Ganghwa County and Korea Tourism Organization Incheon-Gyeonggi Branch Sign MOU to Discover and Foster Small-but-Mighty Latent Tourist Destinations

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Shin Eun-seop] Ganghwa County signed a memorandum of understanding with the Incheon-Gyeonggi Branch of the Korea Tourism Organization (Branch Director Kim Bae-ho) on the 24th to 'discover and foster small-but-mighty latent tourist destinations.'

The 'small-but-mighty latent tourist destination fostering project' is an initiative to discover tourism sites with high growth potential and systematically promote and market them. The 'Goryeo Palace Site' on Ganghwado Island was selected as a small-but-mighty latent tourist destination for 2022.

Through this agreement, the Korea Tourism Organization's Incheon-Gyeonggi Branch will systematically support tourism product development using the 'Goryeo Palace Site' and promotion and marketing through various media outlets. The county plans to operate on-site programs based on tourism product development.

The 'Goryeo Palace Site' is a core tourism facility in Ganghwa's original downtown area, with the Seongkoksa Ganghwa Cathedral, Joyang Textile Company, Future Experience Museum, Sochang Experience Museum, and Ganghwa Eupseong Fortress connected by alleyways centered on the Goryeo Palace Site. Visitors can walk through the alleys and enjoy stories of Ganghwa's hidden history and culture spanning from the Goryeo period to the industrialization era of the 1960s and 70s.

The county has incorporated stories into the alleys of the original downtown through the urban regeneration project 'King's Road' and improved tourism programs to be user-centered. These efforts led to selection in the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's 'Korea Tourism 100 Destinations for 2021-2022' that Koreans must visit.

Meanwhile, the Goryeo Palace Site is the remains of the Goryeo royal palace used for 38 years from 1232, when Goryeo moved its capital from Gaegyeong to Ganghwa to resist Mongol invasions, until 1270, when it returned. The Goryeo palace had a royal temporary residence, Jangnyeongjeon Hall, Mannyeongjeon Hall, and the Oegyujanggak Royal Library, but they were burned down by French troops during the Byeong-in Incident. Currently, the Dongheon administrative building where the Ganghwa Susu (provincial governor) conducted business and the Ibangcheong office building where the assistant provincial governor conducted business remain.

County Governor Yu Cheon-ho said, "With this MOU signing, the Goryeo Palace Site will become an attractive tourist destination visited by tourists from across the nation," and added, "We will revitalize the region by connecting Ganghwa County's cultural and historical tourist sites centered on the Goryeo Palace Site."