"Gangbuk Bukhan Mountain Basecamp@Uigugok"... A Key Hub for Mountain Tourism, Gangbuk's New Challenge
Gangbuk-gu, Seoul (Mayor Lee Soon-hee) announced that it conducted a fam tour targeting foreign tourists and travel agencies around the Uigugok area from the 21st to the 22nd of last month as part of the Seoul Tourism Foundation's 'Seoul Thematic Tourism County' content contest project, receiving great responses.
The Seoul Thematic Tourism County project aims to discover competitive thematic tourism content that highlights the characteristics of each autonomous district in Seoul, focusing on local-based content to foster distinctive thematic tourism content.
The Gangbuk-gu area has over 60% of its urban area covered by forest, possessing the largest forest resources among Seoul's autonomous districts. In particular, the Uidong area is a historical space where scholars of the Joseon Dynasty enjoyed cultural pursuits within Bukhansan Mountain. It is the only place in Seoul where the Gugok (Nine Bends) culture remains, and it also serves as a base camp for mountaineers in Bukhansan.
Accordingly, Gangbuk-gu is working to modernly reorganize the Uigugok cultural content in the Uidong area and combine it with leisure and activities to provide foreign tourists with an experience of Korean-style wellness.
Step-by-step preparation process to maximize linkage of existing assets
The Uidong area of Gangbuk-gu, which is also the starting point for climbing Bukhansan, is rich in diverse resources such as mountains, history, and culture. There are facilities such as the Seoul City Center for Tourism, which rents hiking gear to foreigners; the Bukhansan International Climbing Center where visitors can experience an international standard artificial rock wall; the Uidong Family Camping Site offering views of Bukhansan; the Uidong Mountain Culture H.U.B providing expert knowledge and education on mountain climbing through VR; and the Black Yak Yak Dome with various programs.
Additionally, there are cultural and artistic attractions such as the Cheongja Kiln Experience Site, Seorok Art Center for traditional culture experiences, and Bonghwanggak, where visitors can feel the serene beauty of Korea.
The district collected information on these tourist resources to develop competitive tourism products by reassessing the readiness of key points that foreigners can visit through this project. The collected information was translated into foreign languages and produced as postcard-style travel guides for easy access by tourists.
Furthermore, to enhance marketing efficiency for local businesses and key points, the culture of scholars and Uigugok was reinterpreted, and souvenirs using the Uigugok brand, logo, and application were developed. These developed contents were used as sources for promotional videos and various design contents, and archiving was completed to ensure continuous and consistent use in the future.
Pilot operation of travel products through collaboration among various stakeholders
The 'Gangbuk Bukhansan Base Camp@Uigugok' travel product was developed around two main themes. The first product, ‘Artwork Journey of the Scholars,’ was designed to recreate the artistic and cultural activities that scholars enjoyed in the mountains and valleys to escape daily life, consisting of Oriental painting drawing, pottery wheel experience, pottery drawing, and a guided tour of Bonghwanggak.
The second product, ‘Bukhansan Mountain Training Center,’ was designed to build basic skills and professional knowledge for enjoying professional mountaineering, including VR-based indirect hiking experience, basic knowledge education for hiking preparation, and climbing experience.
The fam tour involved about 10 multinational foreign tourists and inbound specialized travel agencies, conducted in three separate sessions. Since Seoul Tourism Foundation, district office officials, key site operators, and local merchants participated together in the travel program operation during the preparation process, not only the product composition but also its completeness was enhanced. Participants were deeply impressed by Gangbuk-gu’s abundant mountain tourism resources and evaluated the combined cultural and artistic composition and the experience of local unique stories as more competitive than simple mountain programs.
Gangbuk, the closest place to find a new self in nature away from daily life
The discovery of development potential as a new tourist destination in the Uidong area through this fam tour is seen as a significant achievement. Since COVID-19, lifestyle centered on hobbies and preferences has gained attention, and especially with the activation of the leisure and outdoor market, Gangbuk-gu has prepared an opportunity to establish its position as a major tourist destination within Seoul.
In this sense, this project was an important catalyst, and based on this, it has become possible to prepare more diverse marketing in the future, an official said. Collaboration with nearby university language institutes, brand marketing with Black Yak, program operation with the Seoul City Hiking Tourism Center, and expansion with various entities have become possible. Additionally, brand preemption as the starting point for Bukhansan traversing, development of distinctive festivals through modern reinterpretation of Uigugok and scholar culture, and competitive content development are also being prepared.
Lee Soon-hee, Mayor of Gangbuk-gu, stated, “We will continue to actively strive so that Uidong, the base camp of Bukhansan, can establish itself as a key point for mountain tourism in Seoul and that Gangbuk-style wellness tourism can be further activated.”
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