Yoon Inchon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, will visit cultural and tourism sites in the Gangwon region on May 7 and 8. He will inspect local cultural and tourism sites, including Gariwangsan in Jeongseon, Sokcho, which has been designated as a 'Culture City of Korea,' as well as key 'Local 100' destinations such as the 'DMZ Peace Road' in Goseong and Yanggu, the Baekja Museum, and the Park Soo Keun Art Museum. He will also listen to the opinions of stakeholders. The Korea.net Honorary Reporters, who promote Korea's attractions around the world, will accompany the visit.
On May 7, Minister Yoon, together with Choi Seungjun, Mayor of Jeongseon, will visit the Gariwangsan cable car facility, a legacy of the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The Gariwangsan cable car is a tourist facility that utilizes the gondola from the Alpine Skiing venue used during the Pyeongchang Olympics. Between 2023 and 2024, approximately 380,000 people visited the site. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to support regional revitalization through tourism projects based on the legacy of the Winter Olympics.
Minister Yoon will then visit Sokcho, which has been officially designated as a 'Culture City of Korea.' He will visit Abai Village, a representative 'Local 100' site in Sokcho, to hear about the city's plans to realize the vision of 'Sokcho, a city of culinary culture woven through taste.' He will also hold a roundtable discussion with local cultural entrepreneurs and artists participating in the Culture City project at the 'Seafood Cooperative Processing Center' and the 'Traveler Platform Deokjang,' which are sites of the city's cultural projects.
Yoon Inchon, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, is delivering a congratulatory speech at the opening ceremony of the '2025 Museum and Art Gallery Week' held on the 2nd at Sabina Art Gallery in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Yonhap News Agency
'Abai Village' was formed when refugees from Hamgyeong Province settled in the sand dune area during the Korean War. The area retains a unique food and lifestyle culture of displaced people. Starting this year, Sokcho City plans to invest a total of 19.8 billion KRW over three years in various projects, including a 4.5 billion KRW project to regenerate the Seafood Cooperative Processing Center into a 'culinary culture complex space,' to establish itself as Korea's leading city of culinary culture.
On May 8, Minister Yoon will visit security tourism sites in Goseong County, including the Unification Observatory and the DMZ Museum. The Unification Observatory, located at the northernmost point of South Korea, is a significant site as it marks the end of the 4,500 km Korea Dulle-gil Trail, which was fully opened in September last year. It is also one of the 'Local 100' destinations selected by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Minister Yoon, along with Ham Myeongjun, Mayor of Goseong, and other local government officials, will personally walk the 'DMZ Peace Road' Theme Route A, which starts at the Unification Observatory, passes through the Coastal Observatory and Tongjeon Tunnel, and continues to the Southern Limit Line, to inspect the site.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in cooperation with the Ministry of National Defense, plans to reopen Theme Route B of the DMZ Peace Road, which offers views of Mount Geumgang, to the general public starting May 9. Public access to Route B has been restricted since 2023. Those wishing to visit can apply in advance through the 'Peace Road' website or the Korea Dulle-gil Walking Tour mobile application 'Durunubi.'
Minister Yoon will then move to Yanggu County to visit the Baekja Museum and the Park Soo Keun Art Museum, both of which are representative cultural attractions and 'Local 100' sites in Yanggu. He will tour the Baekja Museum exhibition hall and visit Baekto Village nearby to inspect the conditions for supporting stable creative environments for local artists, such as artist spaces. At the Park Soo Keun Art Museum, he will tour the exhibition hall and meet with local artists active in Yanggu to exchange opinions.
The Yanggu Baekja Museum, which opened in 2006, is a public museum specializing in ceramics. Historical records show that it was the site of the longest and most frequent production of royal vessels for the Joseon Dynasty at the Saongwon Bunwon. The museum exhibits more than 2,600 artifacts and contemporary works, including ceramics made from Yanggu's high-quality white clay. The Park Soo Keun Art Museum, established in 2002 on the site of the birthplace of Park Soo Keun, a leading modern Korean painter, consists of five exhibition halls, including the Park Soo Keun Memorial Hall, the Contemporary Art Hall, and the Children's Art Hall. The museum houses a total of about 970 pieces, including more than 250 works by Park Soo Keun, materials from his era, and works by various contemporary artists.
Minister Yoon stated, "Cultural and tourism attractions and content that reflect the unique characteristics and stories of each region enhance the quality of life and pride of local residents, and attract people to visit those areas. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will do its utmost to promote unique local attractions and content so that more citizens and international tourists can experience their charm, and to reflect the voices from the field in our policies to achieve regional vitality and development through culture."
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