Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival

*The following describes the 2026 festival; details for 2027 are being updated.* The Ice Land Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival, held in Hwacheon, Gangwon-do, is an unusual winter festival chosen by CNN in 2011 as one of the 'seven wonders of winter'. It is held each January when the Hwacheoncheon Stream, famous for its clear water, freezes solid, and you can try catching sancheoneo — mountain trout known as the queen of the valley — through ice fishing and bare-handed catching. Beyond the feel of a bite on the line, the fish can be eaten raw or grilled on the spot, and ice sleds, snow sleds, bobsleds and other winter games draw more than a million visitors a year.