Gwangyang-si to Redraw Tourist Map of Baealdo Area in Mangdeokpogu

Starlight Island, Artcation Tourism Stay, Seomjingang Starlight Naru, etc.

1,617 billion KRW invested in 10 projects, phased development until 2027

Gwangyang City in Jeollanam-do is making every effort to open a sustainable era of ten million tourists, and a new tourist map of the Baealdo and Mangdeok Port areas is expected to be created.

Mangdeok Port, where the Seomjin River, which has traveled 550 ri completing the Honam Jeongmaek mountain range, meets the sea, is a key junction completing the 'ㅗ'-shaped tourism belt connecting the Seomjin River area including Gwangyang, Gokseong, Gurye, Hadong, and the southern regions of Jeollanam-do, Gwangju, Gyeongnam, Busan, and Ulsan.

[Photo by Gwangyang City]

In the Mangdeok Port area, a total of 10 projects worth 161.7 billion KRW are being vigorously promoted, including the Jeonnam-type regional growth strategy project ‘Yoon Dong-ju’s Starlight Island Shining in the Seomjin River,’ the Southern Region Wide-area Tourism Development Plan ‘Art-cation Tourism Stay,’ and the Namdo Specialized Landscape Creation Project ‘Starlight Wharf Embracing the Seomjin River.’

The city plans to steadily promote various linked projects by 2027 to establish itself as a tourism hub in the southern central coast of the South Sea, where nature, humanities, and food converge, and as a stay-type tourism base, securing future growth engines.

▶ Jeonnam-type Regional Growth Strategy Project ‘Yoon Dong-ju’s Starlight Island Shining in the Seomjin River’ with an investment of 13 billion KRW

In 2023, the Jeonnam-type regional growth strategy project ‘Yoon Dong-ju’s Starlight Island Shining in the Seomjin River’ will invest a total of 13 billion KRW, including 5 billion KRW from the provincial government, by 2027 in the Baealdo and Mangdeok Port areas to create ▲ Dongju’s Starlight Garden ▲ Santorini in Mangdeok Port ▲ Yoon Dong-ju & Jeong Byeong-wook Literature Museum ▲ Starlight Road Art Market, among others.

‘Dongju’s Starlight Garden’ will commemorate the 100-year friendship between Yoon Dong-ju and Jeong Byeong-wook through 11 types of media art and Lumina art spaces, while ‘Santorini in Mangdeok Port’ will color Mangdeok Port with literary hues and install nighttime lighting and street lamps along a 1.7 km waterfront deck.

Additionally, a literature museum will be built around Jeong Byeong-wook’s house, utilizing literary value and local characteristics as a place for communication and education, with a pine tree garden and other features, and the Starlight Road Art Market will operate to connect residents, tourists, and artists.

▶ Southern Region Wide-area Tourism Development Plan ‘Art-cation Tourism Stay’ with an investment of 14.4 billion KRW

Selected as part of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s ‘Southern Region Wide-area Tourism Development Plan,’ the ‘Art-cation Tourism Stay’ project will invest a total budget of 14.4 billion KRW to expand stay-type tourism facility infrastructure.

This project will establish an eco-friendly stay-type facility including a workcation center (2,250㎡) equipped with a shared office and accommodation on a 7,265㎡ site designated for disaster risk zone maintenance in Mangdeok Port, as well as a media art park and green mobility station.

Furthermore, through the operation of the (tentatively named) ‘Gwangyang Art School,’ an art experience and education-type workcation, and the development of guided tour products, the area will be developed into a stay-type tourism space where work, vacation, and accommodation are integrated.

Workcation, a combination of Work and Vacation, is a new working style that pursues work efficiency and life vitality by combining work and vacation at holiday destinations.

In particular, with the simultaneous selection of tourism stay projects in Gokseong and Gurye, the ‘Seomjin River Area Integrated Tourism Belt Creation Project’ is expected to gain momentum, opening a new era of tourism in the Seomjin River area.

The ‘Southern Region Wide-area Tourism Development Plan’ is a 10-year development plan covering Jeonnam, Gwangju, Gyeongnam, Busan, and Ulsan. The city plans to establish a basic plan within this year, complete preliminary administrative procedures, and finish the project by 2027.

▶ Namdo Specialized Landscape Creation Project ‘Starlight Wharf Embracing the Seomjin River’ with an investment of 2 billion KRW

The Namdo Specialized Landscape Creation Project ‘Starlight Wharf Embracing the Seomjin River’ is a project to create a distinctive waterfront friendship path utilizing the history and cultural resources of Mangdeok Port, scheduled for completion by the end of this month.

The friendship path, about 900 meters long from Jeong Byeong-wook’s house to the Baealdo Star Counting Bridge, will feature three sculptures and media art inspired by Yoon Dong-ju’s poetry and his friendship with Jeong Byeong-wook.

The design sculptures abstractly expressing motifs frequently appearing in Yoon Dong-ju’s poetry such as sky, wind, and stars will showcase high artistic value and symbolic abstraction.

The media art displayed on the retaining wall behind Jeong Byeong-wook’s house, titled ‘Star Embraced by White Shadow (Baekyeong),’ will be projected using various techniques including time-lapse.

▶ Camping Mecca, Baealdo Marine Footbridge Landscape Lighting, Mangdeok Raw Fish Restaurant Street, Yeong-Honam Complex Transfer Park, etc.

Baealdo Waterfront Park is set to become Korea’s camping mecca boasting 100 camping sites by the end of 2024 with an investment of 3.1 billion KRW, selected under the Jeonnam Starlight Camping Support Project.

The two marine footbridges leading to Baealdo Island Garden, the Star Counting Bridge and the Sunrise Bridge, will complete the installation of nighttime landscape lighting by the end of this month to welcome citizens and tourists.

Additionally, the ‘Gwangyang Mangdeok Raw Fish Restaurant Street Development Project’ will invest 500 million KRW to build infrastructure such as symbolic structures and convenience facilities, and strengthen services including new menu development and customer service training.

Furthermore, a complex transfer park linked with the Seomjin River Rest Area, which marks the boundary between Yeongnam and Honam regions, will be created to promote wide-area tourism in the South Sea region. A tentatively named Jeonnam Training Center will be established by 2027 to respond to the Fourth Industrial Revolution era and meet the needs of over 10,000 small and medium enterprises in the Gwangyang Bay area.

Jung In-hwa, mayor of Gwangyang City, said, “The Baealdo and Mangdeok Port areas are a junction of a tourism belt connecting the Seomjin River area and the southern central coast of the South Sea, based on sustainable ecological resources such as rivers, islands, ports, and the sea, as well as emotional humanities resources like Yoon Dong-ju, poetry, and Jeong Byeong-wook.” He added, “We will develop this area into the best domestic and international waterfront tourism hub combining ecology, culture, and leisure, completing the ‘ㅗ’-shaped tourism belt connecting the Seomjin River area and the South Sea.”

He continued, “Within the first half of the year, we will promptly complete the landscape lighting of the marine footbridge connecting Baealdo and the Namdo Specialized Landscape Creation Project, and gradually complete projects such as the Baealdo Neighborhood Park Camping Mecca and Art-cation Tourism Stay to create a stay-type tourism hub visited by people from all over the world beyond Yeongnam and Honam.”

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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