Gokseong Melon Village Introduces Tour-Type Experience Products

Everything About Melon, Gokseong Melon Play Farm

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik] Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Yoo Geun-gi) has introduced a tour-type experience product utilizing the region's specialty melon.

On June 15, Melon Village located in Daepyeong-ri, Gokseong-eup, Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do, was bustling with 30 children. These children gathered from six local affiliated kindergartens to participate in the tour-type rural experience program that Gokseong-gun launched after long preparation. The participants' faces were filled with smiles throughout as they harvested melons in the melon house and made melon shaved ice at the newly established Gokseong Melon Complex Experience Center.

Efforts are being made to advance the high-value industrialization of melons, a local specialty of Gokseong-gun. In addition to expanding the sales of raw melons, there have been achievements in producing and selling processed products such as melon ice cream. Recently, to link melons to the tourism industry, Melon Village and the Melon Complex Experience Center have been established, and efforts are being focused on developing detailed programs.

This tour-type melon experience program is the first melon tourism product introduced by Gokseong-gun. Participants can directly experience with all five senses things about melons they did not know before, such as selecting delicious melons, tasting melons by variety, and hearing the story of the first Gokseong melon harvest. Additionally, the Gokseong Melon Complex Experience Center offers differentiated fun and experiences such as making melon shaved ice, melon chocolate, and melon glutinous rice cakes.

Mr. Kim Tae-hyun, a melon farmer operating the rural experience program, said, “As this is the first full-scale experience program activity held at Gokseong Melon Village, it took a lot of time to prepare. Although there are still some shortcomings, the goal is to ensure that visitors can have an enjoyable time with melons.”

A Gokseong-gun official said, “If visitors and melon farmers participate joyfully together and diversify income sources, it will greatly help the local economy. We will strive to allow people to experience everything about melons.”