Gwangju Dong-gu, Activation of Mudeungsan Chunsul Tea Garden Art Night Tourism Space

Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City announced that it will accelerate the 'Mudeungsan Southern Area Wide-area Tourism Project' (Art-Integrated Night Tourism), which restores the Mudeungsan Chunsul tea fields with a thousand years of history and renovates the historic sites where Uijae Heo Baek-ryeon was active.

On the 29th of last month, Dong-gu held the final report meeting for the basic plan service of the 'Art-Integrated Night Tourism Space Production Project,' a part of the Mudeungsan Southern Area Wide-area Tourism Development Project, attended by District Mayor Im Taek, external experts, and about 20 related personnel.

The Southern Area Wide-area Tourism Development Project focuses on enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of tourism in the southern regions of Yeongnam and Honam (southwest, south-central, and southeast areas) with the vision and goals of 'creating travel destinations where visitors stay one more day' and 'establishing a southern area K-tourism leisure belt.' This plan is a core national agenda of the current government.

Since 2022, Dong-gu has actively promoted the Mudeungsan area in the 'Southern Area Wide-area Tourism Development Plan' initiated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and as a result of its application, it was reflected in last year's plan. Consequently, after passing the new project appropriateness evaluation by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance last year, it also passed the central investment review by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in March this year, putting it on the track for full-scale commencement.

At this service report meeting, based on three basic concepts?▲ restoration of tea and senses ▲ Korean natural aesthetics ▲ forest of artists?the restoration and maintenance direction was set for the Mudeungsan Chunsul tea fields and the Chunsulheon area where Uijae Heo Baek-ryeon was active, with plans to revitalize it as an art-integrated night tourism space.

Additionally, the architectural direction emphasizes naturalness without conflicting with the Mudeungsan National Park environment, and there are noteworthy plans to operate programs linked with nearby Jeungsimsa Temple and the Uijae Museum of Art.

District Mayor Im Taek said, "We will spare no support and interest to restore the fading history of Chunsul tea, which represents Honam, at Mudeungsan, and transform the southern area into a distinctive tourist destination combining the artistic and humanities resources of Uijae Heo Baek-ryeon." He added, "We will make every effort to establish Gwangju as a stay-type tourism city centered on Mudeungsan."