Cherry Blossoms and Fireworks

 

Multimedia Marine Firework Show of Jinhae Gunhang Festival Last Year

 

Jinhae Gunhang Festival: April 1st ~ 10th

Jinhae Gunhang Festival, Korea’s largest cherry blossoms festival, will be held from April 1st to 10th this year. Last year, 2.7 million tourists from Korea and abroad were impressed by the beautiful feast of cherry blossoms. 217,000 foreign tourists came, an increase by 6 times from 2015. As years go by, Jinhae Gunhang Festival is growing as a global festival. The city is arranging different kinds of responses to resolve the inconveniences of tourists.

Murals, Waking Up the City Sentiment

Yegok Flower Town, Gagopa Winding Path, Changdong Art Village, etc.

Imbuing ‘Vigor’ with Fancy Colors and Images to the Old Atmosphere

Murals are giving to city villages that have lost vitality. At the same time it is attracting more people, delivering warmth to the villages. We will visit a major mural town of Changwon and observe its scenes.

‘Flower Murals’ of Yegok Village

It was winter but flowers were fully bloomed here. Every alley was full of flower scent and there were various kinds of flowers. These flowers are not planted on the ground but are rather welcoming guests on the wall. They are ‘flower murals,’ the communication medium connecting  villagers and strangers. Through them people naturally disarm the mind boundary. Yegok Flower Village is a tranquil country town with 70 households, 220 residents. Surrounded by a mountain, the town is where people can take a comfortable rest while having fresh air. The flowering complex stands in front of the village as well as chrysanthemums and cornus officinalis stand on the farm road for people to fully enjoy the beauty of nature. The old city of Masan, where Yegok Flower Town, preserves the history of Korea’s chrysanthemum cultivation. After 6 farms in Hoiwon-dong area started the commercial cultivation of chrysanthemum for the first time in Korea in 1960, it went through rapid development and exported chrysanthemum to Japan and in 1976 for the first time in Korea. When the Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival is held, the chrysanthemums of Yegok Flower Town are most commonly exhibited along with chrysanthemums cultivated from Jin-dong and Bukmyeon. Yegok Flower Town was selected as a ‘Good Farm Village Tour to Enjoy September Epicurism,’ jointly held by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs and Korea Rural Community Corporation.

Mural Village of Gagopa Winding Path

To revive the beautiful elements of Masan, this path was completed in December 2013. In the Mural Town of Gagopa Winding Path, built in a mountain village of course Seongho-dong from Changdong through Burim-si, you can find various murals in every street corner as well as exotic photo zones. When you walk past Burim-si from Changdong Street and walk toward the Seongho-dong Community Center, you will see a small apartment on a hilltop. That’s right, a colorful, variegated mural town has been built in the mountain village nearby. It is not that huge as it has 30 households with an area of 452m2. However, when you look back after going up the alley, you will see that it is a great place to view the Masan Port. It is even more affectionate as clothesline hanging outside, flower pots on the street, and the senior citizens’ center in the town go along well with the murals. With creative murals that have incorporated themselves into the town landscape, you can also find ‘Blonde Marilyn Monroe’ by Andy Warhol. There are also unique attractions including a mural that has ‘Flower’ by poet Kim Choonso of Masan and a hundred-year-old wall that was built before 1910 and was used by town residents. No matter where you start from either alley, you can take a look around. Taking a step by step, you can also appreciate the scenery in harmony of mountain village and murals, and enjoy the atmosphere of the coastal waters, city view, and murals of Masan.

Changdong Art Village Murals

There are also photo zones and murals in Changdong Art Village. A total of 9 artworks, including 3 photozones and 6 murals, were selected to be drawn from 23 artworks submitted for the design contest by artists who moved into the art village in June last year. Changdong Art Village has been invigorated in every street corner through these, providing various contents and attractions to tourists. Combined with other cultural contents of Changdong Art Village, such murals and photo zones are giving vitality to the city. It is the free Hanbok rental business. You can easily find tourists wearing colorful Hanbok are trying to preserve fun and enjoyable memories into photos in exotic murals or photo zones.

 

 

Declared ‘2018 Visit Changwon Year’

‘Moon Sculpture’ to be erected on Yongji Lake

 

The City of Changwon declared ‘2018 Visit Changwon Year’ to strengthen the internal and external image of Changwon and to attract tourists more actively. To develop Changwon further, it not only needs mega events to innovate itself into a creative tourism city but also needs to maximize synergy effects by connecting with cultural sports events such as the Shooting Championships and sculpture biennale. To revitalize the tourism industry in Changwon, Masan, and Jinhae areas in regards to this, the city has established a plan and is executing it one by one.

Observatory erected in Gapo Beach

 

Scenery from the Gapo Observatory that covers Masan bay at one sight

An observatory to enjoy whole scenary of Masan bay is made at Changwon-si, Masanhappo-gu, Gapo-dong.

Upon the completion of the “Gapo District Coastal Observatory Walkway Construction Project,” which was commenced in August last year, the city provides observation platforms, walking trails and marine water facilities as a healing place for citizens.

In this area, an observation deck with a height of 18m and a width of 2.5m was installed, and 137m long Masan walkway was established. The cost of the project was KRW 500 millio (special grant tax). During theday, you can admire the spectacular scenery of Masan bay here. In the evening, the scenery lighting installed on the observation deck creates an ambient atmosphere.

Additionally, Gapo district waterfront area with camping grounds, fountains, multipurpose grounds, children’s play facilities, and Gapo coastal park decorated with promenade and rest area are expected to be popular as a healing space for citizens.

A city offi cial said, “Next year, we will make a coastal circumference road connecting the Gapo coastal park to the Gapo district waterfront area with the theme walking trail as a starting point, and the whole area will be transformed into a spot of a marine facility, representing Changwon area.”

 

 

 

Wish of 1.07 million Citizens

The new year of 2017 has arrived.

Citizens participated in the New Year celebration events like Watch-Night bell ringing or sunrise and prayed for family’s health and fortune.

Especially, as numerous citizens make a wish in unison, it is an important year when the power of 1.07 citizens should congregate at one place for “Making a pledge of Changwon Metropolitan City at presidential election”, which is the most important issue of the year.

Plans to Build the Longest Zipline in Myeong-dong

Plans to Complete the Facility in September 2017

Development Plans for Eumjido, Udo, and Sokuriseom Islands

 

Concept art for biplane connecting Eumjido and Sokuriseom islands

One of the things that Changwon boasts is its beautiful maritime scenery that stretches for 324 kilometers, which is a key resource for nurturing its tourism industry.

Among many sights along the cost of Changwon, Myeong-dong in Jinhae-gu has an inexplicably beautiful scenery not describable by simple words. The area features small but charming islands such as Eumjido, Udo, and Sokuriseom floating on the serene waters of maritime parks along the southern coast. The scenery on the beachside road is also breathtaking. Such a beautiful place in Myeong-dong area is to be established as a marine leisure and sports town that represents Changwon.

One of the largest additions transforming the area is the zipline. The extreme sports facility is being planned in order to create unique activities that will attract more tourists to the city.

The city administration plans to connect the islands of Eumjido and Sokuriseom on the maritime parks with the zipline. According to the plan, the zipline will be 1,200 meters long, which is the longest in Korea. The zipline moves at speeds of sixty to eighty kilometers per hour, requiring fifty-five to seventy seconds from one end of the line to the other. The facility will feature four lines, capable of accommodating two passengers at a time, allowing a total of eight people to use the ride.

The city plan is to sign a memorandum of understanding with a private contractor, designate an urban planning facility project operator, approve execution plan, and execute various licensing procedures, with the groundbreaking to take place in February to March 2017 and expected completion date in September of the same year.

Changwon city administration has begun the work to develop Eumjido, Udo, and Sokuriseom islands in a comprehensive manner. The work at Eumjido Island will focus on installing various landscape elements and walking trails, as well as developing marine activity programs, restaurants, and other tour products. The effort will drastically expand the convenience infrastructure on the island, in addition to the number of things to see and do there. Udo and Sokuriseom islands will feature nature-friendly trekking paths by the sea, camping sites, and other infrastructure and contents for marine tourism that enable tourists to engage in year-round activities, convalescence, and healing tourism. The local government is currently forming a task force, and is poised to establish an integrated development strategy and plans in the near future.

Jinhae Stands Tall as a Key Marine Leisure City in Northeast Asia

Myeongdong Marina Signs an Execution Agreement with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries

Plans to Establish a Marina Capable of Holding 300 Boats by 2020

Mayor Ahn Sang-soo is taking a photo with the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries after signing Execution Agreement for Myeongdong Marina Port Development Project.

 

Changwon is to be placed at the center of Northeast Asian marine leisure scene through a key project in Jinhae.

The city administration signed an agreement with IPM, the largest marina operation and development company in the Mediterranean region, in order to build a marina facility capable of holding eight hundred boats in Masan Marine New Town. In addition, Changwon also signed “Execution Agreement for Hub Marina Port Development Project” with the same company, which will prompt the parties to establish a marina facility capable of hosting three hundred boats in Myeong-dong, Jinhae-gu.

Mayor Ahn Sang-soo recently visited Seoul Marina, located in Yeouido, Seoul, and announced the beginning of his city’s marina project by signing “Execution Agreement for Changwon Jinhae Myeongdong Marina Port Development” with the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries.

This project is one of the national government-funded hub marina port development projects, which is a part of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries’ “Three-Year Project for National Policymaking and Economic Innovation.” The city of Changwon was first selected as the priority negotiating party last April, engaging in five working-level and main meetings with the Ministry for the past five months. With the signing of the execution agreement, Changwon secured the status as the project operator from the national government.

This execution agreement also contains information about the scope of funding from the national government (within thirty billion Korean won), conditions for project execution, and future operations plans.

Jinhae Myeongdong Marina Port Development Project will be conducted on a wite as large as 110,000㎡ (50,000㎡ ground, 60,000㎡ water), with a budget of eighty-six billion Korean won that will help build three hundred yacht mooring facilities (150 on water, 150 on ground), a 480m-long external seawall, a clubhouse, park, commercial facilities, and industrial research facilities. Changwon city administration plans to establish a base camp for marine leisure tourism in Myeong-dong, Jinhae-gu.

 

Concept art for Myeongdong Marina Port Development Project

The project has already broken ground. The 480m-long external seawall began construction in 2013, with a planned completion date in February 2017. The marina port proper will begin in the first half of 2018 after the project planning, zoning, and execution plan approval are completed. The marina will be completed in 2020 if all goes according to the plan.

When a marina port that can host three hundred boats is completed in Myeong-dong, Jinhae-gu, the facility will be connected to another marina facility capable of hosting eight hundred boats in Masan Marine New Town, allowing Changwon to take initiative in Korean marina industry, growing the city into the best marine leisure hub city in Northeast Asia.

Mayor Ahn said that the hub marina port development project in Myeong-dong, Jinhae-gu, and Masan Marine New Town marina port development project will push Changwon to become the hub city for marine leisure and sports in the Northeast Asia, and once the city’s marine tourism infrastructure is completed, Changwon will become the number one marine tourism city in Korea.