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| Hwacheon Sancheoneo (mountain trout) Ice Festival |
By Chung Ah-young
Three festivals ― Hwacheon Sancheoneo (mountain trout) Ice Festival, Gimje Horizon Festival and Jarasum International Jazz Festival ― have been selected as the best events for this year among some 1,000 events nationwide.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recently announced 43 festivals that will be recognized as 2016 Culture Tourism Festivals.
The selection has been made through on-the-spot evaluations and expert opinion. The 43 events are in four categories: Premier, Top, Outstanding, and Up-and-Coming festivals.
Three Premier Festivals have received positive reviews from not only Koreans but foreigners.
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| Jarasum International Jazz Festival |
The Gimje Horizon Festival has taken place from late September to early October every year since 1999 around Byeokgolje Reservoir in Gimje, North Jeolla Province. Based on Korea's farming culture, the festival shows the amazing skyline and horizon of the vast agricultural area.
The Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival is a popular winter event that allows visitors to go ice fishing and catch mountain trout with their hands. Last year, it drew some 1.5 million visitors over its 23-day run.
The Jarasum International Jazz Festival recently joined the list of Premier Festivals. The festival began in 2004 with tens of teams of jazz artists from various countries. Growing into the nation's representative international festival, it attracts around 100,000 people a year and most attendees are repeat visitors.
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| Gimje Horizon Festival |
The ministry has also selected seven Top Festivals, including Gangjin Celadon Festival, while Ganggyeong Fermented Seafood Festival was chosen as one of the 10 Outstanding Festivals.
Gochang Moyang Fortress Festival and Gwangalli Eobang Festival joined the list of the 23 Up-and-Coming Festivals for this year.
"These representative festivals are expected to foster regional interest while keeping and developing regional culture," a ministry official said. "We hope they will contribute to boosting the local economy and tourism industry."
The ministry will support the festivals with 6 billion won and promote them in cooperation with the Korea Tourism Organization.
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