Wonju Mayor Gu Ja-yeol announced Monday that the city will restructure the Wonju Cultural Foundation by adding a tourism mandate, renaming it the Wonju Culture and Tourism Foundation.
The expanded foundation will incorporate a tourism business division, a tourism policy team and a tourism marketing team into the existing organizational structure.
Wonju is the largest city in Gangwon Province by population and other urban metrics, yet it has long been overshadowed in tourism by other provincial cities such as Chuncheon, Donghae and Sokcho. Officials said the gap in social media exposure and online visibility has contributed to a perceived decline in the city's brand recognition among both domestic and foreign tourists.
Experts say local tourism marketing is a decisive factor not so much in drawing immediate visitors as in building and sustaining a city's brand image.
The restructured foundation will also shift from its current non-standing chief executive model to a full-time executive leadership structure.
The non-standing arrangement had limited organizational efficiency, slowing decision-making and creating internal communication difficulties, officials said.
Mayor Gu said the foundation needs leadership with the expertise and accountability to focus fully on running the organization and make sound decisions.
About 15 tourism specialists will be brought in as part of the expansion, and the city expects the full reorganization to take roughly a year.
Mayor Gu said the city will develop content unique to Wonju by uncovering the region's identity and values and linking culture with tourism.
"The time has come to respond swiftly to the changing culture and tourism landscape, overcome the limitations of Wonju's tourism sector, and prepare for future demand," Gu said. "As the global standing of Korean culture continues to rise, Wonju must draw on its own cultural resources and identity to develop competitive content — giving residents more opportunities to enjoy culture while generating new tourism demand and economic vitality for the region."
Gu also said the city has requested an audit by Gangwon Province regarding a separate tourism development project involving Ttwari Tunnel, whose budget grew from 2.1 billion won ($1.52 million) to 13 billion won.
Based on the audit findings, the city plans to examine the causes of the cost increase and redraw its overall tourism roadmap for Wonju.
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