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Start
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Snow Festival
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Coal Museum
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Hill of Wind
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Yongyeon Cave
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Chujeon Station
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Hwangji Pond
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V-Train
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Buncheon Station
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Coal Mine History Town
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Paleozoic Museum
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Gumunso
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Finish
Festival for Only Ten Days in a Year, Taebaek Mountain Snow Festival
In Gangwon-do, the weather gets really cold in winter so there are festivals with a theme of snow and ice held every year. Among them, Taebaek-si holds the festival that represents winter in Korea called Taebaek Mountain Snow Festival for the 22nd time this year. Most winter festivals are held in December or January and the festival period, 10 days from January 23 to February 1, would be the last ticket to the winter kingdom for travellers who (their own will or against their will) have been too lazy to enjoy the winter. I couldn't see snow this year because of drought so I had to head for Taebaek to enjoy the snow.
The festival is held in a wide area of Taebaek Mountain Provincial Park and there are events and ice sculptures to help people to celebrate snow in many places within Taebaek-si including Jungang-ro and Hwangji Pond, but I headed to the main stage of the festival, Danggol Square in Taebaek Mountain Provincial Park.
Even before I went there, I saw the news about the crowds but as it represents Korean winter festival where so many tourists visit every year, there was a big free parking lot. Plus, they offered a free shuttle bus between the parking lot and event hall so if you're taking the bus, it would be good for your knees. FYI, it takes 15 minutes on foot from the parking lot under the event hall to the ticket office.
Taebaek Mountain Snow Festival is held in Danggol Square of Taebaek Mountain Provincial Park so you're going to have to pay to enter the park. During the festival period, visitors are supposed to use another parking lot other than the park parking lot so I only needed to pay for the entrance fee. When you get in, you'll be able to see Taebaek mountain climbing contest, ice sculptures and Taebaek Coal Museum for free, or pay for folk games or other foods.
As a representative winter festival of Korea, there were so many visitors even during the week. But I did not bump into anyone yet so it made me feel better. ^^*
Even before I got to Danggol Square, the main stage of festival, there were many interesting events everywhere including Hwaneui Hill with a waterwheel and a pond where you can enjoy various activities.
I found an event to make traditional Korean rice cake that they pound hot glutinous rice with a rice-cake mallet. If you feel strong enough, you need to do this, it's quite fun. These days, rice cakes are made in the machine in a factory so this is kinda new to kids and when their dads made rice cakes, the kids could enjoy eating them. Not only that, there are various snacks available.
Next to rice cake corner, they were selling snacks from old times. You can heat it up in briquettete fire. The snacks here are junk food from the 80s like Jjondeugi that you can't see in a big market, but the parents could share their memories with their kids by sharing the snacks from their childhood.
This is an ice slide for which the kids and adults were standing in line. You could just pick one of the packages spread on the ice, sit on it and slide down. It's free yet funny so it was the most popular play there. The slide wasn't so steep but it is still ice so the people were sliding so fast. ^^*
On our way out, I saw an enormous ice tree. This year, the weather was warmer than other years so I couldn't even see icicle and the enormous ice tree was great just like the winter festival is supposed to show.
In front of the big snow sculpture, everybody including adults and kids look like they're gone back to their childhood. I could hear their “wow" everywhere while they took photos and I could totally get it because it's only for 10 days a year so they would have to keep the views in their memory and photos.
The big snow sculpture exhibition has art pieces by professionals so there were a lot of people watching them and if you get behind the exhibition and go up, there are art works by college students as well. There are a few people so you can take your time to take around, only, some part of snow was collapsed because of warm weather.
Taebaek Mountain Snow Festival has so many pretty artworks so it attracted more female visitors than males, and it was fun to watch them taking pictures saying that their faces pop up with natural lighting surrounded by white snow. I loved to see middle-aged women were giggling as well.
These are not the only ones here, there are more throughout the Taebaek-si area. Whenever I go I could see them while traveling Taebaek.
Most people stay at Danggol Square, main stage of the festival, to see ice sculptures and enjoy eating at the market but behind the square, there is a trail to the peak of Taebaek Mountain, Munsubong(peak). It's 4.3km route, which is not so long, but the floors were frozen and the snow laid deep and thick so you're going to have to wear climbing irons and take hiking sticks. You can't climb up with regular running shoes.
To the right of the entrance of trail, there's Dangun Shrine that enshrines Dangun(legendary founding father of Gojoseon). I'd be nice to relax here where you can find Korean beauty away from loud event hall.
The news said it was going to snow heavily but it was right before snow so it was so shiny. But after an hour after I took this picture, it started to snow like there's a big hole in the sky. It snows deep and heavy in this town once it starts to snow, so you'd better take your winter equipment for your car.
The trail looked so beautiful that I had to check, and up there, it was all snow and ice on the floor because it wasn't even melt. It was difficult to make a step forward due to too much snow. If you're wearing winter equipment, you'd better give up and just enjoy the view. For your information, Snow Climbing Contest is held on this route on the last day of Taebaek Mountain Snow Festival, February 1(Sunday). It's very famous for beautiful flowers in Korea.
There's a sledding slope close to Coal Museum but it's not free. Kids and the old people can enjoy sliding over snow in a sleigh. Refer to the price information at the end.
The another thing you could enjoy in a festival would be food!! The local people living around Taebaek Mountain Provincial Park were selling food to tourists and visitors. From Gangwon-do traditional snacks to noodles, meat or Bibimbap, you can find anything here.
Once you're in Taebaek, Gangwon-do, you'd better its special food, cabbage pancake and Memil jeonbyeong(buckwheat crepe). I couldn't stop eating delicious and light taste of cabbage pancake and Memil jeonbyeon with spicy stuffing, and after I finished one dish of spicy Tteok-bokki(stir-fried rice cake) I could say goodbye to festival.
Taebaek Mountain Snow Festival begins on January 23 and ends on February 1(Sunday), and I guess it's the last winter festival before this winter ends. At the end of the festival, various performances and snow climbing contest are held so if you don't want to let go of winter yet, you could join them as well.
+ Festival period : January 23, 2015 (Fri.) - February 1, 2015 (Sun.)
+ Operating Hours : 10:00 ~ 18:00 (Night program closes at 20:00)
+ Entrance fees : Adult: 2,000 won, Adolescent: 1,500 won, Child: 700 won (Free parking)
+ Sled fees : Younger than elementary schooler: 4,000 won, Older than middle schooler: 5,000 won
+ Address : 325, Sodo-dong, Taebaek-si, Gangwon-do / 162, Jecheondan-gil, Taebaek-si
+ Telephone : 033-550-2741~4 (Taebaek Mountain Provincial Park)
