The combination of cultural attractions and pristine nature is an advantage of the otherwise economically underdeveloped border region between South and North Korea

On July 20th, the “Romantic Road of Korea” was opened in Gangneung, located at the Korean East Sea, by the governor of the Gangwon province, Kim Jin-Sun. Among the 1000 guests attending the opening ceremony were Jürgen Wünschenmeyer, director of the Romantic Road Germany, and representatives of the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation. The project – an promotional cooperation between six cities and counties as well as Gangwon province, was created after a proposal made by Prof. Dr. Peter Jurczek, economic geographer and professor at Chemnitz Institute of Technology, who has been cooperating with the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation in the past five years. The possibility of cooperation between different counties had been developed at, among other things, study trips organized by the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation, in which the governor of Gangwon province, Kim Jin-Sun, and officials of the involved municipalities took part, as well as at a research project of the Gangwon Development Research Institute, another partner of the Hanns-Seidel-Foundation.

The Romantic Road of Korea covers a length of 240km from the border with North Korea in the divided county of Goseong to the southern end of Gangwon province in Samcheok. Using about 80.6b KRW (about 45m EUR) in funds from Gangwon province, Goseong county, the provincial city of Sokcho, Yangyang county, the provincial city of Gangnung, the city of Donghae and the city of Samcheok, a touristic route was created, that will offer new income possibilities, especially for this economically underdeveloped region.

The border region between South and North Korea, the so called Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), was considered the most hotly contested border during the cold war and is to this day. At the same time, due to the absence of economic activity, the DMZ is now also a refuge for rare wildlife, which can rarely be encountered otherwise, especially in the heavily industrialized South. Therefore, the sustainable development of this border region is an important task, which can simultaneously be used to lessen the tensions between North and South Korea. The situation is similar to the one previously found at the inner-German border, where military and political tensions, economical and area planning-related problems and opportunities had to be balanced as well. The HSS Korea has developed in cooperation with the southern part of Goseong county since 2005 and with also divided border region Gangwon-Do since 2006 a multitude of activities, to develop the border region sustainably. Since 2009, HSS Korea has officially been invited by the Ministry of the Public Administration and Security to participate in the regional planning in the border region as part of the project “Peaceful Use of the DMZ”.

Jürgen Wünschenmeyer, director of Romantic Road Germany, was the guest of honor

Opening of Romantic Road of Korea in Gangwon province by governor Kim Jin-Son (pictured with flag)