HWACHEON, South Korea, Jan. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Thousands of visitors occupied a frozen river over the weekend to enjoy ice fishing at a cultural festival held in the northern town of Hwacheon, the festival's organizing committee said Monday.
More than 240,000 people attended the 2014 Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival from Jan. 4-5 on its first weekend of opening, the organizing committee and Hwacheon county officials said.
The annual ice festival is scheduled for Jan. 4-26 in the Gangwon Province town some 118 kilometers north of Seoul, offering some 60 different programs including ice fishing and sleigh riding.
The committee said the event attracted 130,000 visitors on Saturday when it had the opening ceremony, followed by 110,000 the next day.
Festivals-goers bobbed their fishing lines in and out of some 12,000 holes drilled in the 25cm-thick river ice to catch sancheoneo, a type of mountain trout.
Tickets to the ice fishing, the main attraction at the festival, were sold out within the first three hours, according to the organizing committee.
Many of the visitors also gathered to take part in winter activities such as bobsleighing and exploring a 100-meter-high ice castle, it added.
The Hwacheon Sancheoneo festival has drawn over 1 million visitors every year and it is expected to surpass that number again this year, the county said.
It was named the best local festival for four consecutive years by the culture ministry.
The festival will close on Jan. 26 with a ceremony at 6 p.m. (END)
