Hwacheon County

Template:Infobox Korean settlement Hwacheon County (Hwacheon-gun) is a county in Gangwon Province, South Korea. The northern border parallels the Korean Demilitarized Zone, as close as 9km in some places. Neighboring counties are Cheorwon to the northwest and north, Yanggu to the east, Chuncheon to the south, and the Gyeonggi-do province to the southwest. The county consists largely of mountains and rivers, between which are small farming communities, military bases and military training grounds. The area is renowned for its rivers, the lake trout and otters indigenous to the county, and dramatic natural scenery.

Demographics

As of 2005, the population of Hwacheon stood at 23,822. 12,471 of these people were male, while there were 11,351 females. Only 90 of these people (0.38%) were foreign residents - 20 male and 70 female. The average household was home to 2.4 people, and 3,577 of the population (15%) was aged 65 or older. These numbers do not reflect soldiers stationed in the area, which are estimated at approximately 35,000 personnel.

History

Due to the rugged terrain and harsh winters, Hwacheon was essentially unpopulated other than disbursed small villages along the major rivers prior to 1900. During the Japanese occupation of Korea, Hwacheon Dam was completed in 1944, providing a significant source of electrical power to (then) central Korea. Due to its strategic value as both a power plant and potential weapon (by intentionally flooding downstream areas), this dam was the source of heavy conflict during the Korean War, finally ending up well inside allied territory with the establishment of the DMZ to the north in 1953.

Culture

As Gangwon Province is South Korea's coldest region, Hwacheon is home to an ice fishing festival in which thousands of competitors try to catch as many sancheoneo (Hangeul: 산천어, wild trout) as possible. This takes place in the Hwacheoncheon (stream) during nearly the entire month of January. The festival organizers claim there are roughly 1,000,000 visitors annually, though this claim is not readily substantiated and is probably subject to double counting and extrapolation based on the busiest days.

Other annual events in Hwacheon include the Jjokbae (Hangeul: 쪽배, water raft) Festival in late July, the Tomato Festival in mid-August, and the Dragon Festival.

Food

Hwacheon is famous for its samgyeopsal, a pork dish offered at nearly every restaurant in town. Pork is cooked on a grill over hot coals, cut into bite-sized pieces, and wrapped in a lettuce leaf along with garlic, hot peppers, rice, and various other vegetables and sauces, then eaten by hand. Variants of the meal include using marinated beef instead of bacon.

Sister Cities

• Seocho-gu, South Korea

External links

• Hwacheon County government home page
• Nara Festivals home page