Imsil-gun Begins Construction of Bonghwang Ecological Park

The Only One in Jeollabuk-do, 2020 New Autonomous Programming Project, Holds Resident Briefing Session

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Nosik] Bonghwangsan Mountain in Imsil-gun is being transformed into an eco-friendly complex space where ecology, culture, and healing can coexist.

The county has embarked on the Bonghwang Ecological Park creation project, which greatly contributes to residents' health, recreation, and emotional well-being by connecting the ecologically damaged ecological axis of Bonghwangsan and restoring its excellent ecological environment.

To this end, on the 17th, the county conducted basic and detailed designs for this year and held a residents' briefing session at the Imsil-eup Office with about 50 local residents attending, wearing masks, using hand sanitizers, and maintaining social distancing to gather various opinions from the community.

The Bonghwang Ecological Park creation project involves installing ecological trails, natural learning centers, ecological restoration forests, and colorful hills in the Bonghwangsan area of Ido-ri, Imsil-eup.

This project was the only one selected as a new self-organized project by Jeollabuk-do in 2020, with a total investment of 5.8 billion KRW including provincial funds, and is scheduled to be carried out until 2022.

In fact, the existing Bonghwangsan forest belt had been continuously damaged by activities such as cultivation, leading to a deteriorating ecological environment.

To promote the project, the county established a feasibility study and basic plan for the creation of Imsil Bonghwang Ecological Park in 2018 and applied for national funding through the Ministry of Environment's balanced national development project in 2019. However, last August, when the government’s balanced national development projects were fully transferred to provincial self-organized projects, the project faced a critical challenge.

Nevertheless, after persistent persuasion by County Governor Shim Min and related officials on the necessity of the project, it was finally selected as the only new provincial self-organized project for natural environment conservation and utilization facilities in 2020.

Thanks to these efforts, starting this year, the county will promote projects that secure ecosystem conservation and biodiversity by connecting ecological environment exploration throughout the urban area near Imsil-eup with a walking trail around the city and linking it to the ecological, cultural, and historical learning spaces in the Bonghwangsan Ecological Park project area.

County Governor Shim Min said, “Since this project was achieved through the relentless efforts of related officials, we will strive to successfully carry out the project by collecting diverse opinions from residents. We hope to create Bonghwang Ecological Park embodying the spirit of Bonghwangsan, where the phoenix is said to have settled and rested, and to become a town truly known as the home of the phoenix.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.