Jeongeup-si Launches Full-Scale Expansion of Forest Recreation and Leisure Tourism Resources through Forest Road Construction

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Jaegil] Recently, as public awareness and the need for forests have been increasing, themed forest roads utilizing forest paths are gaining new attention.

Forest road facilities are roads constructed within forests for forest management and operations such as afforestation, forest tending, transportation of forest products, wildfire prevention, and restoration.

Jeongeup City in Jeollabuk-do has been utilizing and developing 22 forest road routes totaling 110 km, established since 1985, to enjoy forest recreation and forest sports, linking them with various local forest sports events to contribute to revitalizing the regional economy.

The city has been developing mountain biking courses since last year using the pleasant forest environment and forest road facilities, and is newly constructing forest roads to improve accessibility to the Chilbosan paragliding launch site.

The mountain biking course is approximately 52 km long, starting from Naejangsan Culture Square and connecting existing forest roads, passing through Borim-ri in Buk-myeon, Chukhyeon-ri in Chilbo, Baegam-ri, Bangok-ri, and Sucheong-ri.

The city plans to invest 600 million KRW in the project, consulting experts such as the Mountain Biking Association to level the road surface and install safety nets, expanding safety facilities.

The construction of the forest road from Guryong-dong to Sucheong-ri for the paragliding launch site has been a long-standing wish continuously requested by paragliding club members.

Since the first term of the civilian government in 1998, there have been demands for access roads and launch sites on Chilbosan, but the project faced difficulties due to the lack of consent from forest landowners.

However, at the end of last year, consent was obtained for the forest section of the launch site forest road access, and after a feasibility evaluation by Jeollabuk-do, construction is underway, with plans to extend the connecting route to Chilbo Sucheong-ri in the future.

The city plans to continue promoting forest road facilities that allow various forest welfare and recreation activities within the forest, linked with existing forest roads from Sinwoldong to Gyoamdong and the Naejangsan Natural Recreation Forest being developed in Yongsan-dong.

A city official said, “Once the mountain biking course and paragliding site are completed, it is expected to attract outdoor enthusiasts using forest recreation and sports tourism resources via forest roads, as well as invigorate the local economy through hosting national competitions.”

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