Songdo Pine Forest to Songdo Beach: A 4km Barefoot Walking Experience
Nationwide Barefoot Walking Enthusiasts Gather... Becoming a Signature Local Festival
Pohang City is further strengthening its image as a green city ideal for walking by establishing a new healing culture of barefoot walking in daily life.
The 3rd Korea Barefoot Walking Festival was held on the 22nd at Songdo Pine Forest and Songdo Beach area in Pohang. Photo by Pohang City
The 3rd Korea Barefoot Walking Festival was held successfully on June 22 at the Songdo Pine Forest and Songdo Beach area in Pohang, with the participation of about 1,000 barefoot walking enthusiasts from across the country.
This festival was hosted and organized by the Barefoot School Pohang Branch and sponsored by Pohang City. It was designed as a health and environmental festival where participants walked barefoot along a roughly 4-kilometer course connecting the loess path and sandy path of Songdo Pine Forest with the white sand beach of Songdo Beach, fully experiencing the sensations of nature.
Participants had time to heal both body and mind as they walked barefoot on various surfaces, feeling the texture of the earth, the scent of the forest, and the sound of the waves with all five senses.
Those who completed all three courses?loess, sandy soil, and beach?received commemorative gifts. In addition, 300 family participants were given a "barefoot photo shoot ticket" by a renowned local photographer, which was met with great enthusiasm.
There were also a variety of side events, including a barefoot singing contest, barefoot stamp collecting, a public health promotion booth, a carbon neutrality campaign, and diverse games and experience booths, offering participants a wealth of enjoyable activities.
In particular, a Beach Combing campaign, which also served as a beach cleanup activity, drew attention.
Biodegradable eco-friendly bags were distributed, and participants who collected trash washed up on the shore could exchange it for commemorative gifts, making it a meaningful time to share the value of environmental protection.
The event venue, Songdo Pine Forest Urban Forest, is an artificial forest established in the 1910s as a windbreak. Although its original form was damaged over time, Pohang City has improved the forest's environment and newly created a loess path and loess ball experience area, transforming it into an urban healing space where anyone can walk comfortably.
This festival also served as an opportunity to introduce Songdo Beach, which is scheduled to reopen this summer, to citizens and tourists in advance, widely promoting the appeal of Pohang's walking tourism resources that blend forest, sea, and trails.
Lee Youngcheol, head of the Barefoot School Pohang Branch, said, "Barefoot walking is gaining attention as a new lifestyle that considers both health and the environment," adding, "I hope more people will experience the happiness of barefoot walking in nature here in Pohang."
Pohang City has selected the "Top 40 Barefoot Trails," which are walking paths suitable for barefoot walking close to urban areas and waterfronts, and continues to promote the Greenway Project to create an eco-friendly green city.
Shin Kangsoo, head of Pohang City's Green City Project Division, stated, "Barefoot walking has now become a healthy lifestyle embedded in citizens' daily lives," and added, "We will do our best to make Pohang a green city ideal for walking by utilizing its beautiful forests and sea."
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