Chuncheon City Selected for National Railway Authority Tourism Development Project at Gangchon Piam Tunnel Area

Implementation Design to Begin Next Year:
Photo Zones and Rest Areas Planned
Information System for Bomnae-gil Section 7,
Expansion of Tourism Network
Connecting Nami Island, Gangchon, and Downtown Chuncheon:
Revitalizing a Stagnant Region

The Gangchon Piam Tunnel (former Gangchon Station to current Baekyangri Station section) tourism development project has been finally selected for the Korea National Railway's project to utilize idle railway land, following fierce competition.

Chuncheon City Hall exterior.

This initiative involves the Korea National Railway and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport reviewing proposals from local governments on how to utilize state-owned idle land, such as abandoned railway sites and areas beneath bridges, and transforming them into community-friendly spaces. With this selection, the city will be able to use the site free of charge for up to 20 years.

The city plans to develop a tourism project themed "Gangchon to Walk and Stay," utilizing approximately 4 kilometers of abandoned railway land from the former Gangchon Station to the new Baekyangri Station. Inside the Piam Tunnel, art spaces and photo zones will be created, while the 7th section of the Bomnae-gil trail will feature emotional rest areas and an information system.

Additionally, the city will establish a "Travel Island" (a rest area for travelers) at the former Gangchon Station, similar to the one currently at Chuncheon Station, to expand its tourism network. Full-scale design work will begin next year, with a total project budget of 2 billion won.

The Korea National Railway highly praised the project for linking the nostalgic atmosphere experienced when the Gyeongchun Line train passed through the tunnel with the Bomnae-gil 7th section, a walking trail along the Bukhan River. The agency expects the project to have high utility as tourism content that leverages the region's unique characteristics.

The Piam Tunnel area is well known as a filming location for music videos by popular artists such as BTS and EXO, and is also a favorite photo spot among photography enthusiasts.

In addition to this selection, Chuncheon City is continuing various projects to restore Gangchon-ri's reputation as a "sanctuary of youth."

In particular, the city is promoting the "Sangsang Madang Project" to create a 3,494-square-meter multipurpose outdoor plaza in the Gangchon-ri area, and is preparing the "Banghari Tourism Development Project" centered around a dock connecting Nami Island and Chuncheon.

Once these projects are completed, it is expected that visitors to Nami Island will also be drawn to Gangchon and downtown Chuncheon. The city is also considering the potential for developing tourism products around the Piam Tunnel, in conjunction with existing attractions such as Elysian Gangchon, Gangchon Rail Bike, Gugok Waterfall, and Munbae Village.

A Chuncheon City official stated, "We hope that the Gangchon area, which has been stagnant for some time, will regain its vitality through this project," adding, "We will proceed with the project in a way that harmonizes with existing tourism resources such as Gangchon Rail Bike, Gugok Waterfall, and Elysian Gangchon."

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