Gochang-gun Receives 'Best' Rating for Three Consecutive Years in Jeollabuk-do Ecotourism Site Development Project

Positive Reviews for Profit-Generating Projects Like Resident Community-Centered Saturday Market and Ecological Table

Ungok Wetland Ecological Park Promotion Center, Gochang-gun. Photo by Gochang-gun

[Gochang=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jaegil] The Ungok Ramsar Wetland Ecotourism Development Project in Gochang-gun received the highest grade in this year's ecological tourism site business evaluation of cities and counties in Jeollabuk-do.

The Jeonbuk Province ecological tourism site development project evaluation for cities and counties was conducted by a professional evaluation team assessing 11 items across 4 areas, including resource excellence and marketability, to foster competitive ecotourism sites.

The establishment of an ecotourism foundation and profit-generating projects such as the Saturday Market centered on the six village communities of Ungok Wetland and the ecological meal were recognized as exemplary models of ecotourism. The restoration and preservation of Ungok Wetland, aiming for international ecotourism certification, received favorable reviews for biodiversity and sustainability.

As a result of this evaluation, the county will receive concentrated support of 1.2 billion KRW for the ecological tourism site development project next year and an additional 50 million KRW in performance rewards for developing distinctive customized models.

In particular, among 12 cities and counties, Gochang-gun has established itself as the best ecotourism site in South Korea by receiving the S grade (highest) for three consecutive years since 2018.

So far, Gochang-gun has invested 5.7 billion KRW since 2015 to foster the Ungok Ramsar Wetland Ecotourism Site, promoting trail maintenance, ecological stream restoration, wildflower garden creation, and ecological village development.

Currently, Ungok Wetland is attracting attention as a new firefly tourism site with a noticeable increase in the population of fireflies, a representative indicator species of clean areas, due to continuous wetland restoration. Efforts are underway to establish a sustainable ecotourism vision strategy to grow as an international ecotourism site.

A Gochang-gun official said, “It was possible because the county and the residents of villages around Ungok Wetland worked together for ecosystem restoration and revitalization of ecotourism,” adding, “We will strive to make Ungok Wetland recognized as a healing and therapeutic ecotourism site in response to the post-COVID era.”

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