Outstanding Local Government in Creatourism
Spotlight on "Slow Walking Tourism"
Uiseong County has clearly made its presence known in nationwide evaluations by expanding the paradigm of rural tourism from simple "experiences" to "interpretation and relationships."
Uiseong County (Governor Kim Jusu) announced that it was selected as an outstanding local government in the "Regional Resource Interpretation" category among 20 participating local governments nationwide at the "2025 Rural Creatourism Support Project Performance Sharing Event" held at the LW Convention Center in Seoul on December 15. Hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, this event was organized to comprehensively evaluate project outcomes and share future strategies for rural tourism.
The achievements of Uiseong County focused not only on increasing visitor numbers, but also on how the county turned its unique local resources into stories and structured them as tourism content. Centered around the Rural Experience Village Council, which consists of eight rural experience and recreation villages within the county, Uiseong developed and operated a Creatourism program that organically connects rural villages and local tourism resources, utilizing 250 million won in government funding secured through a national competition.
As a result, a total of 703 people participated in 38 rural tourism products operated by the county, demonstrating tangible outcomes. Notably, the emphasis was placed more on the content than the numbers. Uiseong County restructured each village’s history, scenery, and everyday culture into stories, launching the brand "Walk Slowly, Uiseong Onsaemiro," and redefining rural areas as spaces for staying and building relationships, rather than simply places to consume.
In this process, Uiseong actively expanded the base of rural tourism by attracting new demand groups that had been relatively overlooked in traditional rural tourism, such as foreign tourists, travelers with pets, and families with children. Furthermore, by designing a relationship-based tourism structure led by local residents, rather than one-off experiences, the county presented the possibility of a sustainable rural tourism ecosystem.
This recognition as an outstanding local government was awarded for discovering new value in rural areas and creatively reinterpreting local resources. It is cited as a leading model case where administrative policy support, the planning capabilities of travel agencies, and the on-site execution of the Rural Experience Village Council combined organically to create synergy.
Kim Jusu, Governor of Uiseong County, stated, "Rural Uiseong may be slow, but it is a deeply valuable asset," adding, "We will continue to provide ongoing support so that differentiated rural tourism based on local resources can take root and spread."
At a time when the success of rural tourism is shifting from "how many visited" to "what visitors take away with them," Uiseong County’s achievement is seen as a clear example of the direction rural policy should pursue.
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