus routes checked 5 November 2026. Where a 2027 detail is not yet published, we say so and show the 2026 figure.
Quick answer
Saturday 9 January to Sunday 31 January 2027, for 23 days. The festival's official site shows those dates on its front page, and the Nara foundation that runs it fixed them at a board meeting on 25 March 2026.1, 2
Dates set this early are unusual, but the opening can still move if the ice is weak. Most Korean winter festivals publish dates only weeks ahead, because everything depends on the ice.
Q. Can the opening move? Yes. When the ice was too weak in December 2019, the organisers pushed the 2020 opening back a week, and they did the same in 2017.5 Book rooms and buses you can change, and check the official site's notices in early January. (Peep advice)
Q. Does the festival name mean anything? Sancheoneo is the Korean name for the cherry salmon, a small trout of cold, clean mountain streams. (Peep note) The official site sells it as "Sancheoneo ice fishing" and brands the whole town "Ice Nation" for the month.1
You fish through the ice, mostly. Each person gets a spot by a pre-drilled hole on the frozen Hwacheoncheon stream, drops a small lure, and jiggles it until something bites. The official programme also lists lure fishing, a bare-hand fish catch, night fishing, snow sledding, an ice bobsleigh and an ice football zone.1
The other half of the day happens in town:
Q. How long should I spend there? A full day. Fishing alone easily fills two or three hours, and the sculptures and lantern street come alive after dark. (Peep observation)
Q. Do I need fishing experience? None. The rig is a short rod and a tiny lure, and the trick is patience plus a gentle up-and-down twitch. The official site even has an ice fishing tips page.1
Q. Is the bare-hand catch worth it? It is the most photographed part, but you wade into icy water in shorts. In January 2026 organisers stopped it completely on days when the wind chill passed minus 20°C.4
The 2027 fees were not final on 5 November 2026. In 2026, ice fishing cost 15,000 won for adults and 10,000 won for foreign passport holders, and each ticket came with a 5,000 won voucher for local farm products.3, 10
For 2027, Hwacheon County is reportedly considering raising the adult fee to 25,000 won, with about 15,000 won returned in local vouchers. This was not confirmed as of 5 November 2026; check the official fee page before you go.3
| What (2026 edition) | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ice fishing, adult | 15,000 won | 5,000 won voucher back3, 10 |
| Ice fishing, foreign passport holder | 10,000 won | Show the original passport10 |
| Children below school age | Free | With a guardian10 |
| 2027 adult fee | Not confirmed (25,000 won reported as under review) | Check official fee page3 |
Q. What else costs money? Grilling your fish, the sled runs and food stalls are priced separately. Budget 40,000 to 60,000 won per person for a full day, plus the bus. (Peep estimate) For cards, cash and ATMs, see our money guide.
Q. Can I take my fish home? In 2026, paying visitors could reportedly take up to three fish out of the reserved and walk-in fishing areas.10 Most people simply eat them at the grill.
Yes, and there is a zone just for them. The official site lists a separate ice fishing area for foreigners and invited tour groups, alongside the walk-in and reserved areas.1 In 2026 it charged 10,000 won, with a 5,000 won voucher back.10
How the three areas worked in 202610:
Q. Is the reserved ticket hard to buy from abroad? It can be, because the site is in Korean and payment steps may need Korean verification.10 If it fails, the foreigner zone or a weekday walk-in visit are the easy fallbacks. (Peep advice)
Q. Is there English help on site? The official site has English and Traditional Chinese pages, and the festival lists information centres and a tourist information centre. Korea's 1330 travel hotline also takes calls in English.1
By bus. Hwacheon has no railway station, so you have two choices: a nonstop bus out of Dong Seoul (the terminal sits beside Gangbyeon Station, Line 2), or the ITX-Cheongchun to Chuncheon followed by a local bus.11, 10
Option 1: direct bus. Hwacheon County's tourism site lists the Dong Seoul route, which also calls at several towns along the way, Chuncheon and Gapyeong among them.11 October 2026 timetables reportedly showed eight direct runs a day, from 06:45, taking about 2 hours 55 minutes.10
Option 2: train plus bus. The ITX-Cheongchun reaches Namchuncheon or Chuncheon in about an hour from Cheongnyangni. Buses to Hwacheon then take about an hour.10 The festival's own guide warns that buses fill up during the festival, so boarding at Chuncheon Intercity Bus Terminal gives you a better shot at a seat than the stop by Chuncheon Station.10
In town. On festival weekends in 2026, a free loop shuttle ran every 20 minutes between 09:00 and 18:00, calling at the bus terminal.1, 10 On weekdays, walk or take a short taxi to 137 Sancheoneo-gil. (Peep note)
Our day trips from Seoul guide covers the Chuncheon train, and the subway, bus and taxi guide covers T-money and terminals.
Q. Can I do Hwacheon as a day trip? Yes, if you start early. Take the first direct bus, fish until mid-afternoon and catch a bus back around 16:00 to 17:00. (ref. 10; Peep note) Staying overnight lets you see the lantern street, and the festival says guests who stay in Hwacheon get free night fishing and weekday ice fishing.1
Q. Should I book the bus? On weekends, yes. Morning seats from Seoul can sell out on January Saturdays, so buy your return as soon as you arrive. (Peep advice)
Three more are worth a look, but none had organiser-confirmed 2027 dates in early November 2026; Daegwallyeong's are planned. Seoul also runs a cheap outdoor ice rink on Seoul Plaza, covered in our November and December guide.12
| Festival | 2027 dates | Where | What you do | From Seoul | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival | 9 to 31 Jan 2027 (official)1, 2 | Hwacheon-eup, Gangwon | Trout ice fishing, sledding, ice sculptures | Bus from Dong Seoul, about 3 hours10, 11 | 5 Nov 2026 |
| Pyeongchang Trout Festival | Not announced by the organiser (checked 5 Nov 2026); check the official page. 2026 edition: 9 Jan to 9 Feb6, 7 | Jinbu-myeon, Pyeongchang | Ice and tent fishing, ice slides | KTX to Jinbu (Odaesan), then taxi10 | 5 Nov 2026 |
| Daegwallyeong Snow Flower Festival | Planned for 30 Jan to 9 Feb 2027 per the organiser's September 2026 notice; not yet final, check the official page9 | Daegwallyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang | Big snow sculptures, snow play | KTX or bus toward Pyeongchang (Peep note) | 5 Nov 2026 |
| Taebaeksan Snow Festival | Not announced by the organiser (checked 5 Nov 2026); check the official page. 2026 edition: 31 Jan to 8 Feb8, 13 | Taebaeksan National Park, Taebaek | Snow sculptures, snow hike, sledding, free entry | Bus from Dong Seoul, about 2 hours 50 minutes13 | 5 Nov 2026 |
| Seoul Plaza Ice Rink | 18 Dec 2026 to 9 Feb 202712 | City Hall, Seoul | Outdoor skating | City Hall station | 5 Nov 2026 |
Pyeongchang Trout Festival. Held on the Odaecheon stream in Jinbu. VisitKorea lists ice fishing at 25,000 won and tent fishing at 39,000 won, but labels the details as 2026 content still being updated, and VisitKorea lists provisional dates only.6 It is the one to pick if you prefer a fast KTX ride to Jinbu (Odaesan) Station plus a short taxi over a three-hour bus. (ref. 10; Peep note)
Daegwallyeong Snow Flower Festival. The 35th edition is planned for 30 January to 9 February 2027, 09:30 to 17:30, about two weeks earlier than in 2026.9 Daegwallyeong is a windy highland plateau, so dress for more wind than at Hwacheon. (Peep observation)
Taebaeksan Snow Festival. Huge snow sculptures in Taebaeksan National Park, plus sledding and a snow-flower hike; VisitKorea lists free entry and hours of 10:00 to 22:00.8 VisitKorea lists provisional dates, but the organiser had not announced 2027 dates by 5 November 2026; check the official page.8, 13
Q. What about Hongcheon and Inje? The Hongcheon River festival has postponed its opening in warm winters before.5 We found no confirmed 2027 dates for Hongcheon or for Inje's smelt festival, so check each organiser's notice in December. (Peep note)
Q. Is skiing part of these festivals? No. Ski resorts are a separate day out with their own shuttle buses; these festivals are about fishing, snow and ice. (Peep note)
Dress as if you were going skiing, then add one layer. You spend hours sitting still on ice, which is colder than walking around a city, and January 2026 brought more than ten days of cold-wave warnings at Hwacheon with wind chill past minus 20°C on some days.4
What we pack (Peep advice):
Q. Can I warm up somewhere? Yes. The festival lists warm rest areas and a nursing room among its facilities.1 Restaurants and cafes in town fill up at lunchtime, so eat early or late. (Peep observation)
Q. Do I need crampons? Not on the fishing field, which is packed snow and ice under foot. Boots with good grip help on the walkways and slopes. (Peep note)
The organisers say they managed water levels to keep the ice at 30 cm or more on average, up to 45 cm, in 2026.4 A 2019 press report cited more than 20 cm as the usual threshold for visitors on the ice.5
Your part is simple. Stay inside the marked fishing areas, follow staff instructions, and never walk out onto river ice outside the festival grounds. (Peep advice) The festival lists a rescue team, a 119 safety centre and a medical centre on site.1 Conditions change with the weather, so follow on-site closures and announcements.
Q. Is it suitable for kids? Yes. Children below school age fished for free in 2026 with a guardian, and the sled runs and ice slides are aimed at families.1, 10
For most visitors, yes. It is one of the few times you see Koreans in full holiday mode outside the city, and the festival scale is hard to picture until you are standing on it. Hwacheon drew about 1.59 million visitors in 2026, roughly 114,000 of them from abroad.4
Pick a weekday, avoid the Seollal holiday from 6 to 9 February 2027 if you hate crowds, and see the public holidays guide for the other red days. (Peep advice)
It is held on the frozen Hwacheoncheon stream in Hwacheon-eup, a small county town in Gangwon State, northeast of Seoul.1 The festival address is 137 Sancheoneo-gil, Hwacheon-eup. Show it to a taxi driver or type it into a map app at the bus terminal.
Yes, in 2026 foreign passport holders paid the discounted 10,000 won fee instead of 15,000 won.10 You must show the original passport at the gate, not a photo or copy. The 2027 foreigner rate had not been published on 5 November 2026, so it may change with the new fee plan.
Not necessarily, because walk-in and foreigner fishing areas take people without a booking.10 The reserved area sells out fast on weekends; in 2026 its first two weekends were gone three days before opening. Weekday visits are much easier without a reservation.
Yes, in 2026 each paying visitor could reportedly take up to three fish from the reserved and walk-in fishing areas.10 Most people take them straight to the grill corner, where staff salt and cook them for a small fee. It is the classic Hwacheon lunch.
Sancheoneo is the Korean name for the cherry salmon, a small trout that lives in cold, clean mountain streams. (Peep note) The festival is built around catching it through the ice.1 Grilled with coarse salt, it tastes mild and slightly sweet, closer to rainbow trout than to sea fish.
Wear ski-level clothing: thermal layers, a down jacket, insulated waterproof boots, a hat, a neck gaiter and two pairs of gloves. (Peep advice) Hours of sitting still on the ice drain your body heat, and wind chill near minus 20°C was reported at Hwacheon in January 2026. Heat packs from convenience stores help.
Very cold: in January 2026 Hwacheon saw more than ten days of cold-wave warnings, with wind chill beyond minus 20°C on some days.4 The organisers even stopped the bare-hand fish catch on the coldest days. Plan for well below freezing all day, colder after sunset.
It works if you start early: the first nonstop bus from Dong Seoul left at 06:45 on October 2026 timetables.10 Fish in the morning, eat at the grill, then catch a mid-afternoon bus back. Stay overnight if you want the lantern street after dark.
The organisers say they kept the ice at 30 cm or more on average, up to 45 cm, during the 2026 festival.4 A 2019 press report cited more than 20 cm as the usual threshold for visitors. Stay inside marked areas, follow on-site closures, and never walk onto river ice outside the grounds.
The opening is usually postponed: Hwacheon delayed its festival by a week in 2017 and again in 2020 because of weak ice.5 Book changeable buses and rooms, and check the official notices in the first week of January before you travel.
The 35th Daegwallyeong Snow Flower Festival is planned, not yet final, for 30 January to 9 February 2027, from 09:30 to 17:30.9 The committee published those dates as "planned" in a September 2026 notice. That is about two weeks earlier than the 2026 festival.
Yes, the Seoul Plaza Ice Rink in front of City Hall opens from 18 December 2026 to 9 February 2027.12 A one hour session is 1,000 won, skate and helmet rental included, and it stays open late on Fridays and Saturdays. Our November and December guide has the details.
Choose Hwacheon for the biggest ice fishing festival with a foreigner zone, or Pyeongchang if you prefer a KTX ride plus a short taxi. (ref. 1, 10; Peep note) Pick Daegwallyeong or Taebaek for snow sculptures in early February. Hwacheon is the only one with official 2027 dates so far; Daegwallyeong's are planned.
Ticket booths and the larger food areas generally take cards, but small stalls and market vendors may prefer cash. (Peep observation) Carry some won in notes for snacks, grilling fees and buses in town, and keep a T-money card topped up for local buses and the subway back in Seoul.
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