Shinan-gun 'Purple Island' Selected as One of Korea's Top 100 Representative Tourist Destinations

Banwol and Bakji Island, Noted as Untact Tourist Destinations

Aerial view of Banwoldo, Anjwa-myeon (Photo by Sinan-gun)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] On the 29th, Sinan-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that 'Purple Island' has been selected as one of the 'Top 100 Representative Tourist Destinations in Korea' for 2021-2022, chosen by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization, a list that both Koreans and foreigners visiting Korea must visit.

The '2021-2022 Korea Tourism Top 100' was selected through a rigorous evaluation process involving experts from tourism academia, travel industry, travel journalists, and writers. The process included a first round of document review, a second round of on-site inspections, and a third round of final selection committee review, targeting 198 sites selected from the 'Korea Tourism Top 100' chosen in 2019-2020, local government recommended tourist spots, and the most visited tourist destinations.

Banwoldo and Bakjido in Anjwa-myeon and Durim Village have developed Purple Island with residents since 2007, investing 20.5 billion won with purple as the main theme.

Considering the ecological characteristics such as the naturally growing purple balloon flower colonies and bee balm on the island, the concept was set as a purple island. The wooden bridges and coastal walking paths are adorned with lavender, magnolia, and hydrangea; village roofs, small warehouse walls, aprons, tableware, and coffee cups are all purple, making it the first case in Korea where an entire island has successfully created a color image branding.

Anjwa-myeon Purple Bridge (Photo by Sinan-gun)

In particular, Purple Island, which is Jeollanam-do’s ‘Island You Want to Visit’ and was also selected as one of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s ‘33 Islands to Visit During the 2020 Vacation Season,’ was recently introduced as a trending travel destination in ‘U magazine,’ a famous Hong Kong travel magazine with 2.1 million SNS followers as of last August.

County Governor Park Woo-ryang said, “Like Purple Island, which was selected as one of the top 100 domestic tourist destinations, each island’s unique characteristics are highlighted: Seondo, the ‘Island of Daffodils,’ has yellow roofs, and Byeongpungdo, the ‘Island of Cockscomb,’ has vermilion roofs.” He added, “Going forward, all 343 villages in Sinan-gun will have roofs painted in cobalt blue, sky blue, blue, green, yellow, and vermilion, with walls painted white to create a customized look.”

Meanwhile, to commemorate the selection to the Korea Tourism Top 100, a promotional giveaway event featuring various purple-themed goods symbolizing the color purple will be held via SNS from the 29th of this month until the 14th of next month.

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