"Mountain Trout Festival Killing and Animal Abuse"... "Then Protect Cabbage Too"

"Fish Killing and Abuse for Human Amusement"
"Fish Cannot Be Considered Animal Abuse"

Conflicting opinions have emerged regarding the Gangwon Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival, which gains popularity every winter with activities such as bare-handed fish catching and ice fishing. While dozens of civic groups nationwide, including vegetarian organizations, condemned the festival, demanding an end to animal cruelty, others argue that "fish cannot be classified under animal cruelty."

The Sancheoneo Festival gained international fame after being introduced as one of the "7 Winter Wonders" by the global travel magazine Lonely Planet, published by CNN in the United States, in 2011. Since its inception in 2003, the festival has reportedly attracted over one million domestic and international tourists annually since 2006.

Civic groups have raised animal cruelty concerns regarding the treatment of Sancheoneo fish used in the festival for the past three years. They pointed out that 600,000 Sancheoneo fish are artificially bred in farms nationwide solely for the 23-day festival. During this process, the fish suffer from overcrowded breeding, starvation before the festival, and excessive stress during transportation, enduring pain even before the festival begins. They also criticized the bare-handed fish catching and other entertainment programs for lacking humane treatment of the animals.

They also claimed that the Sancheoneo Festival negatively impacts the native ecosystem of the Hwacheoncheon stream. Kim Sanha, CEO of the Biodiversity Foundation, emphasized, "Blocking and destroying the unique ecosystem of Hwacheoncheon for a festival held only once a year prevents ecological conservation."

The Korea Vegetarian Union held a press conference on the 14th at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, titled "Stop Animal Cruelty at the Sancheoneo Festival, Promote Vegetarianism," urging Hwacheon County to promptly abolish the festival. They sharply criticized, saying, "The Sancheoneo Festival, Trout Festival, Salmon Festival, and others treat animals as entertainment objects, causing unnecessary pain and stress to animals and killing them."

However, there are many who oppose these views. Netizens commented on the civic groups' claims, saying, "If we are to protect fish, then insects and vegetables should also be protected," "Humans come before fish," and "If the programs at the (Sancheoneo) festival are stopped immediately, it will also harm the local economy."

In fact, Hwacheon County Office announced that the economic ripple effect of the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Festival reaches an average of about 100 billion KRW. The direct economic ripple effect from the 23-day festival held in 2019 was approximately 130 billion KRW, accounting for 28% of the total annual budget of about 450 billion KRW.

Meanwhile, the Narawa Foundation and Hwacheon County, which organized the festival, tentatively reported that over 101,000 people visited on the opening day alone. Similar programs to the Sancheoneo Festival, which had faced criticism, such as the Inje Icefish Festival, Pyeongchang Trout Festival, and Yangpyeong Icefish Festival, were canceled or postponed due to nationwide abnormal weather. The Jangsa Port Squid Bare-Handed Catching Festival has not been held since 2020 due to a decline in squid catches, making squid scarce in recent years.