Korea Tourism Organization, Jeonbuk Province and 6 Other Agencies Sign MOU to Revitalize Saemangeum Marine Tourism

Promotion of Marine Tourism and Regional Economic Revitalization Centered on Saemangeum

The Korea Tourism Organization announced that it has signed a business agreement with six institutions, including the Saemangeum Development Agency, Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, Saemangeum Development Agency, Gunsan City, Gimje City, Buan County, and Saemangeum Development Corporation, to revitalize marine leisure tourism in the Saemangeum area.

Group photo at the business agreement ceremony. (From left) Kim Hee-ok, Vice Mayor of Gimje City; Kwon Ik-hyun, Governor of Buan County; Kim Jong-hoon, Deputy Governor for Economy of Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province; Kim Kyung-an, Administrator of Saemangeum Development Agency; Yoo Jin-ho, Head of Tourism Content Strategy Headquarters at Korea Tourism Organization; Na Kyung-gyun, President of Saemangeum Development Corporation; Shin Won-sik, Vice Mayor of Gunsan City.
[Photo by Korea Tourism Organization]

This business agreement was made to revitalize marine tourism and the local economy centered on the Saemangeum area.

The Tourism Organization and the partner institutions plan to promote various cooperative projects such as ▲ discovering region-specific marine tourism content ▲ commercializing marine leisure tourism products and joint promotion and marketing ▲ creating new marine tourism demand through hosting marine tourism events.

The Saemangeum area is a region centered on Gunsan City, Gimje City, and Buan County in Jeollabuk-do, encompassing the outskirts including Gochang and Jeongeup. The Saemangeum area is rich in tourism resources for marine leisure tourism, such as the Gogunsan Archipelago (Gunsan), known for its pristine natural environment, Manghaesa, a nationally designated scenic spot where the Mangyeong River meets the West Sea (Gimje), and the international yacht competition (Buan), a representative marine leisure sports event.

Additionally, with the planned construction of the Saemangeum New Port in 2026 and the Saemangeum New Airport in 2029, accessibility for both domestic and foreign tourists is expected to improve significantly.

Yoo Jin-ho, Head of the Tourism Content Strategy Division at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, "Starting in 2025, we plan to launch new projects to discover and nurture representative marine tourism themes by region," adding, "Beginning with the Saemangeum area, we will carry out various collaborative projects such as selecting region-specific marine tourism themes, discovering content, and commercializing products."