'Nobel Literature City' Jangheung, Literary Tour Boom... Visitors Increase Fourfold

Hansungwon Birthplace, Cheongwan Literature Museum, Haesantogul Cave, etc.
County Governor Kim Seong, "Strengthening the Reputation of the Literary Tourism Special Zone"

The number of literary figures and tourists visiting Jangheung-gun, Jeollanam-do, known as the hometown and current writing base of Han Seung-won, the father of Nobel Literature Prize-winning author Han Kang, and recognized as Han Kang's literary root, has significantly increased.

According to Jangheung-gun on the 18th, the number of visitors to Cheongwan Literature Museum, Han Seung-won's birthplace, Han Seung-won Literary Walking Trail, and Haesan Cave exceeded up to four times compared to the same period last year.

Tourists are viewing works by artists from Jangheung displayed at the Cheongwan Literature Museum. Provided by Jangheung County

At Cheongwan Literature Museum located in Daedeok-eup, Jangheung-gun, the number of visitors increased from about 570 during a similar period last year to 2,400 in the past month. Cheongwan Literature Museum is a place where you can see the works of writers from Jangheung at a glance, and it also provides writing spaces for authors.

The number of visitors to Haesan Cave, the writing studio of author Han Seung-won, the Literary Walking Trail, and Han Seung-won's birthplace also increased more than threefold compared to the previous month. As tourists visiting literary attractions increase, local tourist sites such as the Cypress Forest Wood Land, Saturday Market, Jeongnamjin Observatory, and Haedongsa Temple are also gaining vitality.

Jangheung-gun views this literary travel boom as an opportunity for the success of the Nobel Literature City and the revitalization of the local economy, and plans to focus the county's administrative and financial resources on developing new literary content and expanding infrastructure in 2025.

The novelist Mi-baek Lee Cheong-jun Literature Museum completed land acquisition this year and plans to start the project next year. A literary walking trail will be created in the section from Sumun Beach to the Unification Prayer Tower to equip Jangheung-gun with infrastructure so that it can become a pilgrimage site for literary figures.

Additionally, by hosting nationwide writing contests, creating nature-based book cafes, and establishing the Jangheung Literary Award, the county plans to complete its status as a representative literary city of South Korea.

County Governor Kim Seong said, “Jangheung is the place where author Han Kang spent his childhood and formed his literary sensibility,” adding, “We will promote projects to honor the achievements of Jangheung’s representative writers and firmly establish the reputation of the literary tourism special zone through this.”