Moments from South Korea’s largest winter festival (7 images)

South Korea is hosting its largest winter festival this month. The annual Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival takes place in the mountains near the North Korean border. The main attraction is the opportunity to fish for trout with bare hands. The festival runs through January 27.

Participants jump into ice water to catch Sancheoneo, or mountain trout, with their bare hands. Photo by Moon Jae Won/UPI News Korea

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Participants splash as they try to catch fish. The festival includes 60 programs, including ice fishing, lure fishing, sledding and ice-sculpting and creative sled contests. Photo by Moon Jae Won/UPI News Korea

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The bare-hand fishing is the most popular program at the festival. Photo by Moon Jae Won/UPI News Korea

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The festival is popular among travelers from Southeast Asian countries, many of whom have never experienced winter weather. Photo by Moon Jae Won/UPI News Korea

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