Inje County Halts Smelt Festival Amid Climate Crisis... Shifts Focus to Year-Round Tourism

The Inje County Cultural Foundation announced that the 2026 Inje Smelt Festival has been canceled due to the inability to prepare the event site, as freezing conditions could not be met amid the ongoing climate crisis.

The decision was made after a comprehensive review of on-site conditions and safety, concluding that forcing the festival could lead to safety accidents.

View of Inje County Office.

The Inje Smelt Festival is Inje County's signature winter event, centered around smelt fishing on ice. According to the foundation, the water level of the Soyang River Dam must be maintained at around 183 meters to ensure stable ice formation.

However, the current water level at the Soyang River Dam remains in the upper 185-meter range, leaving parts of the event site still submerged.

In addition, as winter temperatures have not dropped sufficiently, ice formation has not yet occurred across the event site.

The foundation determined that, under these conditions, it is difficult to even prepare the event site, and it is unlikely that adequate ice and safety can be secured in a short period of time.

The Inje Smelt Festival was last held in 2023, attracting about 200,000 visitors at the time. Given its significant impact on the local economy, there is ongoing disappointment over the repeated cancellations in recent years.

On December 11, 2025, the Inje County Cultural Foundation held a community forum at the Nam-myeon Administrative Welfare Center to share the current situation and gather residents' opinions on the future direction of the festival.

During the forum, participants discussed the challenges facing winter festivals in the era of climate crisis and explored various alternatives to enhance the festival's sustainability.

Meanwhile, Inje County is pursuing a strategy to expand the focus of local tourism to all four seasons amid the continued absence of the smelt festival.

In the summer, the county hosts the "Inje Love Summer Love Festival," and in the fall, the "Inje Autumn Flower Festival," aiming to attract tourists and invigorate the region through festivals that highlight each season's unique characteristics.

In addition, the county is implementing the "Soyang Lake Four-Season Tourism Destination Development Project" as a mid- to long-term tourism strategy, leveraging the natural scenery and ecological resources of Soyang Lake. This project involves creating a comprehensive ecological tourism site in the areas of Sinnam-ri and Bupyeong-ri in Nam-myeon, with plans to sequentially carry out land reclamation, the construction of camping-style plazas, and the establishment of water leisure facilities.

Furthermore, Inje County is also promoting themed tourism hub projects, such as the creation of lakeside walking trails and observation decks around Soyang Lake, as well as the development of eco-friendly, multi-purpose ecological experience spaces.

The county aims to foster the Soyang Lake area as a year-round destination for extended stays and to establish a sustainable tourism infrastructure that is resilient to climate change.