Government Accelerates Activation of Marine Healing Industry

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Announces 'Basic Plan for the Management and Utilization of Marine Healing Resources'

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The government is launching efforts to discover various contents and establish infrastructure to revitalize the marine healing industry utilizing marine resources such as sea breeze and tidal flats.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 16th that it reported the "Basic Plan for the Management and Utilization of Marine Healing Resources" containing these details at the "Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting" held at the Government Seoul Office.

Marine healing refers to improving constitution and enhancing immunity by utilizing marine resources such as sea breeze, sound of waves, seawater, tidal flats, white sand beaches, and marine organisms to promote the health of the people.

Accordingly, under the vision of "Korean-style Marine Healing Model Attracting Global Attention," the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to achieve by 2026 ▲ securing reliability through verification of marine healing resources ▲ coastal area growth through industrial foundation establishment ▲ improving the quality of life of the people through marine healing.

First, a full-cycle management system will be established from the discovery of marine healing resources to efficacy verification, utilization, and post-treatment, and various contents and related technology development such as region-specific specialized programs will be promoted. Using literature and field surveys and existing marine resource platforms, new resources presumed to have healing efficacy will be discovered, and a database will be built by investigating the distribution status and resource quantity by sea area.

In addition, safety standards and management guidelines will be prepared to remove risk factors of healing resources such as heavy metals, microorganisms, and radiation, and management manuals will be introduced. Marine healing programs considering the characteristics of regional healing resources and the demand by healing targets will be developed, and services linked to regional tourism infrastructure such as beaches, resorts, and marine leisure tourism hubs will be discovered.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will also create "Marine Healing Centers" and "Marine Healing Zones," which serve as bases for providing marine healing services.

Since 2019, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has been constructing marine healing pilot centers nationwide, including Goseong in Gyeongnam, Wando, Taean, and Uljin, to foster the marine healing industry. The marine healing pilot centers will be developed as complex spaces including healing program operation and resource management functions, and in cooperation with local governments, operation plans tailored to regional characteristics will also be prepared.

Marine healing zones will be expanded mainly in coastal local governments to be used as industrial hubs, and fishing villages with excellent healing resources and infrastructure will be remodeled into marine healing experience spaces to revitalize fishing village tourism and create job opportunities.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will also build a marine healing industry ecosystem by training specialized personnel related to marine healing, establishing service certification systems, and creating cooperative networks among related organizations. To this end, universities and regional educational institutions will be designated as marine healing specialized personnel training institutions, and a professional qualification course based on the National Competency Standards will be designed to support talent development.

The establishment of a national professional qualification system for "Marine Healers" will also be pursued.

Through the marine healing program certification system, a certification system for related facilities and equipment will be established to manage service quality, and cooperation with related ministries such as the Ministry of Environment, Korea Forest Service, and Rural Development Administration will be strengthened.

Lee Cheoljo, Director of Marine Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "The marine healing industry is a new industry that aligns with recent trends emphasizing quality of life and is expected to bring new vitality to the regional economy."

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