Mayor meets Cultural Heritage Administration chief to discuss tourism promotion
Namyangju city met with Cultural Heritage Administration Chief Heo Min at Hongyureung on Tuesday to discuss ways to boost tourism by leveraging the city's key heritage sites, including Hongyureung and Gungjip.
The policy forum was organized to examine how the historical value of local heritage sites could be preserved while also exploring their potential as tourism resources and their links to surrounding commercial districts.
Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Min-hee of the Namyangju Gap constituency and local city council members also attended.
The city agreed to actively cooperate with administrative procedures, including urban management planning, to support the Cultural Heritage Administration's ongoing project to establish a palace and royal tomb landscape resource center near Hongyureung.
Participants also raised the need to improve pedestrian access connecting Hongyureung, the nearby Yi Seok-yeong Plaza and the Geumgok-dong commercial district. They also exchanged views on developing a historical and cultural belt — including trail routes and tourism content — that links Joseon royal heritage sites such as Sareung and Hongyureung with surrounding historical and cultural resources.
Regarding Gungjip, the city proposed expanding tourist amenities, including the installation of nighttime landscape lighting, to make the site more accessible and welcoming to residents and tourists as a historical and cultural space.
Based on the discussions at the forum, the city said it plans to continue reviewing tourism promotion possibilities that take into account the characteristics of each heritage site and to maintain consultations with relevant agencies.
"Hongyureung and Gungjip in Namyangju are precious national heritage sites that hold the history and culture of our region," Namyangju Mayor Choi Hyeon-deok said. "Through this forum, we exchanged a wide range of views on preserving and utilizing our national heritage, and we will continue communicating with relevant agencies to find ways for residents and tourists to feel the value of that heritage more closely."
pjh@heraldcorp.com
