Hot Spring-Forest-Marine Combined Healing Belt
Differentiation ... Full Effort to Strengthen Competitiveness
As the number of tourists, which had sharply declined due to COVID-19, is recovering to pre-pandemic levels, interest in Uljin Oncheon, which has established itself as a traditional hot spring tourist destination, is being renewed.
Deokgu Hot Springs, Uljin. [Image source=Asia Economy DB]
Hot spring facilities were directly affected by measures such as gathering bans due to the spread of COVID-19, causing a slowdown in the number of tourists. However, with the significant easing of social distancing following the decrease in COVID-19 cases, these destinations are gaining attention as optimal travel spots offering healing and relaxation.
Uljin-gun is expected to lay the cornerstone for the opening of the "10 million tourist era" through the hot spring industry, with hot spring tourism landmarks represented by Deokgu Oncheon and Baegam Oncheon.
Deokgu Oncheon is Korea’s only natural spring hot spring, famous for using 42.4℃ hot spring water without heating it.
Designated as Gyeongbuk Province’s first health hot spring by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in 2015, its mildly alkaline water is known to be beneficial for neuralgia, muscle pain, and skin diseases. Going forward, it plans to secure wellness tourism competitiveness by providing content that heals the mind and body in a tranquil natural environment, especially for family tourists.
Baegam Oncheon’s development began in earnest in 1979 when the Onjeong-myeon Onjeong-ri area in Gyeongbuk Province was selected as a national tourist site.
It is the only sulfur hot spring in Korea containing natural alkaline radium components. The water is colorless and odorless, maintains a temperature suitable for the human body, making it ideal for hot spring bathing, and is known to be effective for neuralgia, chronic arthritis, stroke, and nerve paralysis.
In particular, the strong anti-inflammatory effects of the sulfur hot spring are known to be excellent for patients with inflammatory skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis, solidifying its position as a healing tourism destination.
The Baegam Oncheon area is facing difficulties due to the closure of Baegam Oncheon Hanwha Resort on December 31, 2023, but it is preparing to overcome the crisis and leap to a higher level through various business linkages utilizing Baegam Oncheon’s excellent hot spring water.
With the full-scale operation of the ‘Baegam Healing Forest,’ which combines hot springs and forests, and the ‘Uljin Marine Healing Center,’ the first marine healing center on the East Coast, it is expected that Korea’s best healing tourism zone combining hot springs, forests, and the ocean will be completed.
Son Byeong-bok, the county governor, said, “Uljin-gun is making every effort to become a tourist attraction combining hot springs and pristine natural environments,” adding, “We will prepare for the era of 10 million tourists through the development of differentiated tourism resources unique to Uljin.”
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