| Dates | 11 Jan – 2 Feb 2025 |
|---|---|
| Weather | January average 2/−9 °C (35/15 °F), 19 mm of rain February average 5/−7 °C (42/20 °F), 28 mm of rainMonthly averages, not a forecast: Korea Meteorological Administration climate normals, 1991–2020, Chuncheon station, about 25 km away. |
| Venue | Hwacheon stream festival grounds, Hwacheon-eup강원특별자치도 화천군 화천읍 산천어길 137 |
| Admission | There is no general gate fee; each activity is ticketed, with the reserved ice-fishing session at ₩15,000 (₩10,000 discounted, including foreign passport holders) in 2026. |
| Previous edition | 2024: 6–28 Jan 2024 |
| Next edition | 2026: 10 Jan – 1 Feb 2026 |
Program
- 23 days of ice fishing, bare-handed catching, sledding and ice sculptures
Prices
| Item | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ice fishing session, general | — | Not stated in the 2025 sources opened |
Notes on the 2025 edition
Record attendance: 1.86 million (Kyunghyang) or 1,839,105 (Kukinews), including about 122,000 foreign visitors (up from about 85,000 in 2024).
About the festival
The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival (얼음나라화천 산천어축제) is Korea's largest winter festival: three weeks of ice fishing for mountain trout through holes in the frozen Hwacheon stream in Hwacheon, Gangwon, about 3 h 30 m by direct bus from Seoul. The 2026 edition ran 10 January–1 February; 2027 is expected 9–31 January. Ice fishing cost ₩15,000 in 2026 (₩10,000 for foreign passport holders), ₩5,000 of it returned as a voucher for local farm products.
Transport, booking, crowd and accessibility details are on the main Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival page, which covers every edition.
Source
Facts checked
21 October 2026, against the sources listed below.