"First Snow and Ice in Their Lives"... Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival Draws Crowds of Southeast Asian Tourists

Hwacheon County Surpasses 35,000 Foreign Visitors from Taiwan, Vietnam, and More
Southeast Asian Tourists Delight in Their First-Ever Winter Experience
On-the-Ground Local Marketing Proves Effective; Familiarization Tours for Travel Agency Representatives Also Underway

The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival, which has established itself as a world-renowned winter festival, continues to attract tourists from Southeast Asia, where there is no winter season.

On the 17th, Southeast Asian tourists visiting the festival site are enjoying the Sancheoneo Festival program. Provided by Hwacheon County

Since its opening on January 10, 2026, a total of 35,788 foreign tourists visited the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival during the first weekend alone, as of the tenth day, January 19.

The majority of foreign tourists came from Southeast Asian countries without a winter season, such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand, to visit Hwacheon.

With the school holiday season in Taiwan beginning after January 20, the number of foreign visitors is expected to increase even more rapidly.

Large travel agencies from various Southeast Asian countries, which have built close cooperative relationships with Hwacheon County, are sending buses with group tourists to the festival site every day.

These tourists board buses in Seoul and other cities at 9 a.m. and arrive in Hwacheon around 11 a.m. each day, where they fully enjoy the festival.

On the 17th, Southeast Asian tourists visiting the festival site are enjoying the Sancheoneo Festival program. Provided by Hwacheon County

In addition to group tourists from overseas travel agencies, a diverse range of independent foreign travelers residing in Korea are also making their way to Hwacheon every day.

Most of them are stepping onto the ice for the first time in their lives, eagerly taking out their smartphones to capture this once-in-a-lifetime experience on camera.

Some Muslim tourists visit the prayer room provided by Hwacheon County at the festival site to perform their religious rituals.

Every year, Choi Moonsun, the governor of Hwacheon County, personally visits four to five Southeast Asian countries to meet with travel agency representatives and promote the festival packages.

It is not just about selling packages; he also listens carefully to their requests and complaints, incorporating their feedback into the following year's festival.

This year, the familiarization tour for representatives of Vietnamese and Taiwanese travel agencies, scheduled for January 24, is also part of these efforts to keep such promises.

On the 17th, Southeast Asian tourists visiting the festival site are enjoying the Sancheoneo Festival program. Provided by Hwacheon County

Choi Moonsun, Governor of Hwacheon County, said, "Many children and even adults in Southeast Asia have never seen snow before, so this will be a unique experience for them. I hope they will cherish the joyful winter memories they made in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, and return again next year."