Ulleung-gun, Gyeongbuk, was recognized for overcoming the limitation of being the only local government at the easternmost tip of the country and enhancing the value of its city brand by implementing policies such as improving residential conditions and developing brands and characters for urban marketing.
On the 17th, Ulleung-gun received the Grand Prize in the "National Representative City Marketing Category" at the '2024 Global City Brand Awards' ceremony held at the 20th-floor international conference room of the Korea Press Center in Seoul.
Hosted by Sisa Journal and sponsored by the World Hallyu Association and Nemo Future Research Institute, the Global City Brand Awards were established with the purpose of discovering cities that contribute to the national tourism industry as sustainable brands in the global era, selecting and awarding institutions that have shown remarkable achievements in each category.
Ulleung-gun is taking a commemorative photo after winning the Grand Prize in the 'National Representative City Marketing Category' at the 2024 Global City Brand Awards.
The awards ceremony was held across nine categories including national representative city entrepreneurship, urban diversity, exhibitions and festivals, tourism, and brand marketing, focusing on evaluating global growth potential and future value of city brands.
The evaluation strictly applied the ‘NICE+P’ framework by analyzing data across seven categories such as city growth potential, future value, and ecological environment. ‘NICE+P’ stands for Nature & Heritage (landscape and locational elements), Infrastructure (urban infrastructure elements), Culture & Lifestyle (quality of the city), Economy (job creation and opportunities), Personality, People, and Policy (city individuality and charm).
In particular, Ulleung-gun was highly praised for focusing on urban marketing, which had been stagnant, by strengthening internal and external marketing functions centered on the new city brand ‘Emerald Ulleung,’ which expresses the image of an eco-friendly and clean island with a future vision through a renewal after 10 years. This embodies the core policy of the county administration to build ‘Happy Residents, a New Ulleung to Visit Again.’
Additionally, Ulleung-gun received favorable reviews for implementing substantial policy support measures to improve the poor residential conditions of island residents located more than 50 km from the mainland in a special geopolitical area near borders, including the enactment of the ‘Special Act on Support for Remote Islands such as Ulleungdo and Heuksando at the Outskirts of the National Territory.’ It was also recognized for being selected as the host of the 4th Island Day, the first national event held in Ulleung-gun last year, and for efforts to build infrastructure (such as the construction of Ulleung Airport) to accommodate diversified tourism demand, thereby realizing various visions and attractions.
In the 8th term of the civilian administration, Ulleung-gun plans to become a world-class eco-friendly tourist island by uniting local governments, universities, and global companies to foster talent through establishing a university campus and increasing the resident population linked to the tourism industry.
Nam Han-kwon, the county governor, said, “This award is an honorable result added by the encouragement and support of the residents,” and added, “We will do our best to make Ulleung, which embraces clean water, air, and outstanding natural scenery, a global eco-friendly and tourist island.”
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