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www.groovekorea.com / January 2014 52 DEsTINATIONs Edited by Josh Foreman (joshforeman@groovekorea.com) Photo by Fergus Scott Pyeongchang Get the jump on the pros and visit the site of the 2018 Winter Olympics. If you love winter sports, there’s no better place to go than here. It’s near Seoraksan National Park, but the focus here is on skiing and snowboarding rather than trekking and climbing. Alpensia, the massive complex that will host some of the events in 2018, has six hills for ski- ing and snowboarding, one for sledding and a ski-jump tower. There’s also a luxury hotel on the premises with a spa and casino, and a contrast- ing 400-year-old Buddhist temple in the area called Woljeongsa. GETTInG THERE take a bus from Dong Seoul terminal. the trip takes around three hours. A high-speed railway is being built that will take Seoulites to the area in under an hour, but it won’t open until 2017. Photo by Simon Bond Hwacheon The rivers of this northern county support a population of “sancheoneo,” a very special, very picky trout that can only be found in the cleanest, coldest waters of the mountains. Each year over a million visitors descend on Hwacheon to catch a few of these tasty critters with their own bare hands — a jaw-clenching five minutes of hell made worse by the required shorts and T-shirts — or, for those looking to stay warm, with a reg- ular pole and lure. Afterwards you can step up to one of the barbecues, throw your fresh fishy on the charcoal and savor the sunlight at the annual Hwacheon Sancheoneo Ice Festival this January, one of Korea’s biggest winter parties. GETTInG THERE the Gyeongchun Line from Sangbong Station goes to Chuncheon, and from there it’s a windy but beautiful 45-minute bus ride to Hwacheon. Buses run every 30 minutes.