Hidden Local Content Reborn as Tourist Resources! ... New Tourism Products Discovered through Cooperation of Busan City, Busan Tourism Organization, Districts, and Counties

Busan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Hwang Du-yeol] Busan City and Busan Tourism Organization are promoting the ‘Hidden Local Content Discovery Project’ to uncover hidden local content in Busan and transform it into new tourist resources. The first targets of the project are Nam-gu, Geumjeong-gu, and Buk-gu.

The ‘Hidden Local Content Discovery Project’ is being implemented for the first time this year to develop distinctive and differentiated tourism content by discovering unique content in each district and county and rebirthing it as new tourist resources.

Any unique tourist resource with characteristics of the region, such as industry, history, culture, people, or stories, is eligible.

In April, Busan City and the organization received applications from districts and counties and, after on-site evaluations, selected three local contents from Nam-gu, Geumjeong-gu, and Buk-gu: Nam-gu’s ‘Dino GO’ themed on the Igidae dinosaurs, Geumjeong-gu’s ‘Oryundae Seonsun School’ based on the Oryundae fairy legend, and Buk-gu’s ‘Ieum Picnic’ linking Gupo, a wheat distribution area, with local attractions.

Nam-gu’s ‘Dino GO’ utilizes the characteristics of the Igidae Busan Geopark geological trail formed during the Mesozoic Cretaceous period and plans to develop an augmented reality (AR) tour app combining dinosaurs and AR technology.

At representative spots along the geological trail, dinosaur characters, missions, and storytelling will be provided so that tourists visiting Igidae can enjoy augmented reality tourism.

The related app is currently under development, and a ‘fam tour’ for citizens is scheduled for the second half of the year.

Geumjeong-gu’s ‘Oryundae Seonsun School’ develops an experiential tourism product based on the legend of Oryundae, where five fairies admired the beautiful scenery.

Targeting mainly children and family tourists, ‘Oryundae Seonsun School’ introduces the history and ecology of Oryundae and Hoedong Reservoir through a fairy guide in the form of a play.

The ‘Seonsun Play Program’ held in the Hoedong Reservoir cypress forest area and ‘lotus leaf rice balls’ that the fairies might have eaten will also be provided.

Lastly, Buk-gu’s ‘Ieum Picnic’ is an outdoor activity program that allows participants to experience local representative tourist sites and local food simultaneously.

Participants walk along the ‘Gupo Market - Geumbit Noeul Bridge - Hwamyung Ecological Park’ route, eat ‘bread’ representing Gupo, a wheat distribution area, and use gift certificates to buy various foods at Gupo Market to enjoy a picnic at Hwamyung Ecological Park.

Bread, gift certificates, and picnic supplies are provided as basic amenities.

Before full-scale operation in the second half of the year, the city plans to conduct a tasting program for a citizen experience group on the 31st.

Busan City and Busan Tourism Organization plan to invest about 60 million KRW in discovering and commercializing each content and will proceed with consulting, marketing, and commercialization with Nam-gu, Geumjeong-gu, and Buk-gu.

Jo Yoo-jang, Director of the Tourism MICE Industry Bureau of Busan City, said, “We will make good use of the selected local programs to create new tourist resources in Busan,” and added, “We will continue to discover hidden content to diversify Busan’s tourist resources.”

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