Edited from Daily Mail 18th January 2010

Hundreds of thousands of people have descended on a frozen river to drill through the ice to hook mountain trout - or even fish for them with their bare hands .

Visitors to Hwacheon in South Korea have arrived for the annual Ice Festival, which saw 200,000 people visit over the weekend, and which organisers anticipate will see more than a million taking part by the end of the three-week event.

During the festival, anglers drill holes in the ice, which is around 16inches (40cm) thick, and attempt to catch mountain trout with their rods.

An odd sight:  People fish for trout through holes in a frozen river in Hwacheon in South Korea

Popular sport: Hundreds of thousands of people fishing. 

Or they can even try the tricky art of catching them with their bare hands from a large tank at the festival's Ice Plaza.

Visitors can then cook their catch at cooking centres around the site to have it grilled, or they eat it raw.

Around 9,000 holes have been drilled in the ice, with around two metres of clean water beneath them and 32 tons of fresh trout are added to the river every day.

A small girl tries her hand at the chilly art of ice fishing

Success! A man flips his trout onto the ice

Keen anglers change holes regularly, as the fish tend to change their swimming patterns frequently.

The frozen river, which is around 12 miles south the demilitarized zone separating the country from North Korea in the Gangwon-do province, is the first part of South Korea that freezes over in winter because of its fresh water and cold winds in the valley.

The festival, which closes on January 27, also features activities such as ice and snow sledding, snow sculpture and ice football.

Frozen river: Thousands of anglers lie next to the holes and attempt to catch the mountain trout

Busy: It might be hard, finger-numbing work, but it is also popular with tourists and locals alike