Nature & seasonsInje, Gangwon State

Inje Icefish Festival 2026 in Inje, Gangwon State, South Korea

인제빙어축제 2026

Cancelled2026
Jan / Feb
usual window
Cancelled

About nine or ten days from a Friday or Saturday in the second half of January, sometimes into early February: 27 Jan–4 Feb 2018, 26 Jan–3 Feb 2019, 18 Jan–2 Feb 2020 (extended a week), 20–29 Jan 2023; the cancelled 2024 edition was set for 19–28 Jan. It needs Soyang Dam at 183 m or lower and thick ice, and was cancelled every winter from 2024 to 2026.

Expected, not confirmed. About nine or ten days from a Friday or Saturday in the second half of January, sometimes into early February: 27 Jan–4 Feb 2018, 26 Jan–3 Feb 2019, 18 Jan–2 Feb 2020 (extended a week), 20–29 Jan 2023; the cancelled 2024 edition was set for 19–28 Jan. It needs Soyang Dam at 183 m or lower and thick ice, and was cancelled every winter from 2024 to 2026. We will replace this with confirmed dates when the organizer announces them (basis).

Cancelled. Cancelled by Inje County and the Inje County Culture Foundation, reported on 28 December 2025: an unusual October monsoon of about 20 days raised Soyang Dam to 186.84 m on 28 December (the site needs 183 m or lower; a typical year is 177.63 m), and mild early-winter weather stopped the ice forming. Third cancellation in a row. Planned dates were not published in the sources opened. A residents' forum on the festival's future was held in December 2025.

Venue this year. Parts of the lakeside grounds were under water.

DatesTo be announced
VenueBingeoho (Icefish Lake) on upper Soyang Lake, Bupyeong-ri, Nam-myeon강원특별자치도 인제군 남면 부평리 555-2 (빙어호 일원)
AdmissionEntry and the ice-fishing field have been free (the last edition held was in 2023). Rides such as sleds, ATVs and the Argo were separate activities whose prices were not published in the sources opened.
Previous edition2023: 20–29 Jan 2023
Next edition2027: Not announced as of 19 October 2026, and not yet confirmed that it will be held. When it has run (or been planned), it has started on a Friday or Saturday in the second half of January for about nine or ten days (20–29 Jan 2023; cancelled 2024 plan 19–28 Jan). It needs Soyang Dam at 183 m or lower and ice about 25 cm thick; it was cancelled in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and in December 2025 the county said it would review a change of venue or alternative programmes.

Notes on the 2026 edition

Cancelled by Inje County and the Inje County Culture Foundation, reported on 28 December 2025: an unusual October monsoon of about 20 days raised Soyang Dam to 186.84 m on 28 December (the site needs 183 m or lower; a typical year is 177.63 m), and mild early-winter weather stopped the ice forming. Third cancellation in a row. Planned dates were not published in the sources opened. A residents' forum on the festival's future was held in December 2025.

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.

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