Local Festivals to Resume as Korea Returns to Normal

Traditional local festivals that have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic will resume as Korea starts a phased return to normal early next month.

First up is Inje in Gangwon Province with its annual Icefish Festival, one of the country's most popular winter festivals.

"It was uncertain until last month whether the festival will be able to open due to the prolonged pandemic, but we recently decided to go ahead and are making a detailed plan," an official at the Inje regional government said Monday.

The Icefish Festival takes place every January and attracts over 200,000 visitors but was canceled this year. The Sancheoneo Ice Festival is also expected to go ahead in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province in January next year.

Already this Saturday, Haenam in South Jeolla Province will launch a two-day tour program for fully vaccinated people.

Visitors are taken around major tourist attractions including Mihwang Temple, Daeheung Temple and a village on the southernmost tip of the Korean Peninsula. They will take a 45-seat bus, but the number of passengers will be limited to 21. The fee is W119,000 for a group of four (US$1=W1,188).

A travel agency started to sell the tour on Oct. 8 and is getting some 30 phone calls a day.