Awarded Institutional Commendation by Korea Tourism Organization's Big Smart Consulting Project
for Contributions to Revitalizing Tourism through the Namsa Yedamchon Walking Tour
Sancheong County in South Gyeongsang Province has been uniquely selected as a "regional tourism growth destination" within the province.
According to Sancheong County on June 17, the county was designated as a regional tourism growth destination by the Korea Tourism Organization and received an institutional commendation.
This selection was based on a combined evaluation of 48 local governments that participated in the Smart Consulting Project with Big Data (hereinafter referred to as the Big Smart Consulting Project) from 2020 to last year. The assessment consisted of a quantitative evaluation (30 points) analyzing various data growth rates such as telecommunications and card usage, and a qualitative evaluation (70 points) by experts on the contribution to revitalizing regional tourism and fostering sustainable local tourism.
As a result of the evaluation, five local governments?including Sancheong, Busan, Okcheon, Iksan, and Pocheon?were named as regional tourism growth destinations. Sancheong County, which participated in the Big Smart Consulting Project in 2022 and 2023, has developed and is currently operating the "Namsa Yedamchon Walking Tour." Through this project, the county is focusing on cultivating local talent and establishing the tour as a sustainable tourism program.
These efforts were recognized in the evaluation for contributing to job creation and revitalizing tourism as a response to the risk of regional depopulation. In addition, tourism involving resident participation was highlighted as an exemplary model capable of driving regional growth.
County Governor Lee Seunghwa stated, "We will continue to do our best to develop the tourism industry by discovering projects that go beyond simple attractions and resonate with visitors, through participation in and collaboration with Korea Tourism Organization’s public projects."
Meanwhile, the walking tour is operated as a new form of street theater (walking theater), where tourists visiting Namsa Yedamchon?the first village in Korea to be designated as one of the most beautiful?can walk along traditional hanok houses and stone wall paths to deeply experience tradition and history.
Rather than simply explaining tradition and history, professional actors perform as storytellers, and the audience participates in the role play. The tour follows a route from the pagoda tree, Lee family’s old house, Yeongmojae, and Yedamgil, all the way to Sayangjeongsa.
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