대관령 눈꽃 축제 Daegwallyeong Snow Festival 2012

This is my second year to attend the Daegwallyong Snow Festival and just as last year, it was lots of fun.  Last year, the weather was really clear and sunny which made for great views of the snow sculptures. This year it was actually snowing at the snow festival, which sounds nice, but actually made it hard to see the sculptures as the snow was sticking to them.

 Year of the Dragon snow sculpture

But, that doesn't mean it wasn't worth seeing. This year, is the Year of the Dragon, and so the main snow sculpture here was a giant dragon right in the middle of the festival grounds. For a few thousand won you could hop on a sleigh and have a few high speed spins around the dragon on a real horse drawn sleigh.

Horse-drawn sleigh 

Other events included two different kinds of sledding, one with a tube and one with a sled, getting a ride on a giant rubber sled pulled by a snow mobile, and a bouncy jumping apparatus.

 Tube sledding

Rubber sled pulled by a snowmobile

 Sledding

 Bouncy jumping apparatus

 Snow tunnel

Igloos for rent

Haven't you ever wanted to sleep in an igloo? At the festival you can actually rent an igloo for 24 hours and fulfill your dream. Unfortunately they're not actually made of ice.... 

 Hanoo, Korean beef

We spied a few interesting characters wandering around the festival grounds too...

Photo op

They seemed like rather friendly folk until we caught one trying to steal some potatoes roasting on a grill. The potato roasting man defended his grill, though, magnificently. 

If only that snowman had just read the sign... the potatoes were free with any small donation. Perhaps snowmen don't have pockets to carry money around...

We meant to pick up some of these yummy looking potatoes, but we were still full from lunch and forgot to come back later...

 Jolly snowmen or conniving thieves?

A Floridian enjoying the snow...

But, really, the most fun at any snow festival is actually playing in the snow, and snowballs were being tossed all around and impromptu snowman building could be seen everywhere. 

Unfortunately, the snow festival has finished already, but the snow sculptures will probably be there until the warm weather returns, which, in Daegwalleong isn't usually until mid-spring as this is the coldest part of Korea at an altitude of 700m above sea level. If you happen to be visiting Yongpyong or Alpensia ski resorts, be sure to check out the festival grounds in the town of Hoenggye at the base of these resorts.