Located in the northernmost part of Korea, Goseong, Gangwon-do, is a special place from which to view the sunrise on New Year’s Day. It is also known as the starting point for the Geumgangsan Mountain trip to North Korea, so the sunrise festival features a variety of programs that bring together North Koreans living in the South, Goseong residents, and tourists in a ceremony to wish for reunification, a bell-striking ceremony, and the release of wish-balloons into the sky. The Sunrise Festival is held on January 1 on Hwajinpo Beach, a famous film location of the TV drama Autumn in My Heart. Visitors can take part in hands-on programs such as hope-balloon flying and a candle lighting ceremony. Afterwards, there will be a shamanistic ceremony called gut to wish for reunification, followed by music by a military band, a drum combo, and folk performances.

Inje Icefish Festival will be held at Soyangho Lake in Inje. At this spectacular winter festival visitors will be able to try out ice fishing and exciting games such as human bowling on ice, ice soccer, and even a tug-of-war on ice. For those icefish fanatics there will be an icefish eating competition, and visitors can sample the icefish for free.

Boryeong Sea Mud Exhibition is held for 31 days in the summer with a target of 1.2 million visitors. It will combine with Boryeong Mud Festival to promote the benefits of mud and expand the ocean industry. The exhibition will have various ocean related booths as well as experience programs and events for visitors to enjoy.

Daedunsan Mountain Surak Valley Ice Festival offers a wide range of memorable winter activities including mini-bobsledding, ice sledding, traditional sledding, an igloo play area, traditional Korean winter activities area, playground with snow, ice slide, igloo cafe, outdoor food market. The festival will also include ice sculptures, snow sculptures, and photo zones.

[Event introduction] Ulsan Grand Park Light Festival started in 2016 to provide citizen more enjoyment during winter. For the past two years, more than 250,000 visitors have come to the festival with over 40% of the visitors from outside of Ulsan. This year’s festival with a title “Draw the light dream,” offering 5 different themes, will be held for 51 days from December 8, 2018 to January 27, 2019. The highlight of the festival is the 11m high star structure in front of the Rose Garden Fountain where amazing multimedia lighting show will be displayed.

The International Percussion Festival mainly led by professor Choi Jong-shil, the pioneer of Samulnori, is the nation’s first festival devoted to the percussion instrument and its musicians. Gaining a huge popularity at the Korean Festival Exhibition, this 4-day festival will be held to promote the excellence of Samcheonpo Korean farm music with 12 episodes, which was designated as Intangible Asset No. 11 and the Hanryo Maritime culture. Performance Guide: The festival’s hightlight is Samcheonpo Korean farm music containing 12 episodes. The Samcheonpo Korean farm music mainly consists of Street Military Music that was used by military personnel when they played Obangjinchigi. The first episode is a stage to have Obangjinpuri, which means soldiers are guarding the enemy’s territory after taking it. The second episode is a stage for the soldiers to feel safety and to gather around for a feast after capturing their enemy. In the third episode, farm musicians will spin the Sangmo (Korean hat with a ribbon) and present acrobatic performances by laying their bodies sideways. All 12 episodes will create unique and exciting performances. During the festival period, the Percussion Instrument Festival will also be held with the participation of world famous percussionists from the US, Taiwan, Japan, France and Brazil. As an additional event, the Percussion Instrument Exhibition will display 1,000 kinds of musical instruments. What’s more, there will be a World Percussion Musical Academic Convention, a National Percussion Musical Contest, and a Percussion Musical Experience. Festival Highlights: During the festival, visitors can learn all about the traditional percussion music around the world and experience the traditional Korean folk cultures at ‘Goyouje’ and ‘Gilnori,’ which pray for the successful opening of the festival. ‘Goyouje’, a ritual ceremony to pray for success before any important event, will show a glimpse of what traditional Korean religious services are all about, whereas the ‘Gilnori’ will show what real Korean folk plays are all about by showing Pungmulpae and mask dance performances. Sacheon is also a very good tourist place to visit since there are famous destinations like Samcheonpo Bridge, Namildae Elephant Rock, Bongmyeong Mountain, and Dasolsa.

In celebration of the Jeongwol Daeboreum holiday held during the largest full moon of the year, Nonsan Jeongwol Daeboreum Festival is held to host annual rituals and provide a place for families to spend time together. The festival’s activities also include juldarigi (tug of war) in Nonsan-si, jegichagi (Korean hacky sack), a kite-flying contest for families to paint the sky, writing a family motto, neolttwigi (Korean seesawing jumping), rolling a hoop, paengichigi (top spinning), and other folk game activities.

The Daegu International Musical Festival (DIMF) is the only exclusive international musical festival in Korea. It aims at developing musical theater into an industry through which the beauty and joy of the arts can be appreciated by both international citizens and local residents. In pursuit of this dream, DIMF has made every effort to encourage domestically created musicals, nurture the upcoming musical generation, and reach new audiences. DIMF, despite being a relatively new cultural event of Daegu, has firmly established itself as a veritable marketplace where producers and directors can exchange ideas and experience a variety of new and diverse musical interpretations. DIMF is not only a stage for the performing arts, but also continues to develop in its role as a delightfully inspiring means of entertainment and recreation.

Muju Namdaecheon Stream Ice Festival is held in areas near Muju Namdaecheon Stream. Visitors can take part in many fun winter activities including fishing for trout, sledding and more.