"Walking Barefoot Is Good for Health" ... Gyeongbuk Province Creates Barefoot Walking Trails in Gimcheon, Andong, and Yeongju

Gyeongbuk Province will officially launch the Gyeongbuk Barefoot Road Project, starting with a pilot project to create barefoot walking paths.

The Gyeongbuk Barefoot Road Project aims to present barefoot walking, which anyone can easily access, as a new paradigm of community sports. It is a new policy to promote residents' health and improve quality of life by expanding barefoot walking path infrastructure and spreading barefoot walking throughout the province.

Cheonnyeon Forest Barefoot Walking Trail inside Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Office.

First, a pilot project to create barefoot walking paths will be promoted to expand barefoot walking path infrastructure. For new construction, 400 million KRW per site will be supported for Gimcheon-si, Andong-si, and Yeongju-si, while for renovation, 120 million KRW per site will be supported for Gumi-si and Cheongsong-gun.

Starting with this pilot project, Gyeongbuk Province plans to expand support for barefoot walking path creation to 22 cities and counties, accelerating the development of representative barefoot walking paths tailored to the characteristics of each city and county.

Additionally, the province will actively consult with related organizations such as the Office of Education to expand the opening of school playgrounds and create barefoot walking convenience facilities along rivers and in parks, enabling residents to practice barefoot walking in their daily lives.

To spread barefoot walking throughout the province, the “Ordinance on Supporting the Activation of Barefoot Walking in Gyeongsangbuk-do” was enacted last November, establishing administrative and financial grounds for supporting barefoot walking.

The province also recommended that cities and counties enact barefoot walking ordinances, and currently, 11 cities and counties have established such ordinances.

In the first half of this year, barefoot walking associations will be formed within the Gyeongbuk Sports Council and city and county sports councils to systematically promote various policies such as barefoot walking competitions and barefoot walking challenges with Gyeongbuk residents, actively responding to the demand for barefoot walking among residents.

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, said, “I personally feel the effects of barefoot walking and have a strong desire to share it with the residents. Since barefoot walking is the most affordable and easiest solution for a long and healthy life, we will actively support its spread to all residents.”

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