Gunsan City Obtains National Geopark Certification for Three Sites in Gogunsan Archipelago

Published 22 Jun.2023 11:01(KST)

Updated 15 Aug.2025 13:48(KST)

The 3rd Birth in Jeonbuk Province... National Geoparks Increase Nationwide from 13 to 15 Locations

Excellent geological resources such as the dinosaur footprint fossil site in Sanbuk-dong, Gunsan-si, Jeonbuk, Seonyudo Mangjubong, and Maldo fold structure have been certified as a National Geopark.

According to Gunsan-si on the 22nd, a National Geopark is a place that is geologically important and has excellent scenery, certified by the Minister of Environment to preserve it and utilize it for education and tourism.

Scenic view of Gogunsan Archipelago.

This certification was finally approved at the 28th Ministry of Environment Geopark Committee held in writing from the 7th to the 13th, with the certification plan for the Gogunsan Archipelago as a National Geopark.

With this new certification, the third National Geopark in the province was born, following the Jeonbuk West Coast area and Jinan-Muju, and the number of National Geoparks nationwide increased from 13 to 15.

With this certification, the city will receive about 100 million won annually from the Ministry of Environment and about 50 million won in operating expenses from Jeonbuk Province.

The Gogunsan Archipelago National Geopark is an island-type geological park that preserves the beautiful natural scenery created by nature, with a total area of 113.01㎢ (68.4㎢ of islands and sea area, 44.61㎢ of land), and 10 geological attractions are distributed.

A city official stated, “We plan to activate the operation of the Gogunsan Archipelago National Geopark in the future and actively promote UNESCO Global Geopark certification in consultation with the province to develop it into a world-renowned attraction.”