Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival 2027, Korea: 9–31 January, the ₩25,000 Fee Plan and How to Book

Last updated: 4 November 2026. The 2027 dates are confirmed on the festival's official site, run by the Nara foundation (재단법인 나라), whose front page was counting down to opening day when we read it on 4 November. The ₩25,000 fee is a county plan reported in the Korean press on 2–5 October 2026, and we found no confirmation; the official fee page still showed ₩15,000 on 4 November. Every other fee, hour and rule below is the 2026 festival's, because the official sub-pages still carry the notice that 2027 content is being prepared. Train times are from Korail's timetable in force since 28 February 2026. Bus times and fares are terminal data updated 1–2 November, except where we say they conflict. Pages were first read on 2 November 2026; the dates, fee page and bus fares were checked again on 4 November.

The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival (화천산천어축제) runs from Saturday 9 January to Sunday 31 January 2027, 23 days on the frozen Hwacheon stream in Gangwon Province, Korea. The 2027 price is not settled. On 1 October the county discussed raising the adult fishing ticket from ₩15,000 to ₩25,000 and the refund from ₩5,000 to ₩15,000 in local vouchers. If that goes through, you pay ₩10,000 more at the window and get ₩10,000 more back in paper that only spends in Hwacheon. In 2026, foreign passport holders paid ₩10,000; the fee page lists the ₩5,000 voucher only against the general ticket. The reports do not say what they will pay in 2027.

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Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival 2027: the numbers at a glance

Sancheoneo (산천어) is a small cold-water trout, also called cherry salmon or masu salmon. The festival drills holes in the ice, stocks the stream, and lets you fish for them. You can then have your catch grilled or cut into sashimi on the spot. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism lists it as one of Korea's global festivals, and the 2025 edition drew 1,839,105 people, a record, by the festival's own count as reported by Kukinews.

Is the Hwacheon ice festival worth it? Go or skip

Go if you want the one winter event in Korea that feels like nowhere else, you have a free weekday, or you have children old enough to sit still by a hole in the ice. It also suits a slow two-day trip, because the lantern street comes on after dark.

Skip it or think again if any of these apply:

• You only have a Saturday and no ticket. The official page warns that weekend on-site registration often closes in the morning. Kukinews, citing the festival office, put 2026 crowds at about 40,000 on an average weekday and more than 100,000 at weekends.
• You mind the fish. The festival releases 450,000 to 600,000 trout for about three weeks, according to the weekly Jugan Kyunghyang. Animal protection groups held a press conference on 6 January 2026 and said the ice-fishing experience dulls people's awareness of animal cruelty. You should know that before you take a child.
• You need a guaranteed catch. We found no published catch rate.
• You only have one day and hate the cold. You will spend about six hours on buses and trains, and the main activity is sitting still on river ice.

The 2027 fee: what is proposed and what is confirmed

Confirmed: the dates. The official site's front page now reads "2027.1.9(토) ~ 1.31(일) 23일간."

Not confirmed: the fee. Shinailbo (신아일보, 5 October) says the rise "is being pursued" (추진된다). MTN (2 October) says the county "is reviewing" it (검토하고 있다) and will decide after checking feasibility and economic effect. The official fee page still shows ₩15,000 and ₩5,000 and says details are being prepared. Its child-discount line already reads "as of January 2027," but the amounts have not moved, and the footer still calls it 2026 content. Treat ₩25,000 as a plan until that table changes. The same meeting reviewed about 100 ideas, including a night media programme, a floating sauna, an ice café and more craft stalls. None of those is confirmed either.

The county's argument is that your real cost stays at ₩10,000 while your local spending money triples. That holds only if you spend the voucher, and a visitor flying home next week may not want a bag of Hwacheon produce. The ₩15,000 fee has not changed in more than ten years, Shinailbo says. Our Korea festival calendar lists ice fishing at the Pyeongchang Trout Festival at ₩25,000, so the plan would bring Hwacheon level with it.

In 2026, children below elementary school age fished free, and elementary pupils, people aged 65 and over and several other groups paid ₩10,000.

How the 2026 vouchers worked:

• Farm-produce voucher (₩5,000). Good only at the festival's farm stalls, by Tunnel 1, the reserved-fishing desk and the Youth Centre. They sell local farm, livestock and forest products and processed food. Spend at least 80% (₩4,000) and the rest comes back in cash.
• Hwacheon Love gift certificate. Good at shops, restaurants and petrol stations across the county, and at festival kiosks and souvenir shops, but not for other festival activities. Spend at least 70% and the rest comes back in cash. Nonghyup (농협) stores and a list of named marts are excluded.

We do not yet know if the bigger refund will keep these rules. Spend the farm voucher before your bus.

You might like: Korea Festival Calendar 2026–2027, Month by Month, for the other January events on frozen rivers.

Which fishing area: on-site, reserved or foreigners' area

There are three daytime areas, and they are in different places. These are 2026 figures.

Our pick for a foreign visitor: the foreigners' area. The official page opens it to "general foreigners," not only tour groups, and lists a rest area, a Muslim prayer room and a grill. It mentions no online booking, only a ticket window. Bring your passport: the discount needs proof and cannot be combined with another. The county's global marketing team answers on 033-440-2328. An electric shuttle (four 11-seaters, 09:00–18:00) runs between this area and the reserved area.

The other paid fish activities have the same fee as ice fishing, and each is a separate ticket:

• Bare-hand catching (맨손잡기): you wade in wearing a T-shirt and shorts they give you, and get 3 minutes to catch up to 3 fish. Sessions start on the hour from 10:00 to 16:00 and close 20 minutes before. Age 14 and over only.
• Lure fishing (루어낚시): 40 people at a time, on-site registration only.
• Night fishing (밤낚시): 19:00–21:00, register 18:30–20:00. The refund is a Hwacheon Love certificate, not a farm voucher.

How to book reserved fishing

The 2027 sale date is not posted. The 2026 listing on NOL Interpark has closed. Check the official reserved-fishing page from early December.

These 2026 rules come from the official page and the NOL listing:

• Limit: 10 people per ID. Children below elementary school age need no ticket.
• Fixed date: you cannot change the date after booking.
• Deadline: online sales closed at 23:59 the day before.
• Pick-up: at the reserved-area window on the day, with ID.
• Cancelling: the listing gave a free window of 7 days after booking, booking fee excluded. Otherwise the charge was ₩2,000 per ticket at 10 or more days before your date, 10% at 9–7 days, 20% at 6–3 days and 30% from 2 days before.
• Help: Interpark call centre 1544-1555.

Move early for weekends. As of 09:00 on 7 January 2026, all 3,000 reserved tickets for the first two weekends had sold, three days before opening. Later that month the organisers planned about 3,000 more holes, for about 12,000 in total. We have not tested whether NOL Interpark's Korean ticket page accepts an overseas card or phone number. If it fails, use the foreigners' area or a tour.

Seoul to Hwacheon: train and bus, direct bus or tour

By ITX and bus. Take the ITX-Cheongchun to Namchuncheon (남춘천), ₩8,300 from Cheongnyangni or ₩9,600 from Yongsan. The festival's directions place Chuncheon bus terminal near that station. Terminal data lists 16 buses a day to Hwacheon, 07:30 to 21:00, about 1 hour 13, at ₩6,300. That fits the 9% intercity rise of 1 October on the ₩5,800 the festival page still shows. You can also board opposite Chuncheon Station, but the festival warns that seats fill during the event, and the only timetable we found for that stop dates from 2024. See our Chuncheon day trip guide for the train.

Direct bus: the fare is unconfirmed. Terminal data lists 8 buses from Dong Seoul, 06:45 to 18:10, and puts the last bus back from Hwacheon at 19:30. The county's bus page lists 16 buses from Hwacheon to Dong Seoul, 06:40 to 21:00, so check the evening times before you plan a late return. The county and festival pages show ₩14,400, which predates the 9% intercity rise of 1 October; with the rise applied it would be about ₩15,700. Terminal data updated on 1 November shows ₩18,900, 31% above ₩14,400, which the 9% rise does not explain. We could not confirm either fare with the terminal or T-money (read 4 November 2026). The festival gives 2 hours 55 for the trip; terminal data gives 3 hours 19 out and 3 hours 26 back. Check the real fare at txbus.t-money.co.kr. The festival also gives ₩9,600 for the ITX from Cheongnyangni to Chuncheon, but Korail's fare table says ₩8,600.

Tour. Trazy lists a 2027 shuttle package at ₩56,200 (₩60,000 before discount, read 2 November). It leaves Hongik University Station at 08:30 and Myeongdong at 09:00, and leaves the festival at 17:00. It includes an ice-fishing ticket, a rod rental, one grilled fish, sled rentals, the ice plaza and a ₩5,000 voucher. Part of the page still shows 2026 dates, and the festival's 2027 fee is not decided, so confirm the price and inclusions before you pay.

Driving. The festival warns that some navigation apps take you over a mountain road via Gapyeong that is poorly cleared of snow. It suggests adding Gangchon or Uiam Dam (의암댐) as a waypoint.

In town. In 2026 a weekend shuttle looped every 20 minutes, 09:00–18:00, from the bus terminal to the Youth Centre and sports hall.

A sample day from Seoul (Saturday)

This plan is for Saturday 16 January 2027, using Korail's current weekend timetable and the terminal data. We use the 09:20 bus because the 08:30 leaves only 14 minutes after the train arrives, and we have not timed that walk. Timetables can change before January, and festival traffic can slow the buses.

*2026 prices. If the bus runs late, the next ITX from Chuncheon is at 19:42, and the last on weekends is 22:13.

Budget for one person, 2026 prices. Fares are ₩29,000. A foreign passport holder adds ₩10,000 for fishing, ₩6,000 for a basic rod set, ₩2,000 for a hot pack, ₩3,000 for one grilled fish (the rate on the fee, grill and sashimi pages), ₩5,000 for the sled and ₩3,000 for the plaza. That comes to ₩58,000. Up to ₩6,000 comes back as vouchers from the sled and plaza tickets if you use them (₩3,000 + ₩3,000). We have not counted the ₩5,000 farm voucher, because the fee page lists it only against the general ₩15,000 ticket. That is almost exactly the Trazy price, so the choice is freedom against convenience. A visitor paying full rates spends ₩65,000.

What else is there, and what to bring

Prices are 2026.

• Snow sled (눈썰매): ₩5,000 for a tube, ₩3,000 back. The tube is theirs; your own sled is not allowed.
• Sky zip line (하늘가르기): 200 m, ₩12,000 from middle school up, ₩5,000 back; 40–100 kg only.
• Indoor ice sculpture plaza: ₩5,000, or ₩3,000 for foreign passport holders, ₩3,000 back.
• Lantern street (선등거리): free, 18:00–23:00 nightly.

Gear. Shops at the fishing areas sold a basic rod set (견지대 세트) for ₩6,000 and hot packs for ₩2,000, so buy those there. Live bait is banned, and artificial lures must be certified eco-friendly. Ice chisels are provided.

Banned from the fishing areas in 2026: food, ice boxes, coolers, foam or paper boxes, tents, windbreaks, stoves, smoking and pets.

Clothes. The site warns about frostbite and the wind along the stream. Wear a long padded coat, a thermal layer, insulated boots and a hat, and bring gloves you can get wet.

You might like: Why Koreans Wear All Black in Winter: The Long Padding Story, before you pack for January.

Staying the night and the free fishing rule

In 2026, visitors from outside the county who stayed at a registered lodging in Hwacheon County could trade the receipt for free fishing tickets.

• Monday to Friday: daytime on-site or reserved fishing, or night fishing, one of these.
• Saturday and Sunday: night fishing only.
• What you bring: the card or cash receipt and ID. A booking text on your phone is not accepted.
• Booked online? Go to the general information centre by the Youth Centre steps. It ran 24 hours during the festival and issued a stay certificate (숙박이용증명서) to take to the fishing desk.
• The catch: no vouchers come with free tickets.

Show your reservation at the information centre and ask. The lodging's address must be in Hwacheon County, so a Chuncheon hotel does not count.

You might like: Seoul Winter Festa 2026 Dates, if you want lanterns without the six hours of travel.

If the winter is warm

The ice is the whole event, and it has failed before. In 2020 warm weather and winter rain pushed the opening back twice, to 27 January. Kukinews also lists cancellations in 2011 (foot-and-mouth disease) and in 2021 and 2022 (Covid-19).

In January 2026 it opened on time, while Pyeongchang's trout festival moved its opening to 9 January for lack of ice. We found no published rule on refunds if fishing is closed, so ask before booking. Our first-snow guide has the official snow dates by city.

How busy is it for foreigners? The 2025 festival drew about 122,000 foreign visitors, the county's figure in Seoul Shinmun. The 2026 count was reported as 106,412 by 31 January, and the total as 1,310,429 by 28 January. We found no final tally.

FAQ

Q: When is the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival 2027?

A: From Saturday 9 January to Sunday 31 January 2027, according to the official site. The lantern street and ice plaza opened about three weeks early in 2026, but their 2027 dates are not posted.

Q: How much is the Hwacheon ice festival ticket in 2027?

A: It is not confirmed. In 2026 an adult paid ₩15,000 and got a ₩5,000 voucher. Hwacheon County is reviewing ₩25,000 with ₩15,000 back in farm vouchers and Hwacheon Love certificates. The official fee page had not changed on 4 November 2026.

Q: Do foreigners pay less at the Hwacheon festival?

A: In 2026, yes: ₩10,000 for fish activities and ₩3,000 for the ice plaza, with proof. The 2027 rate has not been announced.

Q: How do I get from Seoul to the Hwacheon festival?

A: Take the ITX-Cheongchun from Cheongnyangni to Namchuncheon (₩8,300), then a bus from Chuncheon terminal (₩6,300, about 1 hour 13). The direct bus from Dong Seoul takes about 3 hours; its fare is listed at ₩14,400 (before the 1 October 9% rise) and ₩18,900 (terminal data, November), so check when you book. Trazy lists a package at ₩56,200.

Q: Do I need to book in advance?

A: Not to fish. The on-site and foreigners' areas sell tickets at the window, but weekend on-site registration often closes in the morning. The reserved area needs booking, and its 2027 sale date is not posted.

Q: Can I keep the fish?

A: Yes, up to 3 per paying visitor. The grill and sashimi centres charge ₩3,000 per fish (2026), and they cook only what you caught.

Sources

• 2027 dates and 2026 notice: Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival official site (재단법인 나라), read 2 and 4 November 2026.
• Proposed fee and refund: Shinailbo (신아일보), 5 October 2026; MTN, 2 October 2026.
• Fees, vouchers, fishing areas and rules (2026 edition): official pages for fees, vouchers, on-site, reserved and foreigners' fishing, night fishing, bare-hand catching, lodging and free fishing, shop prices, lure fishing, snow sled, zip line, ice plaza, lantern street, information centre, site shuttle, weekend shuttle, farm stalls, grill, sashimi, and directions, read 2 November 2026; fee and directions pages read again 4 November 2026.
• Booking limit and fixed date: official reserved-fishing page. Cancellation charges and sales deadline: NOL Interpark, 2026 listing. Both read 2 November 2026.
• Crowds and sell-outs: Kukinews (쿠키뉴스), 7 January 2026, 24 January 2026, late January 2026 and 1 February 2026; Seoul Shinmun, 15 December 2025.
• Fish numbers and animal-welfare criticism: Jugan Kyunghyang (주간경향), 20 January 2026.
• Warm-weather delays: Seoul Shinmun, 14 January 2020; Pyeongchang's 2026 delay: Asia Economy, 22 December 2025.
• Trains: Korail ITX-청춘 timetable (from 28 February 2026) and ITX-청춘 fare table, read 2 November 2026.
• Buses: terminal data (data.go.kr) via transportation.asamaru.net, updated 1–2 November 2026; older fares and the 16 return buses on the Hwacheon County bus page, read 4 November 2026; 1 October rise: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, 26 August 2026.
• Tour: Trazy, 2027 shuttle package, read 2 November 2026.
• Photos: Korea Tourism Organization Photo Korea (KOGL Type 1); details in the image-sources file.

In short: 9–31 January 2027 is firm, ₩25,000 is not. Go on a weekday if you can, bring your passport, and take the ITX to Namchuncheon.