| Dates | 20–29 Jan 2023 |
|---|---|
| Venue | Bingeoho (Icefish Lake) on upper Soyang Lake, Bupyeong-ri, Nam-myeon강원특별자치도 인제군 남면 부평리 555-2 (빙어호 일원) |
| Admission | Admission: Free · Ice-fishing field: Free |
| Previous edition | 2020: 18 Jan – 2 Feb 2020 |
| Next edition | 2026: dates to be announced |
Program
- 23rd edition; opening ceremony 21 Jan 14:00 on the main plaza with trot singer Lee Chan-won
- Free 24,000 m² ice-fishing field with about 1,400 holes; ice about 30 cm thick against a 25 cm operating standard
- Snow sledding, ice sledding, ATV and Argo rides; Snow Village recreating a 1960s mountain village; hands-on booths
- 23rd Gangwon Governor's Cup National Ice Soccer Tournament (78 teams, about 1,000 players)
- Daily prize draws for visitors with receipts from shops in Inje; final draw on 29 Jan with a compact car and a 55-inch TV among the prizes
Prices
| Item | Price | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Admission | Free | No entry fee |
| Ice-fishing field | Free | Free-access field of 24,000 m² |
Notes on the 2023 edition
91,355 visitors by 17:00 on 23 January and more than 180,000 by the close (about 200,000 by a later Herald Economy count). Residents put the ice at nearly 40 cm. Fishing on the lake continued after the close, but all festival facilities were removed.
About the festival
The Inje Icefish Festival (인제빙어축제) is a free ice-fishing festival for bingeo, a small icefish, on Bingeoho, a dammed arm of upper Soyang Lake at Bupyeong-ri, Nam-myeon, Inje, Gangwon, about 1 h 45 min by bus from Dong Seoul. Held since 1998, it last ran 20–29 January 2023 and was cancelled in 2024, 2025 and 2026 because Soyang Dam's water was too high for safe ice. No 2027 dates or decision had been announced by 19 October 2026; when it runs it lasts about ten days in the second half of January, and entry and ice fishing have been free.
Transport, booking, crowd and accessibility details are on the main Inje Icefish Festival page, which covers every edition.
Source
Facts checked
19 October 2026, against the sources listed below.