Uiryeong-gun, 'Sotbawi-Samsung' Link... Developing a Top-Class Tourist Destination

Government Decides to Develop Tourist Routes Featuring Birthplaces of Major Corporate Founders

Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam Province, is undertaking the development of a ‘world-class tourist destination’ encompassing Sotbawi, where legends of wealthy magnates' births are foretold, and the birthplace of Samsung Group founder Chairman Lee Byung-chul.

Uiryeong-gun is the hometown of Lee Byung-chul, the founder of the world-class company Samsung, and is known as the ‘origin of wealth,’ with the legend of Sotbawi stating that three great tycoons are born within a 20-ri radius.

Birthplace of Samsung Founder Lee Byung-chul.
[Image provided by Uiryeong-gun]

Recently, the government officially announced at the Service Industry Development Task Force meeting its plan to develop the birthplaces of large corporation founders into ‘world-class tourist destinations’ to expand Korean tourism content sought by people worldwide.

Uiryeong-gun has proactively aligned with the government’s expectations. A representative example is the ‘Uiryeong Namgang Waterway Project,’ connecting Jeonggok-myeon, where Sotbawi and Lee Byung-chul’s birthplace are located. This project is fully committed to realizing ‘premium tourism’ by allowing visitors to travel by boat along the Namgang River, the gateway to Uiryeong, to explore Sotbawi and Lee Byung-chul’s birthplace, where legends of wealthy families flow.

Additionally, Uiryeong applied for the Namgang C.E.O (Colorful Exciting Offer) Tourism Belt Project as a tourism promotion initiative, linking Jeonggok-myeon in Uiryeong (Samsung’s Lee Byung-chul), Gunbuk-myeon in Haman (Hyosung’s Cho Hong-je), and Jisoo-myeon in Jinju (LG’s Koo In-hoe), as part of the Southern Region Wide-area Tourism Development Plan commissioned by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

The ‘Hoam Birthplace’ of Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chul, which will be central to the development of the ‘world-class tourist destination,’ is gaining increasing popularity, with a steady stream of visitors seeking to receive the aura of wealth.

In particular, the drama ‘The Youngest Son of a Chaebol Family,’ which recorded record-breaking success last year, revealed that the character Chairman Jin Yang-cheol was inspired by Samsung Group founder Hoam Lee Byung-chul, leading to visits to the Hoam Birthplace from various generations. The highest number of visitors before COVID-19 was 82,000 in 2019, but as of the end of May this year, the number has already surpassed 80,000.

To honor Samsung’s founding spirit, Uiryeong-gun designated honorary road names near the birthplace as ‘Hoam Lee Byung-chul-daero’ and ‘Samsung Lee Kun-hee-daero.’ The county plans to actively carry out meaningful work to inherit and embody Lee Byung-chul’s Hoam spirit and Samsung’s entrepreneurial spirit.

Exploring the waterway with the pot rock from the Rich Story.
[Image provided by Uiryeong-gun]

Meanwhile, Sotbawi, which will play another key role, made a significant contribution by attracting 100,000 visitors to Uiryeong during the first-ever Uiryeong Rich Rich Festival held last year. Known as a ‘sacred site’ that grants ‘one earnest wish,’ Sotbawi is gaining fame as a place to receive luck, happiness, and the aura of wealth.

County Governor Oh Tae-wan said, “Sotbawi, the origin of wealth in Korea, and the birthplace of Lee Byung-chul, where the dawn of Korea’s economic transformation began, will rise as the center of K-tourism content. We welcome the government’s development of a tourism course for large corporation founders’ birthplaces and ask for expectations regarding Uiryeong-gun’s pivotal role.”

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