[Report] The Long-Awaited Taste of Hands... 'Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival'

'2023 Eoreum Nara Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival' Held from Jan 7 to 29
About 129,000 Visitors on Opening Day...Traffic Congestion and Parking Inconvenience
Over 100m Wide Giant Ice Fishing Site...Hwacheon-gun Focuses on Safety
Snow Sledding, Ice Sculptures, Lantern Street, Experience Zones Draw Tourist Crowds

On the 7th, tourists are enjoying ice fishing at the Hwacheoncheon Sancheoneo Festival site in Hwacheon-gun, Gangwon Province. Photo by Ra Young-cheol

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] The fierce cold of the first weekend of the Year of the Rabbit has eased, bringing somewhat milder weather.

At the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival site in Gangwon Province, the cloudy sky gradually cleared as the afternoon progressed. Fine dust levels remain poor.

However, the atmosphere at the festival, which resumed after a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19, was more vibrant than ever, reflecting the long-awaited return.

People sitting or lying down at the massive ice fishing spots pressed their faces close to the ice holes, filling the frozen Hwacheoncheon River as they fished for sancheoneo (Korean trout).

Each person cast their fishing rods in their own way, moving their arms continuously, fully immersed in sancheoneo fishing.

A tourist who caught a sancheoneo is enjoying. Photo by Ra Youngcheol

Jung Chae-eun from Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, said, "It's so much fun, and winter seems like a really enjoyable season. My husband and I came here on a whim."

Some find the repeated raising and lowering of the fishing rod to the rhythm of music even more enjoyable than catching sancheoneo.

In front of their child, a father tried to show off his honed fishing skills but lost face as sancheoneo were hard to catch.

Shortly after, cheers erupted from the other side where someone caught a sancheoneo. Seeing this, he quickly changed his bait and cast his rod again.

A veteran angler who caught several fish shared sancheoneo with tourists who failed to catch any. Visitors are allowed to take home no more than three fish.

Tourists Enjoying Skydiving and Sledding
Photo by Ra Youngcheol

Jeon Jin-woo from Chuncheon said, "Hwacheon is my hometown, so I come every year since the first festival. I plan to share some of the sancheoneo I caught today with acquaintances and eat the rest grilled and as sashimi."

Namgung Hyun-kyung from Busan said, "This is my second time at the festival, the first in three years. Previously, we had to drill the ice holes ourselves, but now they are pre-drilled, which is better. This festival seems better equipped with convenience facilities and grilling areas."

Besides sancheoneo fishing, families can enjoy sledding, ice bobsledding, sky gliding, and snow sledding on the ice surface.

Visitors also have fun taking commemorative photos at the ice wall sculptures and lantern street in the festival area. However, slippery ice patches remain hazardous, so caution is needed to avoid falls.

Tourists are taking commemorative photos in front of the ice wall sculpture installed at the festival site. Photo by Ra Youngcheol

Tourists continued to visit the indoor ice sculpture plaza set up in the disaster evacuation facility in Hwacheon-eup.

The ice sculptures, glowing with multicolored lights, seem alive. They rival the famous Harbin Ice Festival in China.

This is an artistic space where visitors can see and experience the world's largest indoor ice lanterns firsthand.

Seo Gwang-won from Incheon said, "I didn't expect it to be this big. There are many and diverse ice sculptures. It's great to see with my baby, and since the baby really enjoys it, I'm glad we came," expressing satisfaction.

Indoor Ice Sculpture Plaza Embracing Multicolored Lights [Photo by Ra Youngcheol]

Kim Bo-young from Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, said, "I came to the Sancheoneo Festival seven years ago and had a great time. I couldn't come during COVID, but since it reopened this year, I came with my three kids and husband. Parking was inconvenient due to limited space."

Right next to the ice sculpture plaza is the Sancheoneo Coffee Museum, which showcases the history and culture of coffee worldwide.

The process of how a cup of coffee is born is displayed at a glance. It’s an atmosphere where visitors can discuss coffee themes.

Visitors can see coffee artifacts carefully collected over 30 years by curator James Lee, a coffee relic collector who traveled the world.

They also enjoyed the luxury of tasting freshly roasted coffee. For some reason, the taste was distinctly different from the coffee they usually drink.

The Sancheoneo Coffee Museum exhibits coffee artifacts from around the world. Photo by Ra Young-cheol

Restaurants at the festival site and nearby shops were bustling with tourists, enjoying a special economic boost.

Merchants welcomed the crowd, saying, "We were worried since the festival was held for the first time in three years, but we were surprised to see so many tourists."

Lines at the ordering counters grew longer as time passed. Paying 3,000 won at the grilling area, visitors ordered one grilled sancheoneo.

Within five minutes, the golden-brown grilled sancheoneo was served. The taste of sancheoneo cooked over charcoal was savory and mild.

Foreigners are enjoying the taste of grilled sancheoneo. Photo by Ra Young-cheol

When paying the ice fishing experience fee, part of it is returned as a local agricultural specialty exchange voucher (5,000 won). Also, the Hwacheon Love Gift Certificates, widely circulated during the festival, help boost the local economy.

The opening performance was enjoyed on the suspension bridge above the ice fishing site. Around 6:30 p.m., fireworks decorating the night sky marked a spectacular festival opening.

According to Hwacheon County, about 129,000 people visited the festival site by 6 p.m. on the first day of the Sancheoneo Festival on the 7th.

As the full-scale winter festival began, tourists visiting the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival enjoyed the winter atmosphere throughout the day.

Festival Venue Restaurant [Ra Young-cheol]

Meanwhile, Hwacheon County deploys a disaster safety rescue team every dawn during the festival to dive and check the ice thickness and freezing conditions, focusing on safety.

Safety personnel are stationed along access routes connecting various parts of the festival site, and traffic control staff are deployed at key points, but parking inconveniences persist.

Staying overnight in Hwacheon grants free night fishing for sancheoneo and weekday ice fishing. Accommodation information is available at the festival’s general information center.

Hwacheon County Governor Choi Moon-soon emphasized, "The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival is a representative winter festival of Korea and one of the world's four major winter festivals. You need to see and enjoy it comprehensively to truly experience the flavor of a winter festival."

He added, "We focus on a safe festival and one that satisfies tourists, operating the festival with preparations for various incidents and accidents."

The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival continues until the 29th of this month.