On the 20th, Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City announced that the Dong-gu Culture and Tourism Foundation held its official launch ceremony and is embarking on full-scale activities.
The Dong-gu Culture and Tourism Foundation is the first dedicated cultural tourism organization established by a basic local government among the five autonomous districts in the region, and will serve as a key institution contributing to the creation of a "stay-type cultural tourism city."
The launch ceremony was attended by about 100 guests including National Assembly member Lee Byung-hoon, Dong-gu Mayor Im Taek, and Dong-gu Council Chairman Kim Jae-sik. The event featured congratulatory performances by the Gyerim Elementary School Children's Orchestra and nine local cultural community clubs.
With this launch as a turning point, plans are underway to promote the 20th Gwangju Memory Chungjang Festival as a global premium festival, develop representative brand tourism products unique to Dong-gu, establish a citizen-friendly lifestyle culture platform, and attract domestic and international tourists including the MZ generation.
This year, as part of building a cultural tourism convergence base, the foundation will focus on forming a Destination Management Organization (DMO), establishing domestic and international exchange and cooperation networks, conducting integrated cultural tourism marketing, operating industry-government-academia linked cooperation programs, promoting the Chungjang Festival sales, and responding to national funding public projects.
Moon Chang-hyun, the inaugural CEO of the Dong-gu Culture and Tourism Foundation, stated, “We will combine Dong-gu’s attractive location assets with the latest tourism trends,” adding, “We will do our best to elevate Gwangju Dong-gu as the nation’s leading cultural tourism hotspot where people want to visit.”
Im Taek, Dong-gu Mayor and chairman of the Dong-gu Culture and Tourism Foundation, said, “Dong-gu is the heart of Gwangju with many advantages and charms as a city of humanities, festivals, and culture,” and added, “The foundation, equipped with expertise, will play the role of a control tower to discover Dong-gu’s cultural tourism resources and policies and establish a foundation for the development of the cultural tourism industry.”
Meanwhile, the Dong-gu Culture and Tourism Foundation consists of 21 members across four teams: the Culture Promotion Team, Tourism Promotion Team, Global Festival Team, and Management Support Team. It operates four cultural and sports facilities within Dong-gu, including the Dong-gu Culture Center and Dong-gu National Sports Center.
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