Gurye-gun Develops Jirisan Garden as an Ecotourism Hub

Published 11 Jan.2022 17:12(KST)

Building Stay-Type Tourism through Wellness (Well-being + Happiness + Health) Realization at Jirisan Garden
Expanding and Improving Various Infrastructure for Visitor Convenience and Viewing Environment

Wildflower Tower and Sky Bridge, Cascade at Sky Garden (Photo by Gurye-gun)

[Gurye=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yuk Miseok] On the 11th, Gurye-gun, Jeollanam-do announced that it will build Jirisan Garden and Gurye Arboretum into the nation's top tourist destinations as a wellness (well-being + happiness + health) vision, developing them into stay-type tourist spots linked with surrounding tourist resources.

Among the five themed gardens of the 'Jirisan Garden Creation Project,' which is the first forest garden project in Korea, landscaping work for three gardens (Sky, Starlight Forest, Wild) was completed earlier this year. Landscaping for the remaining two gardens (Harmony, Private), construction of the ticket office and gate, and remodeling of the greenhouse will be promoted to accelerate registration as a local garden, transforming it into a forest garden where beautiful light pours.

Convenience facilities to be expanded at Gurye Arboretum include ▲ plant sales shop and cafe ▲ picnic garden ▲ shaded resting areas ▲ trail maintenance to enhance visitor services.

The plant sales shop and cafe will be located at the most attractive viewpoint overlooking the forest and are scheduled to be completed in May.

The first floor will be used as a plant sales shop, and the second floor as a cafe.

To improve the viewing environment, difficult walking trails will be maintained, and through plant supplementation and environmental maintenance, safe viewing and diverse attractions will be provided.

Storytelling signboards that easily convey the etymology, flower language, characteristics, and origin of plants will be produced and installed to stimulate visitors' emotions and interest and improve convenience.

The Life Healing Housing Complex Project is a project to add nine lodging facilities within Jirisan Garden with a budget of 4 billion KRW.

The county plans to provide visitors with a comfortable sanctuary to heal the stress received in modern society amidst great nature.

The Sansuyu Natural Recreation Forest Supplement Project is a project to expand 11 lodging facilities and recreational facilities within Sansuyu Recreation Forest with a budget of 5 billion KRW.

It is expected to provide facility users with the beautiful scenery of a dense 34-hectare natural forest and a forest bath full of phytoncides.

The Smart Garden Creation Project will install an indoor garden combining cube-type and wall-type systems equipped with automatic watering, lighting control, heating/cooling, dehumidification, and ventilation systems inside the Baekdudaegan Ecological Education Center, providing visitors with attractions and creating an indoor plant ecology education environment.

Additionally, to allow all citizens to conveniently and safely enjoy forest recreation opportunities, a basic plan service for the 'Barrier-Free Sharing Path Creation Project' contest will be promoted to create a 2 km walking path with a slope of 8% or less considering walking vulnerable groups (disabled, elderly, pregnant women, etc.) within Gurye Arboretum, along with braille signboards and safety facilities.

Since its reopening in October last year, the Jirisan History and Culture Center has been providing various attractions centered on the special exhibition hall titled 'People Under the Great Mountain.'

It has been gaining attention through diverse recreations such as nostalgic school uniform experiences, steadily increasing visits from students outside the area and various institutional groups.

This year, as part of the History and Culture Center programs, various programs that can increase visitor engagement will be operated, including ▲ traditional kite flying experience to raise hope ▲ nostalgic busking performances ▲ nationwide teacher job training courses ▲ promoting Jirisan history.

At the Gurye Wood Culture Experience Center, following last year, mobile woodworking experiences and non-face-to-face YouTube video experience events will continue to be operated.

It plans to present a systematic operation program as a differentiated wood culture experience mecca that can serve as a career exploration and job experience venue for infants and youth whose experiential learning opportunities have decreased due to COVID-19.

Plans include linking Gurye Arboretum and Jirisan Garden, creating hot place spaces with seasonal themes, differentiated forest trail experiences, night view appreciation, walking specialized wildflower trails, and hosting various events and experiential activities.

Kim Soon-ho, the governor of Gurye-gun, said, “We will develop Jirisan Garden and Gurye Arboretum into a genuine ecological tourism hub that attracts 100,000 tourists annually.”