| Dates | 31 Jul – 9 Aug 2026 |
|---|---|
| Hours | Daily opening hours were not published in the sources opened; the eve program began at 18:00 on 31 July and evening stage shows started at 19:00–19:30. |
| Weather | July average 29/21 °C (85/70 °F), 398 mm of rain August average 30/21 °C (86/70 °F), 320 mm of rainMonthly averages, not a forecast: Korea Meteorological Administration climate normals, 1991–2020, Chuncheon station, about 25 km away. |
| Venue | Sanae Sports Park, Sachang-ri, Sanae-myeon강원특별자치도 화천군 사내면 화악산로 998-9 |
| Admission | Find the Golden Ring: ₩3,000 |
| Previous edition | 2025: 1–3 Aug 2025 |
| Next edition | 2027: Late July to early August 2027 (it would be the 23rd edition). The festival ran 1–4 August 2024 and 1–3 August 2025, then 31 July–9 August 2026 after being stretched to ten days and moved to Sanae Sports Park; the county has not said whether the ten-day format stays. Dates have come out in mid to late July (a 14 July 2024 preview; a 15 July 2026 plan briefing and 21 July 2026 dates). No 2027 announcement found as of 19 October 2026. |
Program
- 31 Jul 18:00eve festival with local performers (batucada, a local band, farmers' music, line dance, nanta, saxophone); 19:30 opening declaration followed by trot singers Kim Da-hyeon, Jeong Hae-eun and Son Bin-a
- 1 Aug'Thousand-person table' with Ottogi (giant-pot pasta); 14:00 waterbomb show; 19:00 Seungri unit soldiers' night with a girl group and a DJ
- 2 Aug 13:00'Taegun Noraejarang' singing show hosted by Park Gun and Na Tae-ju
- 8 Aug 16:00waterbomb show; 19:00 Tomato national singing contest
- 9 Aug 13:00final waterbomb show (rappers including Gaogai and Jigguin across the three shows)
- Daily'Find the Golden Ring' in a tomato pool (held once, in the morning, on the hottest days)
- Six zonesperformance, event, water (sliding pool, water party, water guns, valley water play), experience (balloon art, tomato face painting, sheep farm, 119 safety), market and promotion (farm produce, Ottogi pavilion, food court), military (equipment display, shooting experience)
- Live home-shopping broadcast selling Hwacheon tomatoes; tomato ice cream sold by the county 4-H young farmers
Prices
| Item | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Find the Golden Ring | ₩3,000 | Refunded in full as Hwacheon Sarang gift vouchers (local currency, spendable in Hwacheon) |
| Festival grounds | — | No entry ticket is mentioned in any report opened; not confirmed by the organizer |
Notes on the 2026 edition
22nd edition; extended from three days to ten, the longest run so far. The ring hunt used 36 don of gold rings and about 44 tons of culled tomatoes. About ₩4 million in ring-hunt fees was refunded as vouchers on 1 August alone; on-site farm sales passed ₩13 million in the first two days, and 2,000 boxes of tomatoes sold out on a public home-shopping live broadcast. No visitor total was found.
About the festival
The Hwacheon Tomato Festival (화천토마토축제) is a summer farm festival in Sanae-myeon, Hwacheon County, Gangwon, best known for 'Find the Golden Ring', in which visitors wade into a pool of culled tomatoes to hunt for gold rings. The 22nd edition ran 31 July–9 August 2026 at Sanae Sports Park, about 2 hours by direct bus from Dong Seoul; the 2027 edition is expected in late July or early August but has not been announced. No entry ticket is reported, and the ring hunt cost ₩3,000 in 2026, all of it refunded as local gift vouchers.
Transport, booking, crowd and accessibility details are on the main Hwacheon Tomato Festival page, which covers every edition.
Source
Facts checked
19 October 2026, against the sources listed below.