[One Day 10,000 Steps, One Day 1,000 Characters] Escape the Hustle of Daily Life... From 'Carbon Zero Walking' to Wellness

One in Three Rural Tourism Participants Enjoy 'Dulle-gil Walking'

More people are seeking to escape the busy city and leisurely enjoy natural scenery while engaging in tourism and exercise. According to the 2022 Rural Tourism Survey by the Rural Development Administration, the rural tourism experience rate increased by 5 percentage points from 30.2% two years ago to 35.2%. Notably, among respondents, 34.9% reported having experience with 'walking rural trails,' ranking second after 'visiting popular restaurants' (44.8%). The main reason for visiting rural areas was 'escaping daily life, rest, and healing' (37.4%), indicating a growing desire among people to enjoy both tourism and exercise while relaxing away from their hectic daily routines.

Accordingly, walking events tailored to the characteristics of each region are gaining attention. These range from barefoot walking to walking events aimed at carbon neutrality.

Wanju-gun will hold the 2nd Moaksan Wellness Festival on May 13-14 at the Jeonbuk Provincial Museum of Art area in Moaksan, themed around well-being, health, and happiness. This festival features stage performances such as classical music fitting the wellness theme, along with five planned experiential activities utilizing the tourist resources around Moaksan. These include barefoot climbing of Moaksan with barefoot walking expert Park Dong-chang, Moaksan forest picnics where participants can rest and experience the forest, a hot air balloon ride offering views of the reservoir landscape through stream flight using the Moaksan soccer field, a health and happiness experience in Andeok Village including mugwort moxibustion and Korean medicine clinic treatments, and a program for visiting groups from outside the area featuring a liquor museum experience and walking the trail around Guije Reservoir.

There are also walking events aimed at carbon neutrality. On April 23, Mokpo City held the 'Carbon Zero Waste Collection Walking Day (Tanssdam Walking)' event around Yudalsan. This monthly event, part of the 'Carbon Zero Waste Collection Walking Day' initiative for health promotion and carbon neutrality practice, was attended by about 60 citizens who applied through the Namdo Love Mokpo Volunteer Corps, Mokpo Climate Environment Network organizations, and the 1365 Volunteer Portal. Participants walked approximately 3 km round-trip from Nojeokbong of Yudalsan to the Sculpture Park, collecting trash along the way and conducting a campaign pledging to practice carbon neutrality, adding meaningful impact to the event.