Suwon Fortress Tourism Task Force: "Mungyeong Monorail Applicable to Paldal Mountain"

The Special Committee for Suwon Fortress Tourism Activation (Chairperson Hong Seung-geun, hereafter Suwon Fortress Tourism Task Force) announced that the tourist monorail in Mungyeong City, North Gyeongsang Province, is the optimal model that can be applied to Paldal Mountain.

However, there remain significant obstacles to overcome under current law, including impact assessments within cultural heritage protection zones and obtaining permits for landscape changes to cultural heritage sites.

The Suwon Fortress Tourism Task Force held its 7th meeting on the morning of the 9th at the Culture and Welfare Committee conference room and reported the results of benchmarking the monorail at the drama 'Yeon Gaesomun' open set located in Gaun-eup, Mungyeong City, conducted on the 3rd.

According to the task force report, the Mungyeong 'Yeon Gaesomun' open set monorail, which was constructed with an investment of 4 billion won, has a total length of 324 meters, with 657 daily users and an annual visitor count of 240,000, generating annual revenue of 800 million to 900 million won.

The monorail was installed not only as a transit route within the open set but also to secure tourism resources such as attractions and entertainment, and serves the purpose of providing convenience for people with disabilities and the elderly who have mobility difficulties.

Task Force Chairperson Hong Seung-geun stated, "If the installation of the Paldal Mountain monorail is pursued in a direction that minimizes damage to the natural environment and cultural heritage, Mungyeong City's monorail will be the most suitable model."

Additionally, Chairperson Hong emphasized, "Since the monorail installation project requires substantial budget, which presents difficulties in securing funding, it is worth considering a method similar to Mungyeong City's approach, where private operators run the project for a certain period and then transfer it through donation."

Committee Secretary Lee Hee-jeong also expressed her benchmarking impressions, saying, "The situation at Suwon's Paldal Mountain is similar in terms of terrain and utilization methods."

However, Paldal Mountain is located within a cultural heritage protection zone that is home to a World Cultural Heritage site, so installing various facilities here requires conducting impact assessments on the cultural heritage and obtaining permits for landscape changes.

An official from the Hwaseong Project Office's Restoration and Maintenance Division stated, "The installation of a monorail on Paldal Mountain is expected to face difficulties in obtaining permits for cultural heritage landscape changes, and there are also concerns about damage to the natural landscape. In-depth and multifaceted long-term review is necessary."

The official added, "Sufficient consideration must be given to whether facilities can be installed to provide access to Seojangdae (Paldal Mountain summit) without damaging the natural landscape of Paldal Mountain and altering the surroundings of the cultural heritage site."

Meanwhile, the Paldal Mountain monorail, spanning from Hwaseong Haenggung Palace to Seojangdae (the summit of Paldal Mountain), is being reviewed by the Suwon Fortress Tourism Task Force to provide convenience for tourists visiting Hwaseong and develop new tourism resources.