Fishing has always been, in my eyes, an activity that most people do when they retire and live a calmer, peaceful life outside the city. However, one experience was able to change my perspective on fishing and enlighten me with the true joys of fishing.
In Seoul, South Korea, the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Fishing Festival is not only famous for its specialty food, but also for a very engaging way of catching fish as well.
When frigid temperatures, hit the north east city of Hwacheon, citizens gear up for a food festival which challenges their adventurous side: imagine the thrill of diving into a special area (known as an “ice hole”) cut into a frozen river, where festival-goers can catch fish with their bare hands. Despite bare-handed fishing being a challenging activity, each year, over 900,000 people attend. The other option is fishing through a hole cut into a 40cm thick top layer of ice for tourists to enjoy fishing. Even children often come prepared with mittens and warm clothes to sit on the icy layer of the river, and catch fish.
Hwacheon is a city located 110km, (approximately 2-3 hours), north east of Seoul. Hwacheon-gun, as it is called by the locals, has Hwacheon stream which has high quality water that comes directly from Bukanggang river. As temperatures here plunge below -5C in winter, the local economy formerly suffered a lot because of the extreme cold weather. The government with the help of locals devised a plan of hosting an Ice Fishing Festival, utilising the unique fresh fish called Sancheoneo found in this region. Sancheoneo is a fish that belongs to the Salmon family, and is also known as “cherry Salmon” in English. It is widely known for its marine collagen and is considered a very healthy food for every age group.
In preparation for this festival, the Hwacheon river is populated with cherry salmon and trout before winter arrives. Once the Hwacheon lake freezes over, hundreds of tiny holes are bored into the river surface for people to fish through. Special consideration is given to the distance between the holes to ensure safety of the tourists: . There are special areas for bare hand fishing. A heated tent is also built for tourists who need to warm up after a bare hand fishing experience. The excited cheer after catching a fish can be heard across the river. There is a per person limit of catching a maximum of 3 fish per day, to preserve the fish population as well as have an equal experience for everyone. While some people bring ice boxes to store the fish and take home, many let the fish off the hook and head to the food stalls along the lake to enjoy the vendors’ freshly caught fish. Even though fresh grilled Salmon and Trout is the highlight of this festival, they also have fresh baked potatoes, corn and sweet potatoes. Along with these, tourists get a taste of local Korean delicacies like Samgyeopsal (hearty beef or pork soup) and hot stone bibimbab (rice and vegetables dish), Udeng is another Korean favourite which is made of fish cakes and soup. Tteokbokki, which is chewy rice cakes mixed with spicy and sweet sauce, is also a popular dish, especially among younger tourists. Hwacheon tomatoes and fresh mountain greens called Namul are popular side dishes here as well.
Another unique experience the festival offers are the ice bicycles. Each bicycle comes with single or double seats and the charges are very nominal: soccer on ice, sledding or just slipping and sliding on the ice are other fun activities the tourists can enjoy on the frozen stream.
As the sun sets, the streets are lit up with colourful Fish Lanterns. These lanterns are made of Hanji paper or silk on top of wooden or wire frames, with LED light inside each lantern. There are many snow sculptors and ice sculptor plazas with vivid, bright lights to brighten the evening. These ice plazas are built with snow tubing options for this event. Tourists often enjoy large icy slides with bright lights visible through the ice. The festival lasts almost a month, usually Mid January to mid February, and has various performances by local artists and exhibitions. There are also plenty of options to bring beautiful souvenirs home: .This festival was started to boost the economy of that region in dull winter months, and now, has become a festival people look forward to every winter. Selected by CNN as “seven wonders of winter,” it has become the experience of a lifetime for thousands of tourists.
By: Maaz Ahmad Siddiqi
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