[Harumanbo Harucheonja] "Over 500 Walking Travel Routes, Killer Content for Local Governments"

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Park Bo-gyun) is accelerating efforts to make walking travel a representative content of regional tourism. To this end, the ministry, together with the Korea Tourism Organization, will operate the ‘2023 Walking Travel Week’ centered on the Korea Dullegil from May 26 to June 9. The Korea Dullegil is a long-distance walking travel route (approximately 4,544 km) that continuously connects the edges of the Korean Peninsula, including the east, west, and south coasts and the DMZ. It consists of the Haeparang Trail on the East Coast (Goseong to Busan), the Nampalang Trail on the South Coast (Busan to Haenam), the Seohaerang Trail on the West Coast (Haenam to Ganghwa), and the DMZ Peace Trail (Ganghwa to Goseong, scheduled to open in September 2023). The two organizations have decided to activate more than 500 walking travel routes nationwide, including the Korea Dullegil. They plan to collaborate with local governments, private walking travel groups, and private outdoor platforms such as ‘Tranggle’ and ‘Rambler’ to hold various events that make it easy for the public to participate in walking travel.

Citizens are walking along the Bonghwasan Dullegil trail in Suncheon, Jeonnam. [Asia Economy DB]

The National Expedition Team, recruited through a prior public call, held its inauguration ceremony on the 26th and began a 5-night, 6-day walking trip experiencing historical sites along each course of the Nampalang Trail and the atmosphere of modern and contemporary Korean literature. Through this trip, they will inspect tourism resources and safety conditions near the Nampalang Trail and the Korea Dullegil, and propose various ideas to develop walking travel into a more attractive tourism resource. Using related apps such as ‘Tranggle,’ ‘Challengers,’ and ‘Rambler,’ anyone who walks and verifies their travel anywhere on the Korea Dullegil will be eligible for a lottery to win various prizes, including gift certificates. To establish walking travel as a low-carbon, eco-friendly tourism, the Korea Central Volunteer Center Foundation will cooperate to conduct the ‘Korea Dullegil Plogging Campaign.’ Those wishing to participate can apply from June 5 through the Durunubi or 1365 Volunteer Portal event banners. Participants can pick up trash and enjoy walking travel on major courses of the Korea Dullegil.

Citizens participating in the Korea Dullegil event [Asia Economy DB]

The Korea Dullegil rest areas serve not only as places for travelers to rest but also as regional hubs for walking travel that provide tourism programs utilizing local tourism resources. At each rest area, during Walking Travel Week, travelers visiting the Korea Dullegil will be provided with local walking travel programs and information on regional festivals. Information on over 500 walking trails managed by local governments and others will also be provided to activate walking travel in each region.

Earlier, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2021 with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, and the National Association of Mayors, Governors, and District Heads to promote the Korea Dullegil and agreed to cooperate to develop it into a world-class walking travel representative content. According to the MOU, the five institutions will strengthen cooperation with 53 basic local governments jointly overseeing the routes to establish a more systematic and efficient management and operation system. They will also strengthen on-site operations in cooperation with related public institutions such as the Korea Tourism Organization and local private organizations. Each institution is responsible for the following: the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for operation and promotion; the Ministry of the Interior and Safety for border area tourism; the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for rural tourism; the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries for fishing village tourism; and the Association of Mayors, Governors, and District Heads for route management and local content.

At the public-private strategic meeting for the '2023~2024 Visit Korea Year' held on March 2, (from left) Lee Boo-jin, the new chairperson of the Visit Korea Year Committee (President of Hotel Shilla), Park Bo-gyun, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Kim Jang-sil, President of the Korea Tourism Organization, are posing for a commemorative photo.
[Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]

The plan is to make the ‘Korea Dullegil’ a core resource that strengthens connections between nature, local culture, tourism, and regions. By ministry, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will expand the guidance system and support customized walking travel services through the operation of ‘Korea Dullegil’ information centers (rest areas) to make walking travel more convenient. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will cooperate to ensure that facilities and contents of rural homestays and fishing village experience resorts are closely linked with the ‘Korea Dullegil’ information centers and walking travel programs. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to discover and share content linked to the ‘Korea Dullegil’ to activate the DMZ Peace Trail crossing route and border area tourism. The Association of Mayors, Governors, and District Heads will actively participate in route maintenance and information center operation through each local government.