Ganghwa County Opens Shortened and Separated Routes to Seodo-myeon

[Suwon Ilbo=Seo Do-young Reporter] Ganghwa County held an opening ceremony for the Seodo-myeon (Jumun Island, Bolum Island) shortened and separated ferry routes at Seonsu Wharf in Hwado-myeon on March 2nd and began full-scale operations.

Attendees at the opening ceremony included Ganghwa County Governor Yu Cheon-ho, National Assemblyman Bae Jun-young, Incheon Metropolitan City Vice Mayor for Balanced Development Cho Taek-sang, Ganghwa County Council Chairman Shin Deuk-sang and county council members, and Sambo Shipping CEO Shin Hee-baek.

The event was conducted in a streamlined manner with fewer than 80 attendees while strictly adhering to social distancing quarantine guidelines, including disinfection work, temperature screening, and mask-wearing verification.

Following the opening, passenger ferries bound for Seodo-myeon will depart from Seonsu Port (Hwado-myeon) and operate on two routes ‘Seonsu~Jumun Island (Salgot)’ and ‘Seonsu~Bolum Island~Acha Island~Jumun Island (Neuri)’ three times daily. The new routes can reach Jumun Island in 35 minutes and Bolum Island in 55 minutes. The existing route operated twice daily and took 1 hour and 40 minutes.

The shortened and separated routes project was a long-standing demand from Seodo-myeon residents, pursued as a priority by the county to improve residential conditions through reduced ferry sailing times.

To establish optimal routes, the county conducted marine traffic infrastructure surveys from May 2019 onward, analyzing safety and economic feasibility of each route. Initially, a shortened route with Hari Port (Samsan-myeon) as the starting point was seriously considered. However, due to shallow water depth issues at the ‘Gwaerio Fishing Ground’ along the route, the county obtained resident cooperation and changed the port of call to Seonsu Port (Hwado-myeon). Following the route change permit application and route change notice in February, the shortened and separated routes have been in operation this month.

County Governor Yu Cheon-ho stated, “The opening of the new routes will improve residential conditions for residents, and increased tourist visits are expected,” and added, “We will transform Seodo-myeon into a tourism destination with a constant stream of visitors throughout the year.”