10 Outdoor Activities you can enjoy in Korea during winter
Winter in Korea is easily associated with extreme cold and terrifying chills, which is understandable as the temperature drops in late November and begins to warm up in early March. Although the wind that blows is strong and really cold, the degree varies from place to place in the country, with some regions having more bearable weather during this season. Unfortunately, no matter how mild the weather may be in some parts, it is still freezing in Korea. Hence, it is highly recommended that you exercise caution when travelling to Korea during the winter season.
There are so many outdoor activities to make winter a wonderful time to visit Korea, from climbing Ice Mountains to enjoying amazing festivals that come to life when winter arrives to devouring delicious meals that seem even more delicious with the chills. So, there is absolutely no reason to shy away from going out. With the thick clothing and other necessities, you would be comfortable and reasonably warm to enjoy the fun outdoor activities you choose. With that said, here are the 10 outdoor activities to make you enjoy your time in Korea during winter:
10 outdoor activities to enjoy in Korea during the winter
First and foremost, while fashion and styling are important, functionality and keeping warm are essential, especially since you’re considering enjoying the outdoor activities Korea is popular for. Thick coats and tops, gloves, hats, jackets, good winter boots, etc. should be part of your clothing items for this season. Do not forget to stay hydrated, and an investment in a nice moisturiser would be very beneficial to your skin and your general well-being. Thankfully, Korean convenience stores and shops are saturated with effective portable heat packs that come in handy to keep you a bit warm during the cold weather. With that said, let’s dive in:
- Fun Skiing
- Ice skating
- Sightseeing in magical Korean winter wonderlands
- Ice fishing
- Attending exciting winter festivals
- Winter Hiking
- Sledding
- Korean winter street food sampling
- Enjoying the winter snow
- Strawberry picking
OK! LETS DIG IN.
1. Fun Skiing
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Skiing can confidently take the record for being one of the most popular outdoor activities in Korea during the winter season. Thankfully, Korea is filled with so many amazing ski resorts where one can safely enjoy this winter sport and delight in other cool activities, enjoy sumptuous meals, and possibly make new friends. You can rent the gear at an affordable price, and they come in a variety of sizes to accommodate everyone.
Some resorts offer one-day tours or trips that include a mini excursion around the resort to explore the area, seamless equipment rental, and lessons for beginners and those who have zero experience with skiing. The top resorts in Korea are; Elysian Gangchon Resort, Bears Town Ski Resort, Alpensia Ski Resort, High 1 Ski Resort, Jisan Forest Ski Resort, Oak Valley Ski Resort, and Vivaldi Ski World. Apart from skiing, which provides a wonderful winter experience, these resorts are a must-visit during the winter season in Korea.
2. Ice skating
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Ice skating is another very popular winter outdoor activity in Korea that results in a fun-filled, exhilarating, and very rewarding day. There is no winter in Korea without a visit to the cool ice rinks in the country to gain access to skating for very affordable entrance fees. These admission fees cover the time on the ice rink and the skate rental. With ice skating, you feel like a free spirit moving gracefully over the ice, and if you’re learning, getting a hold of the cool jumps, spins, and footwork can be an amazing feeling.
The Seoul Plaza ice rink, the Olympic Park Ice rink, and the Sheraton Walkerhill Ice Rink provide the facility for ice skating, in addition to a lovely view. Ice skating can serve as a nice family fun activity for everyone to relax as they glide over the ice, a means of clearing the mind, and having a nice time during the cold winter season in Korea.
3. Sightseeing in magical Korean winter wonderlands
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Apart from the amazing theme parks and wonderful resorts, there are many lovely places to visit in Korea that take on a wintery aura. For instance, the gorgeous Garden of Morning Calm, lovely Petite France, the breathtaking Nami Island, the fairytale-themed Edelweiss Swiss, and the mind-blowing temples. These locations are usually surrounded by the essence and loveliness of nature, and then the decorations and the magic of winter turn them into the most gorgeous destinations. So, even with the cold weather, it is no surprise that these places are the busiest tourist attractions in Korea during winter.
In addition, when Christmas comes in December, everywhere takes on a more beautiful form with plenty of intriguing decorations and flashy lights, and the streets bustle with performances and the sweet spirit of the season. So while sightseeing, if you don’t choose a destination to appreciate, the beauty of Christmas meets you on the streets and malls. Let’s not forget the exciting Christmas shopping that is the highlight of the fun. As a result, sightseeing is one of the best outdoor activities you can do during your winter visit to Korea.
4. Ice fishing
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If fishing is your thing, then ice fishing should be on your list of outdoor activities for the winter while in Korea. And if it is not, there is no harm in trying something new, especially when the exercise in question is usually situated in very beautiful places. When you travel to Korea during the winter season, you will come across snowfalls, frozen rivers, and lovely icy waterfalls. Then, among the many outdoor activities that come to life in winter, the ice fishing festival is one that is highly anticipated.
The Hongcheon River Trout Festival is one of the most popular ice fishing festivals in Korea, which involves grabbing the fish with one’s hands. Many also look forward to the Inje Icefish Festival for the perks of cooking, devouring the fish’s parts, and other fun winter activities that take place during the event. Another unforgettable festival is the Daegwallyeong Snow Festival, which is packed with so many fun-filled winter games to enjoy. Other nice ice fishing festivals include the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival, the Cheongpyeong Snow Trout Ice Festival, the Chilgapsan Ice Fountain Festival, the Pyeongchang Ice Festival, and the Gapyeong Ice Festival. Whether you love fishing or not, these festivals are so exciting and promise to be worth being in the cold.
5. Attending exciting winter festivals
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If there is one outdoor activity that would certainly make your winter season a wonderful one when you travel to Korea, it is attending the winter festivals. These festivals offer an unforgettable experience for everyone, from children to adults to the elderly. There is something for everyone in the Herb Island Light Festival, Garden of Morning Calm Winter Light Festival, Busan Christmas Tree Cultural Festival, Jeju Winter Festival, or Taebaeksan Mountain Snow Festival.
The winter festivals in Korea all have distinct features that make them special, such as creative illuminations and displays, mouthwatering meals, cool competitions, and other side attractions that make you enjoy winter in Korea. If you choose to go out during the cold winter while in Korea, it should be to enjoy the winter festivals.
6. Winter Hiking
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Hiking is a popular outdoor activity during all seasons in Korea, and if the cold wouldn’t stop Koreans from hiking in the winter, it shouldn’t stop you either. Lovers of hiking would know what a wonderful activity it is, especially since you also get to see snow become a gorgeous covering over some of the mountains. But for those who don’t know and would like to experience it, rest assured that it is one of the best things to enjoy during winter in Korea. The breathtaking scenery, amazing therapy of being in nature, and exercise are some of the reasons why hiking is a cool outdoor activity for winter. Luckily for beginners, the mountains have levels to ensure you stick to the challenge you can handle.
While hiking in Korea during the winter is relatively safe, one needs to be extra cautious. For starters, you need to put on the right clothing, ranging from warm layers of clothes to hiking boots, gloves, neck warmers, and hats. Then don’t forget to pack up food and water, just in case. The clothes would keep your body protected from the cold while climbing, the boots would keep your feet warm and steady as you went over snowy and icy paths, and the other essentials would help you stay warm while hiking. Some of the places where one can enjoy winter hiking include Hallasan National Park, Deogyusan National Park, Seoraksan National Park, Jirisan National Park, and Sobaeksan National Park.
7. Sledding
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Some theme parks in Korea, like Seoul Land, Ttukseom Hangang Park, and Everland, have sledding hills to make the winter season a period of massive fun. The popular resorts in the country usually include sledding as part of their side attractions to guarantee pure entertainment. Sledding is one of the most basic outdoor winter activities, requiring little equipment but providing the most fun ever. And the amazing thing about sledding is that it is good for your mental, physical, and physiological health, and it will definitely lift your spirits as you laugh at the thrill and adrenaline rush of sledding down. If you happen to travel to Korea during the winter, then you should add sledding to your itinerary of outdoor activities for the season.
8. Korean winter street food sampling
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The meals that can be enjoyed during the winter season in Korea are grouped into 3 categories: street food, snacks, and then main winter dishes. You may be wondering how eating food translates to one of the items on an outdoor winter activity list. Well, Korea is known for cool cultures or actions that become cool rituals or popular activities over time. One example is eating street food in the warm heat of a cooking fire while watching the snowfall.
What better way to enjoy food than having it straight from the fire while trying to keep warm in the winter cold? Some of the Korean winter foods to try out while outside include Hotteok (Korean Sweet Pancakes), Tteok-Bokki (Spicy Fried Rice Cakes), Bungeo-Ppang (Goldfish Bread), Kimchi-Jjigae (Kimchi Stew), roasted sweet potatoes, Dolsot Bibimbap (Stone Bowl Mixed Rice), and roasted chestnuts, among others. Delicious food, cool snow, and keeping warm sum up the outdoor activity that entails sampling Korean winter street food—you definitely have to try it.
9. Enjoying the winter snow
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The cold is not the only thing that comes with the winter season in Korea, there is also snow that many can enjoy while being outdoors. There is really no limit to the amount of fun one can have with snow around. You could build a cute snowman, families can have a nice camp outside and drink hot tea while watching the snow fall under the beautiful sky, friends can play in the snow with snow fights or swim in a pile of snow to make angel wings, and lovers can have a romantic evening stroll as the snow glitters over them.
Gangwon Do Province is well-known for its massive snowfall, so head there if you want to see a lot of snow. There is also the gorgeous Mt. Deogyusan, which transforms majestically as it is covered with plenty of snow, like a scene out of a winter fairytale story. You can visit these places that are lit up with snow and admire the way the streets and elements of nature glitter with the winter season. Snow contributes to making Korea a nice place during winter, as long as you ensure to keep warm with adequate apparel.
10. Strawberry picking
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Most times, people opt for cool activities that would involve sweating or would be so fun that it would distract their minds from how cold it is outside while in Korea during the winter. This makes strawberry picking one of the fun things to delight in during the winter season in Korea. For one, strawberries are cultivated in greenhouses, which implies that while you are outdoors, you get to feel a bit warm as you are not exposed to the elements so much. Then the best part is the sweet berries, of course. They are organic and really delicious, and picking them can be a fun time with friends and family.
For a small fee, which varies from institution to institution, you can gain access to the strawberry farms situated in different parts of the country. Visitors are usually given a plastic container to store their strawberries in as they pluck them, and they can also eat some as they pick. Some farms offer you the chance to pay to take a bigger amount home to make different mouth-watering desserts as you choose. Some of the places for strawberry picking in Korea are; Namyangju City, Pocheon Art Valley, the Garden of Morning Calm, and Nami Island. So you can either go with one or enjoy the sweet experience, or you can book a tour and spend time at various farms. No matter which option you decide to go with, it promises to be fun.
The outdoor winter activities in Korea provide a platform to enjoy quality time, connect with loved ones, and be easily distracted from the cold. So, I hope this article has been helpful.