145km Transversal Route Connecting the "Closed Mine City," Untan Godo (運炭高道)

Elevation 700~1300m High Road Connecting Gangwon Yeongwol~Jeongseon~Taebaek~Samcheok ... Completed in 2022

Walking Trails Developed in Abandoned Mining Areas of Gangwon Province [Provided by Gangwon Province]

[Asia Economy Reporter La Youngcheol] A cross-route called 'Untangodo (運炭高道)' connecting the east and west of the abandoned mining areas in Gangwon Province will be created.

'Untangodo,' which connects the beautiful natural scenery, abundant forest resources, and industrial heritage infrastructure of the abandoned mining towns, is expected to be comparable to China's 'Chamagodo' (Tea Horse Road).

Additionally, with the increase in non-face-to-face walking travelers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourist sites in abandoned mining areas with rich forest resources are expected to present a new tourism paradigm.

Gangwon Province announced on the 22nd, "We are promoting a project to transform the abandoned mining resources of four cities in Gangwon Province into walking trails, focusing on revitalizing the economy through tourism in these areas."

The province plans to connect Yeongwol (Cheongnyeongpo, winery), Jeongseon (Manhangjae, Kangwon Land), Taebaek (Hwangji Pond, Maebongsan), and Samcheok (Mi-in Waterfall, Samcheok Port) into a single route, envisioning a 145km east-west cross-route for a 5-night, 6-day course starting from the mountainous inland and heading toward the sea.

The route, composed of altitudes ranging from 700 to 1300 meters, links attractive tourist resources of the four cities and includes national forest sections such as forest trails and forest roads.

Walking Trails Developed in Abandoned Mining Areas of Gangwon Province [Provided by Gangwon Province]

Through this, the plan is to allow visitors to feel and experience distinctive local resources and forest resources such as coal mining industrial heritage and history, highland vegetation, and geological resource zones.

The province will be responsible for the basic and detailed design of the 'walking trail' creation, budget support, and infrastructure development projects, while the four cities and counties will take charge of actual trail management and operation, including construction and integrated center (information center) operation.

Agreeing on the lack of symbolic content so far and having planned a project linking the region's nature and industrial infrastructure, the province and the four cities and counties of the abandoned mining areas signed a business agreement on the 21st for the creation of the abandoned mining area walking trail (tentatively named Untangodo - 運炭高道).

The 'Untangodo' walking trail project in the abandoned mining area will invest a total of 3.6 billion KRW, with design completion scheduled for May 2021, phase 1 project in October, and phase 2 project completion in 2022.

Woo Byungryeol, Deputy Governor of Gangwon Province for Economic Affairs, said, "We empathize with revitalizing the abandoned mining area economy, and will actively promote the regional balanced New Deal project in cooperation with the Eastern Regional Forest Service and the four cities and counties, while also focusing on promotional marketing reflecting walking demand characteristics and ensuring walking travel safety."

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