HWACHEON

 

Flag of Hwacheon

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Sister Cities & Friendship Cities

1. Sister City: Chatham-Kent (Canada, 2005)

   Friendship City: Tay Son (Vietnam, 2009)

    

   City PR

Hwacheon is the northernmost city of South Korea. Taken two hours from the capital city, Seoul, Hwacheon has approximately 25,000 residents; its gross area is approximately 909km². It is a small but always vibrant city. Surrounded by lakes, mountains, and valleys, Hwacheon has four distinctive characteristics.

 

First, beyond ethnicity and ideologies, Hwacheon is a city of peace which involves world’s peace and stability. Through the establishment of Peace Bell Park and Peace Art Park, Hwacheon overcomes wounds caused by wars and conflicts and also pursues peace and co-existence.

 

Second, with a wonderful natural environment, Hwacheon recognizes the importance of nature as a future resource that all must seriously take care of, and seeks for environmental conservation and its utilization. In particular, as a secretariat of the World River Culture Cities Forum, Hwacheon prepares countermeasures for contaminated and destructed rivers and environmental conservation, and shares practical solutions with the international city members of the Forum.

 

Third, Hwacheon is not only an optimal place for enjoying water sports on the wide river, but it is also a beloved place for a variety of sports teams’ preseason trainings. Every year, the National Rowing Competition and National Canoe Competition are held on Hwachoen Lake. The National Skating Competition for elementary school students, the Women’s Korea Football League, and other national competitions are held in Hwacheon as well. Hwacheon also tries to contribute to sports promotion in order to institutionalize sports into citizens’ lives.

 

Finally, Hwacheon is a festival city of four seasons. During the summer vacation (in July and August), the Jjokbae(small raft canoe) Festival and Tomato Festival, which make one forget about the summer heat, provide happiness and enjoyment to festival participants. In addition, in January, the Sancheoneo(mount trout) Festival, which is chosen as one of the ‘7 Wonders of Winter by CNN’ is held. Every year, over one million visitors come and enjoy the festival with a variety of programs provided. Many residents also serve the visitors and tourists as festival subjects, and the festival helps to maintain the local economy of Hwacheon.

 

1. More Information

Official website: https://www.ihc.go.kr/eng/index.do

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