Making It the Island Loved Most by the People
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Park Woo-ryang) is carrying out the Gageodo Project to make Gageodo, selected as Island No. 1 of the Year by the government, the most beloved island by all Koreans.
According to the county on the 18th, starting with the Island of the Year declaration ceremony in January, they will prepare the Gageodo master plan including the quiz event "Where is Korea's Island of the Year?", promotional fam tours, exploration programs, the Gageodo Festa, and a 20 billion KRW scale tourism infrastructure expansion plan.
Until now, Gageodo had not attracted much attention except from some fishing tourists due to physical distance and time and financial burdens.
Although physical distance and travel time have been significantly improved by the opening of a direct route, the round-trip fare of 100,000 KRW has been an obstacle to traveling to Gageodo.
However, for travelers visiting Gageodo, the Island of the Year, the county plans to request the government to provide a permanent 50% subsidy on passenger ferry fares and simultaneously seek cooperation from ferry companies to voluntarily offer an additional 5-10% discount.
When traveling to Gageodo with a group of 10 or more, 15,000 KRW per person will be provided in cash support. Not only travel agencies but also general groups such as hiking clubs and fishing clubs will be eligible throughout this year.
Sinan-gun is also planning a large-scale festival. The Gageodo Festa, which includes the Gageodo anchovy fishing song, island cultural festival, fishing competition, and hiking competition, will be held in the first and second halves of the year.
In line with outdoor recreation trends, they will create an island camping site where visitors can feel closer to nature, install a symbolic sculpture marking the territorial waters starting point, and maintain walking trails.
They will operate migratory bird watching competitions with experts and spring, summer, and autumn exploration programs, and plan to enhance the Gageodo mailbox, which sends mail only once a year at the end of the year.
Governor Park Woo-ryang said, "Gageodo, like Dokdo, is a precious part of Korea's territory," and added, "Taking the opportunity of being selected as Island No. 1 of the Year, we will devise various measures so that all Koreans can visit Gageodo at least once in their lifetime."
Meanwhile, Gageodo is an island whose name means it is truly livable, and it takes 3 hours and 30 minutes by boat from Mokpo.
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