Festival of incredible greed: catching fish in an ice hole with bare hands (5 photos)

It’s much more fun than swimming for baptism to jump into cold water in order to catch a fat trout there. It is for the sake of a five-minute dive into the icy water that Koreans gather in Hwacheon for the Ice Festival.





It’s much more fun than swimming for baptism to jump into cold water in order to catch a fat trout there. It is for the sake of a five-minute dive into the icy water that Koreans gather in Hwacheon for the Ice Festival.

It is held in Hwacheon because the Sancheoneo mountain trout lives here, which chooses clean, cold water for itself. It simply cannot survive in other water, because its abundance is the pride of South Korea. This shows how the country has managed to preserve the purity of nature for many years.



This ajuma is JUST FIRE

Greed doesn't break your bones!

The central event of this festival is fishing with bare hands. A large ice hole is being hollowed out in the habitat of mountain trout, into which anyone can jump by appointment.

And, standing knee-deep in such water, try to grab as many fish as possible with your bare hands in five minutes. They are allowed in there for five minutes, otherwise some may suffer from hypothermia or even die from greed.





They all hold the fish in their hands so as not to have to run to the shore again, otherwise they don’t have enough time

Fish in South Korea, especially trout, is not very cheap. True, you still have to pay for this fish!

Festival staff stand on the shore with numbered bags for each registered participant. They keep a count of the fish, then you have to pay about $7 for each fish. But the fish are quite big, so it's beneficial.

Ice Festival Internal Currency



Foreigners can do it too. I can't stand this guy in the background!

At the same time, many festivals have introduced their own currency, Love Bucks. And for every fish you catch, you will be given 5 such coupons, which can be spent on festival entertainment. All sorts of sleigh rides, drinks or even treats to warm up.

For me, this is a wonderful idea that allows even tight-fisted people to enjoy the holiday atmosphere and take part in all other activities.



There is also regular non-extreme fishing, but there are more people there than fish

I just wonder how many Koreans then get sick for two weeks in a row, like some of our unprepared individuals do after swimming in an ice hole.

But I would never climb, my legs ache too much from the cold. No trout can make up for this. But the excitement of the action itself is very captivating.