Many foreign tourists are heading to a famous ice-fishing festival in South Korea.
 
According to Hwacheon County in Gangwon Province, 35-thousand foreign tourists visited the Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival as of Wednesday, which opened January 9. 
 
The figure is 13-thousand more than during the same 12-day period last year.
 
In 2015, 52-thousand foreigners visited the festival, increasing 44 fold from just 12-hundred in 2006.
 
Hwacheon county expects a total of 60-thousand foreign visitors until the festival ends on January 31. 
 
County officials attribute the increased visitor traffic to various promotional activities as a result of business deals signed in 2009 with travel agencies in six Southeast Asian nations including China, Malaysia and Singapore.
 
Hwacheon County Mayor Choi Moon-soon said the number of foreign visitors has sharply increased thanks to year-round marketing efforts overseas. 
 
He promised to develop the Sancheoneo Ice Festival into a world class winter festivity that is convenient for foreign tourists.  
 
"Sancheoneo" is a species of trout.