The World's Largest Artificial Surfing 'Wave Park' Opens on July 7 at Siheung Geobukseom

[Asia Economy (Siheung) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] The world's largest 'Artificial Surfing Wave Park' has opened on Geobukseom Island in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province. As a result, surfing, which was previously only possible in seas with high waves, can now be enjoyed in the metropolitan area.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 8th that on the 7th, a completion ceremony for the 'Artificial Surfing Wave Park' was held on Geobukseom Island located in Siwha MTV, Jeongwang-dong, Siheung.

About 100 people, including National Assembly member Jo Jeong-sik, attended the ceremony to celebrate the birth of a new tourist attraction.

Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung said in his congratulatory speech, "Siwha Lake was once called the 'Lake of Death' due to its very uncertain future, but through administrative reforms by Gyeonggi Province and Siheung City, results were achieved in a short time. It seems that the Korean-style Golden Coast project promoted by Siheung City will take off. I hope the Wave Park grows into an international theme park, creates jobs, and develops into a company that greatly contributes to the Gyeonggi economy."

The newly opened Wave Park is the first 'Artificial Surfing Wave Park' in Korea, created by Daewon Plus in collaboration with Spain's Wave Park. It covers an area of 325,300㎡ with an investment of 563 billion KRW. It is 100% privately funded and will be donated to Siheung City after 20 years of operation. The artificial surfing area opened on the 7th, and the wave pool and other facilities will open sequentially from early next year.

Daewon Plus Group plans to develop the area around Geobukseom Island into a global attraction through the second phase of development by 2023, which will include hotels, a marina, and a Ferris wheel, starting with the first phase development of the Siheung Artificial Surfing Wave Park.

Daewon Plus expects this project to create 10,000 jobs, including 1,400 direct employments and 8,400 indirect employments.

Gyeonggi Province played a key role in the early completion of the artificial surfing facility, which was originally scheduled to open at the end of this year.

At the early stage of the artificial surfing facility project, the project was at risk of being canceled because it did not comply with the current laws related to sports facility installation. Since the artificial surfing facility was introduced for the first time in Korea, surfing was not listed among the 45 permissible facilities defined by law.

Accordingly, the province formed a public-private joint consultative body and a task force (TF) and negotiated with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the relevant department. The province requested approval by arguing that although the artificial surfing facility was not among the 45 facilities, it falls under sports events held domestically or internationally as defined in other provisions of the law. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism allowed flexible interpretation of the law, enabling the construction to proceed.

In recognition of these efforts, the province was selected as an excellent local government for regional investment attraction by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in July.

With the rapid increase in the domestic surfing population and surfing being adopted as an official sport in international competitions such as the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics, the province expects Siwha Lake to become a hub for the marine leisure industry by combining it with nearby Aqua Pet Land, the Marine Ecology Science Museum, and other facilities.

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