Hwacheon County to Host Santa and Elf from Rovaniemi, Finland, January 16-26

Hwacheon County Invites Santa to the 2026 Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival
9,682 Letters Arrive at Hwacheon Santa Post Office
Visits to Festival Venues and Family Centers
Creating Unforgettable Memories for Children

The "Real Santa Claus" and the elf from Santa Village in Rovaniemi, Finland, will visit the 2026 Ice Country Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival.

Santa Claus and the elf from Santa Village in Rovaniemi, Finland, who visited the 2025 Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival site. Provided by Hwacheon County

Hwacheon County will invite the real Santa and elf from the Santa Post Office in Rovaniemi, Finland, to Hwacheon from January 16 to 26, during the festival period.

From January 17, the day after their arrival, until January 25, the day before their departure, Santa and the elf will create unforgettable memories for young visitors at the festival site and the Santa Post Office.

They will also participate in the Seondeung Street Night Festival program and visit various local educational and welfare facilities, including the Hwacheon Children's Library, Sanae Library, and the Hwacheon Community Center.

In particular, on January 22 at 2 p.m., Santa and the elf will hold a unique park golf match with children from Hwacheon at the Sancheoneo Park Golf Course in Georye-ri, Hanam-myeon.

Hwacheon County and Rovaniemi, Finland, both members of the World Winter Cities Association for Mayors, signed an agreement in 2017 to establish a Santa Post Office in Hwacheon.

The following year, in 2018, Hwacheon County opened the Santa Post Office in Hwacheon-eup.

The Hwacheon Santa Post Office serves as the official Korean branch of the Santa Post Office in Rovaniemi, Finland, where letters to Santa Claus from all over the country are gathered.

Over the past year, a total of 9,682 letters arrived at the Hwacheon Santa Post Office.

Photo of Real Santa visiting the Sancheoneo Festival on January 13, 2024. Provided by Hwacheon County

Children who sent letters received replies from Santa, postmarked by the Finnish Santa Post Office, around Christmas last month.

Choi Moonsun, Governor of Hwacheon County, said, "I hope many people will come to the 2026 Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival to meet Santa Claus from Finland, make wonderful memories, and enjoy the festival."