CHUNCHEON, KOREA — As the end of summer draws near, the romantic lake city of Chuncheon prepares to be transformed into a leisure town where visitors can fully enjoy the remaining days of the season.
The Chuncheon 2012 World Leisure Sports Festival, which kicks off on August 24 and continues until August 28, will bring together experts of various sporting events from Korea as well as 35 countries for domestic and international competitions.
Among the events for the international competitions are inline slalom-skating, waterskiing & wakeboarding, and action sports, which were the most popular and enjoyed sports at the previous festival in 2010. This year’s domestic competitions invite more amateurs throughout the whole event including sports climbing, model aircraft, ice hockey, paragliding, and also some universal events such as football and tennis.
On August 25, the Uiam Baseball Park will hold the grand opening festival attended by three London Olympic heroes. Korean shooting star Jin Jong-oh, gold medalist in Wrestling Kim Hyun-woo, and fencing hero Jung Gil-ok will make their visits to the festival to revive the Olympic festivity once again.
The Olympic fever of this summer and the gradual interest in leisure activities amongst youths has been increasing the participation of the public in the demanding and energetic sports. Chuncheon has also opened up the opportunity for more people to involve themselves in the extreme activities.
Those who want the thrill of water sports can head to the main stadium in the Uiamho River. Diverse activities including banana boats, motorboats, and water bikes will be available to provide a new experience that is also financially accessible to everyone. Visitors who do not have an adventurous spirit can paddle down the Mulle-gil on a canoe, seeing Uiamho River up close and more slowly. More information can be found at the Mulle-gil website or if you cannot read Korean, ring up 070-4150-9463.
There are a variety of side events including free performances, writing and drawing competitions, and a photo competition to delight visitors. The applicants in the photo competition will be vying for a prize of KRW 6.5 million and the winning piece will be showcased in the Chuncheon Art Plaza Gallery afterwards.
Along with the sports festival, the Dakgalbi & Maguksu Festival takes place during the same period to promote Chuncheon’s iconic local dishes.
Chuncheon, a city with growth in poultry agriculture, developed dakgalbi early in the 1960s. The dish is stir-fried chicken in chili pepper mixed with various vegetables such as cabbage, sweet potatoes, carrots, and green onions. The affordable and generously-served food is popular with students and Korean soldiers on leave who are on a tight budget.
Makguksu makes the perfect accompaniment with dakgalbi. The cooling buckwheat noodle in kimchi soup is one of Gangwon-do’s (Gangwon Province’s) must-eat local foods along with dakgalbi.
Chuncheon, which counts a population of approximately 260,000 people, has been noted as one of Korea’s Best Ten Cities for not only its beautiful natural scenery but also its welfare and education programs and year-round cultural offerings. Chuncheon can be reached easily from Seoul via various means of public transportation. First, the intercity bus from East Seoul Bus Terminal takes a little more than an hour and costs KRW 6,900. Second, Korea’s first double-decker train the ITX, which opened on February 2012, delivers passengers from Yongsan Station through Cheongnyangni, Pyeongnae Hopyeong, Gapyeong and South Chuncheon to finally arrive at Chuncheon Station for KRW 6,000. Last, the regular Gyeongchun Line connects Sangbong Station in Seoul to Chuncheon Station via several stops.
Source: Korea.net
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