Gokseong-gun Secures 44.2 Billion Won Tourism Development Budget from Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for Next Year

Total Project Cost of 44.2 Billion KRW by 2027

Promotion of Train Village-Linked Circular and Expansion-Type Tourism Project

Gokseong-gun, Jeollanam-do (Governor Lee Sang-cheol) announced that it has secured a total project cost of 44.2 billion KRW for the 2024 Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Southern Region Wide-area Tourism Development Project.

The Southern Region Wide-area Tourism Development Project planned by Gokseong-gun consists of the ‘Artificial Ecological Forest Tourism Garden Creation Project (33.4 billion KRW)’ and the ‘Leisurecation Tourism Stay Expansion Project (10.8 billion KRW),’ which are expected to serve as a catalyst for the future advancement of ‘Gokseong Tourism,’ represented by the Seomjingang Train Village.

[Photo by Gokseong-gun]

From 2024 to 2027, over four years, a total of 44.2 billion KRW will be invested, with the national government covering 50%, the provincial government 15%, and the county government 35% of the total project cost, making the county’s financial burden relatively low compared to previous tourism development projects.

The ‘Artificial Ecological Forest Tourism Garden Creation Project’ is one of the five major representative projects in the ‘Southern Region Wide-area Tourism Development Plan’ aimed at building a wide-area tourism belt by linking the unique landscapes and cultures preserved in Gokseong, Gurye, Gwangyang, and Hadong according to regional characteristics, thereby promoting tourism revitalization in the tourism garden sector.

The project site is located between the ‘Seomjingang Train Village’ and the ‘Seomjingang Fairy Tale Garden,’ giving it a geographical advantage to connect the two tourist attractions.

By creating exhibition spaces such as a media garden and a story seed bank themed around Seomjingang’s representative landscapes like the supertree and storytelling resources, the site will be developed as the starting point of Seomjingang travel and a specialized tourism hub.

The ‘Leisurecation Tourism Stay Expansion Project’ aims to activate a 35 km section from Seomjingang Train Village along the Seomjingang River and Daehwanggang River (Boseong River) into a world-class exciting ecological leisure specialized tourism hub. This project seeks to expand tourism infrastructure from Gokseong tourism centered on Seomjingang Train Village to the Seomjingang and Daehwanggang riversides, realizing a stay-type tourism.

The ‘Train Village Youth Hostel’ located near Seomjingang Train Village will be remodeled and reborn as ‘Seomjingang Rail Stay’ to secure the insufficient accommodation infrastructure. Through the operation of the Seomjingang Leisure School program and strategic marketing, the Seomjingang and Daehwanggang riversides will be developed into a mecca of leisure excitement.

Additionally, the county plans to actively discover related projects such as various transportation means including mini trains that can circulate and connect the tourist sites in the area, and solutions to parking difficulties, to maximize tourism synergy and strengthen the continuity and sustainability of the project until the completion of the ‘Southern Region Wide-area Tourism Development Project’ in 2027.

A county official stated, “Through this project, we will develop Gokseong, represented by the steam locomotive and Rose Park, into a stay-type tourist destination truly representing the Honam region, and establish it as the starting point of Seomjingang travel, opening the era of 10 million tourists.”

Gokseong = Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Cha Jong-seon hss79@asiae.co.kr