Gwangyang City Signs Investment Agreement for Gubongsan Tourist Complex with LF Resort

Published 15 Dec.2023 15:41(KST)

500 Billion KRW Investment in Cable Car and Alpine Slide

Development of Gubongsan Area Comprehensive Tourism Resort Gains Momentum

On the 15th (Friday), Gwangyang City in Jeollanam-do announced that it signed an investment agreement with LF Resort Co., Ltd. at the city hall reception room for a linkage project with the Gubongsan Tourist Complex.

Attending the agreement ceremony were Gwangyang Mayor Jeong In-hwa, LF Resort CEO Kim Ki-jun, and other related officials. They agreed to additionally invest a total of 50 billion KRW in tourism facilities, including the Gubongsan cable car and alpine slide, by 2030.

[Photo by Gwangyang-si]

LF Resort will invest a total of 420 billion KRW, including 370 billion KRW for the Gubongsan Tourist Complex development project in the Gubongsan area.

The core of this linkage project is to connect key tourism sites in the Gubongsan area, such as the ‘Gwangyang Gubongsan Tourist Complex’ promoted by LF Resort, the ‘Children’s Theme Park’ promoted by the city, and the POSCO ‘Experiential Sculpture’ at the summit of Gubongsan.

The ‘Gubongsan Cable Car,’ with an investment of 40 billion KRW, will connect the Children’s Theme Park to the summit of Gubongsan. Additionally, 10 billion KRW will be invested to build an alpine slide connecting the summit to the Gubongsan Tourist Complex and transportation linking the tourist complex and the Children’s Theme Park.

In particular, this agreement will give further momentum to the comprehensive development of the Gubongsan area, a key pledge of the 8th local government administration, and the three core projects are progressing smoothly.

The ‘Gwangyang Gubongsan Tourist Complex,’ in which LF Resort is investing 370 billion KRW over 2,324,486㎡, has completed the purchase of 85.3% of private land as of the end of November 2023 and is undergoing approval procedures for designation and development plans from Jeollanam-do.

Notably, on September 20, the Environmental Impact Assessment (main plan) consultation was completed with the Yeongsan River Basin Environmental Office, and on September 19, a preliminary consultation document for tourist complex designation was submitted to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. After on-site inspections, supplementary materials will be submitted to complete the preliminary consultation by the end of this year.

Furthermore, review procedures with the Central Mountain Management Committee, Jeollanam-do Landscape Committee, Central Land Expropriation Committee, and Jeollanam-do Urban Planning Committee are planned to be completed by June 2024. After securing the remaining land, construction will begin with the goal of completion by 2028.

Major facilities in the Gubongsan Tourist Complex include 230 tourist accommodation rooms, a 27-hole golf course, the Little Prince Museum, Tubi (a four-season sledding park), Lumina, rolling zipline, and a non-powered monorail, offering lodging, sports, entertainment, and leisure facilities.

The ‘Family-type Children’s Theme Park,’ investing 134.8 billion KRW in the Central Neighborhood Park (603,451㎡), is being developed as a family cultural entertainment space featuring a public Gwangyang specialized science museum, an imagination playground, a sports climbing center, and a forest campground.

Regarding the progress of detailed projects, the ‘Forest Campground,’ which will build 28 camping decks and 5 treehouses, and the construction of access roads are scheduled to be completed by 2024. The ‘Public Gwangyang Specialized Science Museum,’ the first of its kind in Korea specializing in materials science with a total floor area of 7,010㎡, is under design with a planned opening in 2026.

Additionally, facilities such as the ‘Imagination Playground’ and ‘Sports Climbing Center,’ each with a total floor area of 2,820㎡, and an integrated parking lot with a capacity of about 300 vehicles are also being pushed for phased completion by 2026.

The ‘Gwangyang Landmark Project,’ proposed by POSCO to install an experiential sculpture at the summit of Gubongsan, is also gaining momentum. After receiving proposals from artists and design competitions, the proposal evaluation was completed on the 12th, with a final decision planned by the end of the year. The sculpture is expected to be visible by 2025.

To improve accessibility to the summit of Gubongsan, 9.2 billion KRW is being invested to open a road from Jeomdong Village in Gwangyang-eup by 2025. Additionally, 4 billion KRW will be invested to create a cultural park and sky road centered around the summit parking lot.

Moreover, plans are underway to build the world’s longest suspension bridge, the ‘Golden Bridge 770,’ connecting Gubongsan to Bonghwasan as a world-class tourism facility. The city is proposing its inclusion in the ‘Southern Coast Comprehensive Development Plan Lead Project’ promoted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Gwangyang City plans to establish the ‘Gubongsan Comprehensive Tourism Basic Plan’ in 2024 to maximize the synergy effects of large-scale projects in the Gubongsan area and to support private investment by specifying linkage facilities such as the cable car and the world’s longest suspension bridge.

At the agreement ceremony, Mayor Jeong In-hwa of Gwangyang said, “On behalf of the citizens of Gwangyang, I sincerely thank LF Resort for deciding to invest 50 billion KRW in linkage facilities following the 70 billion KRW investment in the Gubongsan Tourist Complex, which shares our city’s tourism vision.”

He added, “As we have built a strong bond through close cooperation with LF Resort so far, let us further strengthen our partnership and surely lead the tourism industry in the Gubongsan area to success.”