Geochang Changpowon Achieves Triple Crown This Year... Preparing for a Greater Leap

Local Garden Registration, Ecotourism Site Designation, and Promising Local Garden Award Winner

Geochang Changpo Garden panorama. [Image source=Geochang-gun]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Geochang County in Gyeongnam announced on the 20th that Geochang Changpo Garden, registered as Gyeongsangnam-do's first local garden, has won the Promising Local Garden Award of the Year from the International Garden Tourism Network following its designation as a representative ecological tourism site of Gyeongnam Province.

In 2011, Geochang County replaced farmland that emitted pollutants with an eco-friendly wetland and planted Iris laevigata, a water-purifying plant, establishing a waterfront ecological tourism resource development project in the submerged area upstream of Hapcheon Dam to promote regional development through tourism resource utilization.

Additionally, in 2012, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs selected the rural theme park creation project, and in 2013, two public projects for ecological green tourism resource development by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism were selected, with various administrative procedures carried out from 2013 to 2014.

In 2015, after obtaining river occupancy permission from the Korea Water Resources Corporation, from 2015 to 2017, with a project budget of 23.9 billion KRW, facilities such as a visitor center, tropical botanical garden, and natural energy learning center were constructed, and a 424,823㎡ (approximately 130,000 pyeong) waterfront ecological garden including Iris wetlands, lotus garden, hydrangea garden, chrysanthemum garden, and ecological wetlands was created.

▲ Discovery and efforts to revitalize Geochang Changpo Garden including development of ‘Four Seasons Theme Tourism Program’ during the 7th local government administration

The process of Geochang Changpo Garden taking its current form, attracting many visitors, and emerging as a local attraction with abundant sights was not easy.

At the time of its completion in 2017, Geochang Changpo Garden had a vast area with unstable vegetation and lacked attractions and activities. It was not differentiated from other waterfront parks, leading to many skeptical views.

The change began in July 2018 when Gu In-mo, the county governor of Geochang, took office and recognized Changpo Garden as a future growth industry for Geochang County. With a spirit of challenge, he spared no effort in discovering revitalization projects for Changpo Garden, including the development of the ‘Four Seasons Theme Tourism Program’.

In particular, visitor convenience facilities such as kids cafes and book cafes were expanded, and value enhancement projects such as themed trails, iris gardens, and observatory hills were continuously promoted, establishing the current Changpo Garden and operating it with seasonal tourism themes.

Geochang Changpo Garden offers spectacular views starting with cherry blossoms in spring, over one million Iris laevigata blooming in the wetlands in May, lotus and water lilies in summer, chrysanthemums, autumn foliage, and cosmos in fall, and tropical botanical garden plants, reeds, and silver grass in winter.

Moreover, there is always plenty to see regardless of the season.

Indoor experiential facilities at Changpo Garden include a tropical botanical garden, natural energy learning center, kids cafe, and book cafe. Outdoor programs such as traditional swing riding, cycling, and summer water play are also operated, dispelling surrounding concerns and gaining enthusiastic responses from many people.

▲ Over 200,000 visitors to Geochang Changpo Garden this year, gaining nationwide fame as a tourist attraction

Although the garden became a landmark for local residents, the county was not satisfied with the initial goal of promoting regional development through tourism resource utilization and sought ways to revitalize it externally.

According to the Act on the Creation and Promotion of Arboretums and Gardens, there are national gardens, local gardens, and private gardens recognized by the state. Changpo Garden, created by a local government, met the scale and facility requirements for local garden registration. After supplementing dedicated departments, personnel, parking lots, experiential facilities, and convenience facilities, the application for local garden registration was submitted at the end of 2020.

As a result, after passing strict criteria through document review and on-site inspection by Gyeongsangnam-do, it was registered as Gyeongsangnam-do's first local garden on January 22.

Following the local garden registration, the county applied for designation as Gyeongsangnam-do’s representative ecological tourism site, as Changpo Garden is a waterfront ecological garden with over one million Iris laevigata plants combining beauty and water purification functions. It is home to natural monuments and endangered species such as otters, goshawks, and whooper swans, as well as about 250 species of diverse flora and fauna.

During the on-site inspection, the committee members agreed on the replacement of farmland pollution sources with wetlands to restore the ecosystem of the national river Hwanggang and recognized the very high potential for future growth as an ecological tourism site, leading to its designation as Gyeongsangnam-do’s representative ecological tourism site on July 13.

Furthermore, the International Garden Tourism Network (IGTN) highly evaluated Changpo Garden’s focus on four-season tourism programs to strengthen garden competitiveness and branding, various internal and external activities, and its registration as a local garden, contributing significantly to the development of garden culture. As a result, it received the ‘Promising Local Garden Award of the Year’ on October 28.

The number of visitors to Geochang Changpo Garden was about 85,000 in 2020, but in 2021, over 200,000 people visited, making Geochang Changpo Garden a nationwide tourist attraction and establishing it as a representative brand.

▲ Preparing for a greater leap as Korea’s premier ecological garden

Geochang Changpo Garden is preparing for a greater leap forward. In 2020, the waterfront space ecological resource development project was selected as a Ministry of Environment public project, and by 2022, with a budget of 5.6 billion KRW, natural conservation facilities such as bald cypress and weeping willow forests and sandbars will be installed, and eco-friendly floating decks, ecological trails, walking paths, experiential learning centers, and bird observation towers will be created to further enhance its function and value.

Also, with a full national budget of 56.8 billion KRW, the Busan Regional Land Management Office is promoting the construction of the second Changpo Garden in the Sanpo district of Namha-myeon (286,497㎡) and the Daehyeon district of Namsang-myeon (180,673㎡) until 2024. Including the Hwanggang River passing between the first and second Changpo Gardens, the total area reaches 1,139,273㎡, larger than the Suncheonman National Garden and Taehwagang National Garden.

Gu In-mo, the county governor of Geochang, said, “We will create Korea’s premier ecological garden as a driving force for Geochang County’s future development, and after designating Geochang Changpo Garden as a national garden, we will steadily proceed with plans such as hosting the global international Iris expo and attracting large-scale international events.”