The trout festival will take place from Dec. 21 to Feb. 2, 2020, while the snow festival is scheduled for Jan. 10-19, county officials said, stressing that easier and faster access to the Gangwon Province county from Seoul via KTX bullet trains is expected to further increase the numbers of tourists visiting the festivals.

In particular, the trout festival has been selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as one of the nation's most promising regional festivals.

The PyeongChang Trout Festival will feature open-ice fishing, tent fishing and bare-hands fishing events, while visitors can also enjoy snow tubing, ice skating, sledding and regional winter foods offered by food court vendors.

In particular, trout-shaped prizes of pure gold, each weighing 416.25 grams, will be awarded to 222 people who succeed in catching specially marked trout in the bare-hands fishing event.

County officials said Daegwallyeong Snow Festival will also be a fascinating event for winter sports enthusiasts.

In addition to various snow sculptures made by famous artists, visitors can enjoy many winter activities, such as snowball fighting and snow and ice slides, as well as cultural and artistic performances. Organizers say they will significantly diversify the winter activity program and the range of foods offered by the ice and snow-themed cafes. (Yonhap)