Ice Festival Draws 1.59 Million Visitors as Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival Ends
Creatrip Team
a month ago
The 2026 Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival, South Korea’s flagship winter event, closed after 23 days with about 1.59 million visitors, including roughly 114,000 foreigners. Organizers prioritized safety over ticket revenue by limiting ice-surface entries and suspending some programs during severe weather, even canceling morning “barehanded trout-catching” sessions on extremely cold days. The festival maintained ice thickness of 30–45 cm through active water-level and flow management. Diverse attractions—trout fishing, indoor ice sculpture exhibits, a lantern street festival, and special appearances by a Finnish Santa and elves—helped boost local hotels, restaurants, and nearly 1 billion KRW in agricultural sales. Volunteers, police, fire and military personnel supported a safe, orderly event that concluded with a closing ceremony, prize car drawing and fireworks. (Sancheoneo: a native Korean trout species)
