Silver trout and 20 years, the 'Pyeongchang Trout Festival' becomes a winter legend

The Pyeongchang Trout Festival did not have a glamorous start. It began as a grassroots effort by residents to revive the local economy of Jinbu-myeon, which had been devastated by the record-breaking typhoon Ewiniar in the summer of 2006. The small event that started in December 2007 under a bridge tent has now transformed into a "filial festival" that creates 4,000 to 6,000 jobs annually and achieves a cumulative economic impact of 93.1 billion won (as of 2025 analysis). The tradition of the festival being operated by a committee directly formed by the residents, rather than being planned, budgeted, and operated by the local government, is a unique source of pride for the Pyeongchang Trout Festival. This year, the festival, marking its 20th anniversary, took a step further from its previous fishing-centered format. The reinforcement of content targeting the MZ generation and family visitors was particularly noticeable. By collaborating with the global mobile game "Pokémon GO," ...