"Restoring the Former Glory of Bomunsan" Daejeon City Launches 'Bomulsan Project'

Daejeon City is drawing up a blueprint to revive the former glory of Bomunsan as a major local tourist attraction. This project is named the ‘Bomeulsan Project.’ Located in the heart of Daejeon, Bomunsan was also called Bomeulsan due to a local legend that treasures were buried there.

On the 25th, Mayor Lee Jang-woo of Daejeon announced at a city briefing that the ‘Bomeulsan Project’ will be carried out from this year through 2027. The core of the Bomeulsan Project is to create a family-oriented stay-type tourist complex around Bomunsan.

Bomunsan was the first place in Daejeon to introduce a cable car in 1968. Although the route was short, it was popular at the time as the only cable car in the region, attracting about 500 visitors daily.

Additionally, with amusement rides such as the Viking and bumper cars at Greenland, along with the outdoor swimming pool Pupu Land, Bomunsan firmly established itself as the region’s top amusement facility destination.

However, currently, the cable car and amusement facilities are aging, and due to a lack of continuous maintenance, the image of the site as a landmark has faded.

The Bomeulsan Project aims to restore Bomunsan’s former landmark image and transform it into a representative local tourist destination.

To this end, Daejeon City plans to create attractions by linking a cable car connecting O-World and the Daeja district with a landmark-style observation tower, and to establish a stay-type tourist complex in the O-World area by building a water park and accommodation facilities.

The Bomunsan cable car will focus on allowing all tourists, including those with mobility challenges, to conveniently travel along the total 3.5 km route while enjoying panoramic views of Bomunsan and downtown Daejeon both day and night.

The route and intermediate stations will be decided based on proposals from private operators, considering forest conditions and project feasibility. The cable car is planned to be designed in shapes such as a spaceship to highlight Daejeon’s image as a science city, according to the city’s explanation.

The observation tower will be constructed in connection with the cable car station, prioritizing locations with good accessibility and minimal environmental damage. A public contest using private proposals will be held. The design of the observation tower may incorporate shapes symbolizing Daejeon, such as a satellite.

Daejeon City plans to select private operators through a nationwide competition to build the cable car and observation tower. However, the cable car will be implemented through urban management planning procedures as it is classified as infrastructure (rail) under the National Land Planning Act.

The stay-type water park and accommodation facilities to be built in the O-World area will reflect the country’s top and latest trends and be designed for year-round use.

Daejeon City is also considering designating the entire development area as a tourist complex to ensure the water park and accommodation facilities become local tourist attractions.

Additionally, under the supervision of the Daejeon Tourism Organization, a feasibility study will be conducted in the second half of this year to determine the appropriate location and scale. A public contest using private proposals will then be held to select private operators. Construction is targeted to begin in 2026.

Daejeon City plans to have all land compensation, development, and operation costs borne by private operators throughout the project.

The total project cost is estimated at 300 billion KRW, with 150 billion KRW allocated for the cable car including the observation tower, and 150 billion KRW for the water park and accommodation facilities.

Mayor Lee Jang-woo of Daejeon said, “The city will put an end to the 20-year stagnation in Bomunsan tourism development and transform Bomunsan into a stay-type tourist complex. We will make full use of existing facilities and damaged sites, preserve Bomunsan’s healthy green spaces, and simultaneously restore areas inevitably damaged during the project to minimize environmental harm.”