Gwangju City Council to Design Night Tourism Together with Citizens

Legislative Conference Explores Strategies to Revitalize Night Tourism
Seeking Ways to Discover and Promote Tourism Resources in Five Autonomous Districts

Gwangju City Council held a legislative conference on the 24th in the City Council Budget and Accounts Committee meeting room with the theme "Discovering and Revitalizing Night Tourism Resources." Photo by Gwangju City Council

On May 25, the Gwangju City Council announced that it had held a legislative conference on the 24th in the City Council Budget and Accounts Committee meeting room, with the theme "Discovering and Revitalizing Night Tourism Resources."

This conference was organized in celebration of the 60th Citizens' Day, aiming to address local issues together with citizens and to derive practical policy directions. During the conference, the establishment of a convergent tourism infrastructure combined with culture, such as creating a night culture map, was highlighted as a prerequisite for revitalizing local night tourism.

Lee Mooyong, professor at the Graduate School of Culture at Chonnam National University, presented "Let's Illuminate Gwangju, the City of Light, Through Culture: Cultural Strategies and Seven Major Projects for Night Tourism," proposing a unique cultural approach to Gwangju's night tourism that aligns with the era of Tourism 3.0, which values experiential tourism.

In particular, Professor Lee suggested seven major projects: creating a night culture map; fostering relational populations through third places; establishing cultural nights that enjoy the time zone; creating nightscapes with stories and experiences; organizing lifestyle-oriented night festivals; developing night walking trails that make Gwangju a city people want to stroll at night; and introducing the concept of a Night Mayor.

Professor Lee stated, "Gwangju should become a '24-hour open city' where cultural tourism and night culture can be enjoyed at night, taking into account various lifestyles." He added, "Gwangju must accurately diagnose its unique night culture tourism, discover sustainable tourism resources, and establish an innovative system for night tourism."

Shin Jaeyoon, team leader, presented "Night Tourism: The Secret of an Attractive Concept," highlighting the following as strengths of local night tourism: baseball content, Yangnim-dong at night, the Koryoin Village (Russian Night in Gwangju), and historical tourism related to the 5·18 Democratization Movement.

Shin emphasized, "We need to break down boundaries between autonomous districts and connect Gwangju under a single common theme, infusing the city's values into night tourism." He also called for active global promotional marketing to brand Gwangju's night tourism, which uniquely combines local flavors, styles, and excitement.

During the comprehensive discussion that followed, Kim Jingang, president of Gwangju Tourism Organization, stressed "securing diversity in night content rather than focusing on facility installations." Park Jongchan, professor at Gwangju University, advocated for "developing spaces to establish Gwangju's representative image."

Additionally, Lim Sohee, senior expert at the Korea Tourism Organization, emphasized "diversifying tourism resources by day and night themes and linking them to extended stays." Lee Yongkyu, CEO of Travelable, highlighted "Gwangju night tours that combine dark tourism, art, and nighttime experiences."

Kim Daesung, team leader of Gwangju City's Tourism City Division, pointed out Gwangju's unique night-out festivals such as "creating a media art creative city nightscape," while Ahn Pyunghwan, chairperson of the City Council's Administrative Autonomy Committee, cited "establishing cooperative systems with local commercial districts and cultural facilities" as key initiatives.

Hong Giwol, the council member who proposed the "Gwangju City Night Tourism Promotion Ordinance," stated, "We must strive for the continuous development of local night tourism so that it can become a driving force for the regional economy."

Chairperson Shin Sujeong said, "Through this conference, our sense of duty to realize 'night tourism unique to Gwangju, night tourism that is possible because it is Gwangju' has become even stronger." She added, "As we have confirmed that Gwangju is a distinctive region with urban charm and diversity, the City Council will lead ongoing interest and participation from everyone in local night tourism."