Trout farming began in 1965 when Gangwon Province Governor Park Gyeong-won received 10,000 rainbow trout eggs donated by the United States of America in California as part of an income increase project for farmers and fishermen. The eggs were hatched in a simple hatchery below the Hwacheon Dam, producing fry. The following year, using funds from the claim for reparations from Japan and Gangwon Province's budget, Gangwon Provincial Fisheries Station was constructed in Pyeongchang, and an additional 310,000 trout eggs were imported over three years. After successfully producing seeds in 1968, five private fish farms were supported as part of Gangwon Province's special income increase project. In 1969, the provincial fish farm was transferred to the National Fisheries Promotion Institute, and fry were distributed to the private sector (137 million fish from 1970 to 1974), marking the starting point for the development of the trout farming industry.