Bonghwa Eoneo (Loach) Festival

Summer, with your knees in the water, chasing silver fish

To sum up the Bonghwa Sweetfish Festival in one line, it is a "festival where you put your feet in the water and play." In the Naeseongcheon area of Bonghwa-eup, Bonghwa-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, you go into a rural stream surrounded by mountains with a bando net (a net with handles on both sides) and catch sweetfish yourself. Sweetfish are freshwater fish from first-class clean water that were once served on the royal table in the Joseon Dynasty, and the identity of this festival is letting visitors catch them with their bare hands or with nets. The first event was held in 1999, and it has continued ever since, gaining popularity thanks to its unusual sweetfish-catching experience program.

The 2026 festival I checked is the 28th edition, and it will be held for nine days from July 25 to August 2 in the Naeseongcheon area of Bonghwa-eup. The opening is in the afternoon of the first day, and the closing wraps up with a night performance on the final day. If you are curious about the scale, the previous 27th edition drew about 225,000 visitors over nine days, which gives you a sense of the crowd. For a county-level event, that is quite a lot of people.

If you do just one thing before going, make the experience reservation

The first thing to secure for this festival is the sweetfish-catching experience reservation. The bando net-catching program runs three times a day, and the bare-hands program runs three times on weekdays and four times on weekends. If you reserve online in advance, you can join for 10,000 won by standard rates. You can also buy on-site, but the price goes up. Here is the fee summary.

• Sweetfish bando net-catching experience: 12,000 won (5,000 won Bonghwa Love gift certificate refund)
• Bare-hands catching experience: 12,000 won (5,000 won gift certificate refund)
• Advance reservation: 10,000 won (5,000 won gift certificate refund)
• Children's water park: 3,000 won (gift certificates not accepted)

What often confuses foreign friends here is the 'Bonghwa Love gift certificate refund.' When you pay for the experience, they give back 5,000 won worth of local gift certificates, which you can use at restaurants or stalls inside the festival grounds. In practice, if you do the experience and then buy some fried sweetfish, you pretty much break even. For reference, entry to the festival grounds itself is free, and only the experience programs are paid.

For clothing, wear something you do not mind getting wet. Since you have to go into the water, aqua shoes or old sneakers, a change of clothes, and a large towel are essential. It is a midsummer river under strong sun, so do not forget a hat and sunscreen either. Luckily, facilities such as showers, shade tents, and rest areas are provided, so you can wash off and change after the experience.

The way to Bonghwa and coming back after enjoying the night performances

Honestly, Bonghwa is not the easiest place to reach by public transport. It is a mountain area, so there is no direct high-speed train like KTX. Still, there are ways. You can use Bonghwa Station on the Yeongdong Line, or take an intercity bus from Dong Seoul Terminal to Bonghwa, which takes about 2 hours and 30 minutes. Once you get into Bonghwa-eup, the festival site at Naeseongcheon is fairly close.

If you are coming by car, you should be prepared for parking issues. Because the festival gets crowded, parking spaces are limited, and some people end up driving around several times looking for a spot. That is why temporary parking lots are operated at multiple nearby locations, including Bonghwa Sports Complex and Bonghwa Middle and High School. If possible, use public transportation, or if you are driving, it is best to arrive early in the morning.

If you had plenty of fun in the water during the day, I recommend staying until night. The fun of the Bonghwa Sweetfish Festival continues after sunset, because in addition to daytime sweetfish-catching and water play, it operates as an overnight-style event linked with night performances and food spaces. At the nighttime hub called the 'Silver Delivery Pub,' you can watch performances while enjoying food truck dishes and delivery menu items from local restaurants, and the main stage performances are streamed live on a large LED screen. The stage lineup is also packed, with events ranging from the opening celebration performance to the Lee Mong-ryong selection contest, the sweetfish neon live show, a Baekho Choi concert, a generational water splash show, and the closing performance. However, since the night performances end late, if you came by public transportation, be sure to check the last train or bus time in advance. In this mountain area, late-night transport is limited.

Fried sweetfish, water splashes, and things worth knowing in advance

Once you catch sweetfish, the rule is to eat them on the spot. At the festival grounds, there is a space where you can grill the sweetfish you caught yourself over charcoal, and there are also separate stalls for fried sweetfish, a large restaurant area, and a live-fish sales section. Sweetfish are mild freshwater fish often said to smell like watermelon, so whether you eat them grilled with salt or fried, you can enjoy them without worrying about a fishy smell.

Let me add a few practical tips for foreign travelers. First, English guidance is somewhat limited. Still, the experience itself is intuitive enough — you go into the water and catch fish with a net — so even if you do not understand the language, it is easy to enjoy by watching and following along. Happily, this year a new 'B-Global Bando Competition' has been introduced, with foreign tourists participating, making it more welcoming for international visitors. Payment is tied to the local gift certificate system, so bringing some cash in small amounts will make things easier at the market. And because this festival emphasizes a family-friendly summer retreat and has greatly expanded children's play facilities and resting spaces for parents, families with kids will especially enjoy it.

In conclusion, the Bonghwa Sweetfish Festival is perfect for anyone who wants to experience 'summer in a clear rural stream in Korea, getting physically involved and having fun.' I especially recommend it to families who love water play and travelers looking for something different. From the feel of sweetfish brushing your toes, to wet clothes, to the smell of sweetfish grilled over charcoal — come and discover a kind of summer you cannot feel at an urban festival.