Incheon City Accelerates Push for Sorae Wetland National Urban Park Designation... Application Set for Second Half of Year

by Park Haesook

Published 24 Apr.2026 14:33(KST)

Incheon City is accelerating the procedures to have the Sorae Wetland area designated as a National Urban Park.

The Sorae Wetland is a representative natural ecological resource in the Seoul metropolitan area, featuring vast tidal flats and a variety of halophyte plants. In particular, it boasts the unique scenery of Korea's west coast, giving it high natural landscape value, and it also serves as a historical and cultural site, being home to the nation’s first salt warehouse.

To systematically preserve the Sorae Wetland, the city has established an urban management plan for a 1.03 million square meter site as part of the Phase 1 National Urban Park project, and plans to complete the process of integrating the area into a single park within the first half of this year.

Location map of Sorae Salt Fields National Urban Park (Phase 1). Provided by Incheon City

Furthermore, after the relevant law comes into effect on August 27, the city plans to apply to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for the designation of Sorae Wetland as a National Urban Park. Incheon City aims to create the first world-class National Urban Park in the metropolitan area where the unique nature and historical and cultural heritage of the west coast coexist, centering on the Sorae Wetland.

In particular, this project will be carried out as a citizen participation model, rather than being led solely by the administration. The goal is to establish a "participatory National Urban Park" where citizens directly take part in the application process and help design the park’s future. To this end, the city launched a halophyte planting event last month, followed by reed removal activities this month, and will continue to run citizen participation programs such as the "Sorae Academy" from May onwards.

An official from Incheon City stated, "The Sorae Wetland is more than just a park; it is a precious asset that represents the nature and history of Korea's west coast," adding, "We plan to broaden public support for the National Urban Park designation through various citizen participation programs and promotional activities."