Mokpo City Establishes Mid- to Long-Term Plan for 'Island Issue Resolution'

Fisheries New Deal 300 Project, Best Efforts to Improve Local Island Conditions Including Installation of Undersea Water Supply Pipelines

The population is decreasing, but the long-awaited island project, which requires a huge budget, is expected to gain momentum. Photo by Mokpo City

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jeong Seunghyun] Mokpo City, Jeollanam-do announced on the 16th that it has established a mid- to long-term plan to resolve the long-standing island issues based on the successful attraction of the Korea Island Promotion Agency.

The city strategically approached utilizing islands as resources that will become Mokpo's future growth engines.

The official start was the hosting of the 1st Island Day commemorative event in 2019. After competing with other local governments, the city was selected as the host of the first commemorative event held since August 8 was designated as a national holiday, successfully conducting the national event.

The next step was attracting the Korea Island Promotion Agency. The city actively highlighted its unique efforts since 2012 to establish the agency and emphasized that it was the city that hosted the 1st commemorative event.

This distinction served as a differentiating factor compared to competing cities, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety explained, “The importance and value of islands were recognized, and the establishment of the Korea Island Promotion Agency was first proposed, along with hosting the 1st Island Day, so these efforts and policies were positively reflected in the evaluation.”

Hosting the 1st Island Day commemorative event was not only significant as a national event but also a strategic move to secure justification for attracting the Korea Island Promotion Agency in the long term. As a result, the commemorative event served as an important foothold for attracting the agency.

The government's representative island-related project, the Fishing Village New Deal 300 Project, applied with the goal of selecting all inhabited islands in the jurisdiction as target areas.

As a result, Dallido and Oedaldo were selected as target areas in 2019, Yuldo in 2020, and Gohado in 2021, achieving the goal.

On the uninhabited island Jangjwado, a marine tourism resort development project is being promoted by attracting private investment.

The biggest inconveniences for island residents, such as living water supply and transportation infrastructure, are also about to undergo revolutionary changes.

In particular, underwater pipeline installation work for island area water supply is underway to supply tap water to Jangjwado, Yuldo, and Dallido. Once completed in the second half of this year, the long-standing wish of residents will be resolved.

The national highway 77 connection road project, which connects from Sinan Amhae through Yuldo and Dallido to Haenam Hwawon over a 13.49 km section via a sea bridge (1.68 km), underwater tunnel (2.73 km), and land road, is also being actively supported administratively to proceed without delay.

The city's next goal related to islands is to attract the 2028 World Island Expo.

The city, along with Wando, Jindo, and Sinan, which form the Southwest Coast Island Belt, is currently in the final stages of conducting a “Feasibility Study and Basic Plan Establishment for Attracting the 2028 World Island Expo.”

Once the blueprint for attracting the expo is completed, the city plans to actively engage in activities to jointly host the World Island Expo in the Southwest Coast region.

Kim Jongsik, Mayor of Mokpo, emphasized, “Mokpo has established its status as the undisputed ‘Island Capital of Korea,’” and added, “Now, we will also look globally and make Mokpo a city that receives international attention.”

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