23,000 INHABITANTS, ONE MILLION ICE FISHERS: THE HWACHEON MIRACLE!
Picture the scene: a small Korean county of about 23,000 inhabitants, a frozen mountain stream… and more than a million visitors from all over the world kneeling on the ice, a line in hand. From January 9 to 31, 2027, the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival takes up residence again on the Hwacheoncheon stream, in Gangwon-do province, South Korea — and it may just be the most joyfully disproportionate winter festival on the planet.
The hero of the festival is a fish: the sancheoneo, the mountain trout nicknamed the “queen of the valley”, which lives only in the purest waters. Here, you don't just watch it: you fish it. Through a hole drilled in the ice, line taut and breath short — or, for the bravest, bare-handed, in the icy water. And the reward is immediate: the fish you caught is eaten on the spot, raw in thin slices or grilled over embers. From fishing rod to plate, without leaving the ice.
Born in 2003, the festival has grown to the incredible: CNN counted it among its “seven wonders of winter” back in 2011, and in 2024 it became the only Korean winter festival designated a global festival, according to the Korea JoongAng Daily. The welcome matches the reputation: a fishing zone is reserved for foreign visitors, with a rest area and even a Muslim prayer room (details documented on the 2026 edition) — proof that a village festival can think of the whole world.
VisitKorea, the Korean tourism office, has already confirmed the 2027 dates: three weeks of celebration, from January 9 to 31. The detailed programme will be updated by the organizer — it is still based, as of today, on the 2026 edition. But the essentials are there: a village, a stream, a fish, and that simple idea behind every great festival — here, the spectator doesn't watch the party, they make it. Festival Explorer already wants to put its boots on. The festival's full fact sheet joins our directory today, in the Asia section.
Practical information
Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival — January 9 to 31, 2027 (dates confirmed by VisitKorea), Hwacheoncheon stream, Hwacheon-eup, Hwacheon-gun county, Gangwon-do, South Korea.
Organizers: Hwacheon-gun and Nara Foundation. Tickets: prices not published in the sources consulted (checked October 17, 2026) — ask the organizer; detailed 2027 programme to come on the official channels.
— Moïse 1er, the Festival Explorer