Awakened by the freezing temperatures on the bus, I slowly opened my tired eyes just to be greeted by Jack Frost peeping in the window. I didn’t know how long I had been sleeping, but based on the coldness, I thought we were somewhere in Gangwon-do Province. I was right, because a few moments later our tour guide announced that we were arriving soon to our destination, Taebaeksan Mountain.
Taebaeksan Mountain is one of the peaks of the Taebaeksan Mountain Range (태백산맥). Due to its high altitude, winter in the Taebaek region lasts longer and is colder than any other part of Korea. That may sound bad, but that’s actually the exact reason why Taebaeksan Mountain is one of Korea’s most popular mountains. In winter, Taebaek turns into a beautiful bride with her delicate white veil attracting millions of visitors from around the world to see the beauty of this mountain and to witness Korea’s top winter festival, the Taebaeksan Mountain Snow Festival.
After a long 3 hour and 30 minute bus ride, we finally arrived at the festival’s parking lot. There were free shuttle buses available to take visitors to Danggol Square, where most of the attractions were found. My husband and I, however, opted to walk, which took us about 20 minutes to arrive. As soon as we passed Parking Area 1, we were greeted by a group of large-scale snow sculptures featuring characters from Korean folk tales, such as “The Legend of the Hwangji Pond,” “The Legend of the Turtle Rock” and “The Legend of the Dragon Horse and Yongdam Pond.”
The snow sculptures feature characters from Korean folktales.
Not far from the first group, we found another group of snow sculptures, including a group of snowmen and cartoon-inspired structures, such as “Captain America: Civil War,” “Kung Fu Panda,” the cat bus from “My Neighbor Totoro” and a Disney castle. I also spotted the Kakao Talk friends Neo and Frodo.
There were standard snowmen there, too, of course.
Somebody made a snow sculpture based on ‘Captain America: Civil War.’
The ‘Kung Fu Panda’ snow sculpture was very nice.
Korea.net Honorary Reporter Vince Grindle rides the cat bus from ‘My Neighbor Totoro.’
Kakao Talk friends Neo and Frodo are also represented in the snow sculpture park.
Moving to another group of sculptures, we saw some sculptures inspired by Korean traditions, such as one depicting a scene from a traditional National Foundation Day celebration, and a palace.
Visitors flock to the Taebaeksan Mountain Snow Festival in spite of cold weather.
Some of the snow sculptures recreate ceremonies conducted on National Foundation Day.
One snow sculpture looks like a Joseon-era palace.
Sculptures featuring popular statues and figures can also be seen.
There was an igloo cafe. An ice slide and snow sled were also available. My husband and I had a great time walking around and taking photos of all the sculptures we could see.
The snow cafe was especially nice.
A plethora of food was sold at the makeshift food booths near Parking Area 1 and 2. On our way back to the tour bus, we stopped by the line of food stalls and grabbed something to eat.
The festival has a great array of snacks and foods available.
Though it wasn’t snowing when we visited Taebaek and I wasn’t able to see any snow covered mountains, I was happy to see the beautiful sculptures and I can now tick off the Taebaeksan Mountain Snow Festival from my list.
Korea.net Honorary Reporters Vince Grindle and Maria Lilia Pedellume attend the Taebaeksan Mountain Snow Festival.
By Ma. Lilia Pedellume
Korea.net Honorary Reporter
Photos: Ma. Lilia Pedellume
http://koreanetblog.blogspot.kr/2017/01/taebaeksan-mountain-snow-festival.html
