WARM TEMPERATURE AND WINTER FESTIVALS

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As recent as last week, winter festivals in Gangwon-do Province were at risk of closing their doors due to warm weather and rainstorms. The local government bodies are deploying snow-making machines and even divers to keep the festivals on schedule.

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Last week, Hwacheon received more than 70 millimeters of rain. Ice turned into muddy water. The town's biggest festival had to be postponed to the 27th of this month. It's pitch black. A snowblower ceaselessly generates a blizzard. The snow created this way is spread on the upstream area of the festival site instead of ski slopes. This helps lower the water temperature to make ice. Ice-making work is in full swing underwater as well. Divers install a net at the bottom of the river. It is fastened there to slow down the water flow and freeze the water quickly.

[Soundbite] CHOI MOON-SOON(GOVERNOR, HWACHEON COUNTY) : "The ice condition is very good overall, but the icy area that had melted over there is still too thin."

Thankfully, recent morning temperatures had fallen to as low as 15 degrees below zero. Now the ice is much thicker, measuring 16 centimeters. A smelt festival is scheduled to open at Soyangho Lake this weekend. Workers are busy drilling fishing holes on the ice.

[Soundbite] KIM JEONG-SU(INJE COUNTY GOV'T EMPLOYEE) : "Thanks to the recent cold wave, festival preparation is moving along without a glitch."

However, this year's festival area was scaled down to a fifth of what it would normally be, as the lake did not freeze over completely. Inje County plans to expand the fishing area when the ice thickens in other parts of the lake.