January is one of the coldest months in Korea, but instead of shutting themselves up at home in the warm, millions of people bundle up and head out to ice-covered lakes outside of Seoul. The time has come to go icefishing.
At an Icefish Festival, a large section of ice, around 40cm thick, has many large holes drilled in it. To take part, you can buy a basic rod and choose a hole, and then just fish away there until you catch one. A team of trained chefs onsite will slice and dice your fish, and you are encouraged to cook and eat it there and then. The festivals usually have strict rules about how many fish you are allowed to catch, and ban alcohol on the ice for safety reasons.
Here are three festivals worth checking out if you’re heading to Korea this month:
Hwachaeon Sancheno Ice Festival, Jan 14-Feb 5
Hwacheon, a mountainous town northeast of Seoul, is famous for its Sancheono, a type of trout. You can also get a bit more hands-on, as there’s an icy pool you can get into wearing a T-shirt and shorts, and grab a fish with your bare hands. They also have a night fishing event. A reserved space for foreigners is available too.
Inje Icefish Festival, Jan 14-22
Smelt is the main variety of fish you can catch at this festival. There’s a fish eating competition, and non-fishing visitors can taste fish for free, and take part in other ice-based activities such as human bowling and ice soccer. The official site is in Korean only.
Jaraseom Sing Sing Winter Festival, Jan 6-Feb 5
Part of the lake is manually frozen and fed with fresh trout for this festival’s icefish experience. There’s some music events as well as the fishing. The official site is in Korean only but this blogger gives a good rundown of what to expect.
