Festivals to enjoy on Christmas

Trout-themed lanterns light up the streets of Hwacheon County, Gangwon Province, Dec. 17, ahead of the Hwacheon Sancheoneo (mountain trout) Ice Festival. The festival will take place until Jan. 31. / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

This year’s Christmas may not be covered with snow, but Santa Claus certainly won’t need Rudolph’s bright nose to guide his sleigh, as the sky will be lit up with a full moon on Christmas, for the first time in 38 years.

And to greet the new season, various regional festivals will be held throughout the country.

Outdoor skating rinks

One of the major winter trends nowadays is to set up outdoor skating rinks at the country’s major domestic hubs.

An outdoor rink at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall is one of the country’s most popular places for skating. Since opening on Dec. 17, the outdoor rink has seen some 25,000 visitors.

On the occasion of the holidays, the ice rink will extend its operating hours to 3:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Dec. 31. Various kinds of Christmas events including a choir concert, a carol singing competition and a proposal event will also be featured on Christmas Day.

A 13-meter Christmas tree lights up Nature World in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, Tuesday. / Yonhap

The outdoor rink is open to the public until Feb. 9. The entrance fee is 1,000 won (including skate rental fees). For more information, visit www.seoulskate.or.kr.

Ttukseom Hangang Park and Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul will offer sledding slopes starting Christmas Day.

The sledding slopes will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Feb. 14. The Ttukseom Hangang Park slope is located near Ttukseom Resort, subway line 7, while the Yeouido Hangang Park slope is located near Yeouinaru, subway line 5, or National Assembly Station, subway line 9. The entrance fee is 6,000 won.

In southern Seoul, Olympic Park in Songpa-gu opened its outdoor rink on Dec. 17. It runs until Jan. 31 from 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. It costs 1,500 won for entrance and 500 won for skate rental.

For those who want to enjoy outdoor skating, but also being near the beach, Haeundae Beach in the southern port city of Busan also has built an outdoor rink from Dec. 12.

The ice rink is 61-meters by 30-meters, the same size as an official Olympic speed skating rink. This is the first year it is in operation. It runs until February.

Visitors enjoy skating on the outdoor ice rink at Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall, Sunday. / Yonhap

Winter illuminations

Celebrating the Christmas holidays is not just limited to outdoor skating.

The Busan Christmas Tree Festival, Busan’s famous annual winter event, is taking place in the Gwangbok-ro area, the most famous fashion street in the country’s second-largest city, from Nov. 28 to Jan. 3, 2016.

During the festival, the streets are decked out with Christmas trees and lights, providing holiday photo ops for Busan residents with a rare chance to enjoy snow. There are no entrance fees and people of all ages are welcome to attend. For more information, visit www.bctf.kr.

A 13-meter Christmas tree and a total of 6 million LED lights are lit up at Nature World, a venue for the Taean Light Festival in Taean, located on the west coast area in South Chungcheong Province.

The venue holds a themed festival for each season — tulips in spring, lilies in summer, flowers in autumn and lights in winter. The cost is 7,000 won for children and 9,000 won for adults. For more information, visit www.ffestival.co.kr.

Goyang City in northern Gyeonggi Province is holding its inaugural winter light festival.

Until Jan. 10, Ilsan Lake Park will be illuminated with romantic lanterns and a Christmas-themed installations, turning the park into a winter wonderland. The lighting hours are from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. during weekdays and from 5 p.m. to 12 p.m. during weekends.

At Yonsei-ro, the car-free street running from Sinchon Station to Yonsei University in western Seoul, an annual Christmas street festival will take place until Saturday.

During this period, a series of concerts will be held featuring prominent musicians such as the Lindenbaum Festival Orchestra and John Park, while children can have fun at the playground or watch a puppet show.

Seoul Christmas Festival, taking place at Cheonggye Plaza in downtown Seoul, brightens up the holiday mood. With a large Christmas tree and colorful lanterns, the plaza turns into Santa’s Wonderland at night once the sun sets.

Christmas Day at amusement parks

Major amusement parks around the country will also hold Christmas-themed events this weekend.

At Lotte World in southern Seoul, the Happy Christmas festival will continue until Dec. 27. Along with an eight-meter-tall Christmas tree and photo zones, the park is decorated with a Christmas theme to create Santa’s Wonderland brought indoors.

At Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, a party event titled “Christmas Fantasy” will be held until the end of this year. To celebrate the first Christmas full moon in 38 years, a “Lucky Moon Concert” featuring popular local bands such as Playmode will be held twice a day for 40 minutes each at no cost.

There will also be a Christmas parade through the park. The first 700 visitors will have a chance to purchase a lucky box including seven kinds of character merchandise for 35,000 won.

At Seoulland in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, different kinds of performances including a magic show, a puppet show and a live concert featuring musical actors will be held until Dec. 27.