A foreigner trying to catch smelt at the Inje Icefish Festival. (Yonhap)
INJE, Jan. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — A couple of music concerts will be held to mark an annual ice fishing festival that opens in the northeastern county of Inje this weekend, organizers said Wednesday.
The Inje Icefish Festival will kick off Saturday for a run till Feb. 3 on the vast frozen Soyang Lake in the mountainous county of Inje, 165 kilometers northeast of Seoul.
The Inje county office said it will host the night concerts to raise awareness of peace in line with the inter-Korean detente following a series of summits between their leaders last year.
The first “peace sharing” concert will be held on the opening day, featuring six Korean pop singers and groups like Wheesung and Gummy.
Globally renowned singer-rapper Psy, female trot singer Hong Jin-young and singer-songwriter Eddy Kim will appear in the second concert on the eve of the festival’s closing day.
“This weekend, visitors will be able to enjoy ice fishing on the frozen lake on the day, while watching a music performance at night,” a county official said.
The centerpiece of the festival is catching smelt out of roughly 20-centimeter-wide ice holes. Called “bingeo” in Korean, smelt live in water colder than 10 C and are most active between December and February.
The festival was first held on the ice field of Soyang Lake in 1998. It has developed into one of the country’s most famous festivals.
(Yonhap)
