This year’s Daegwallyeong Snow Festival has opened in Pyeongchang County in Gangwon Province for a ten-day run.  
 
The event, which began in 1993, is considered to be the nation’s main winter festival. It offers sledding and displays of ice sculptures, among other programs.
 
As this year’s theme is the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the festival will feature a variety of ice sculptures, including five-meter high ones of the mascots of the Winter Games. 
 
The festival will also set up halls in which visitors can check out and get a hands-on experience of Olympic events, including ice hockey, ski jumping and curling.
 
Festival organizers expect the event will draw around 200-thousand visitors, 50-thousand more than last year.