Gyeonggi Province Pursues Attracting Marine Safety National Experience Center to Daebu Island

Gyeonggi Province is pursuing a plan to attract the 'Marine Safety National Experience Center' being promoted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Danwon-gu, Ansan City, an area with the highest number of victims from the Sewol ferry disaster.

The province announced on the 9th that it has decided to attract the 'Marine Safety National Experience Center' that the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to build by 2017 to Gyeonggi Province, and will submit relevant recommendations to the ministry.

Through this recommendation, the province argued that Gyeonggi is the optimal location for establishing the Marine Safety National Experience Center, as the region has geographic characteristics with 25 million people in the Seoul metropolitan area and rapidly increasing marine leisure facilities, and also has symbolic value in raising awareness of marine safety in the wake of the Sewol disaster.

A province official stated, "There is a precedent case where the Daegu Citizens Safety Theme Park was established following the 2003 Daegu subway fire disaster," and added, "Building the Marine Safety National Experience Center in Ansan City should be pursued with a long-term perspective to improve public awareness of marine safety."

Furthermore, with seven safety experience centers currently operating and under construction nationwide, but only one lacking in Gyeonggi Province, the nation's largest local government, the official noted that the Sewol ferry sinking disaster presents an opportunity to establish the Marine Safety National Experience Center in Gyeonggi Province.

The province has currently designated two sites as planned locations: Lot Nos. 1975 and 1958 in Daebu-bukdong, Danwon-gu, along the northern coast of Daebu Island in Ansan, and has completed consultations with Ansan City, the landowner, regarding the provision of land for building the experience center.