디지털 관광주민증 발급Digital tourism resident card to increase living population
These days, when local governments are struggling with the disappearance of the rural population, living population is emerging as a new alternative. The living population is a concept that refers to people who live in a specific area once a month for more than 3 hours, and includes not only people registered as residents but also people who stay for purposes such as commuting, commuting to school, or sightseeing.
The Korea Tourism Organization is implementing a digital tourism resident card project as a way to increase the living population in areas at risk of extinction. We selected some of the areas with declining populations and issued digital tourist identification cards, allowing those who hold them to receive discounts at affiliated tourist attractions. After selecting Pyeongchang in Gangwon-do and Okcheon in North Chungcheong Province as the pilot project site in October 2022, the number of target local governments was increased, and currently, 15 regions, including Jeongseon in Gangwon-do, Danyang in North Chungcheong Province, and Taean in South Chungcheong Province, are participating in the project. As of January, the number of issuers reached 470,000. Jeong Jin-pil, assistant manager of the regional balanced tourism team at the Corporation, said, “We plan to select 10 additional participating local governments by March of this year,” and added, “We will do our best to increase the population in areas with declining populations through tourism.”
You may think that you need to visit the local government community center because of the name ‘Resident Card’, but that is not necessary. As long as you have a computer or smartphone, it takes less than 2 minutes to get a resident card. First, search for ‘every corner of Korea’ on the portal site and access the website. After registering as a member on the website, log in and click the ‘Apply’ button for a digital tourist ID card. Select the local government where you want to issue a digital tourist resident card and click the ‘Issuance Complete’ button to complete the process. You can receive a resident card for all 15 regions, excluding the local government in which you reside.
Travel to Pyeongchang with a digital tourist ID card
Pyeongchang is the local government that issued the most digital tourist resident cards. As of January, 74,789 cases were issued, which is nearly twice the population of Pyeongchang, which is 40,000 according to resident registration. This is thanks to the fact that the project was carried out first and there are many tourist destinations that can benefit. In Pyeongchang, you can currently receive discounts at 19 tourist attractions. Among them, the destination was ‘Balwangsan Mountain Tourist Cable Car’, which has a large discount rate of 30% and allows you to feel the beauty of the snow-covered mountain.
Balwangsan Mountain in Daegwallyeong-myeon is the 12th highest mountain in Korea with a height of 1458m. You don’t have to worry about how to climb a high mountain. You can enjoy the spectacular view of the mountain comfortably by riding the cable car.
I showed the Pyeongchang digital tourist ID card that was issued in advance at the cable car ticket booth. The employee checked the screen and calculated the price to be 17,500 won, a 7,500 won discount from the regular price of 25,000 won. I felt good even before getting on the cable car, thinking that I had saved money with just a few clicks. However, it was disappointing that the business was not promoted, such as there was no sign posted at the ticket booth indicating that discounts could be obtained with a digital tourist ID card.
The 7.4km Balwangsan tourist cable car course is the longest in Korea. During the 20 minutes up the mountain, the snowy mountain scenery unfolded outside the cable car window. As I saw the mountains and the endless mountains stretching out behind them, I realized the obvious fact that ‘there are many mountains in Gangwon-do.’ As I climbed to a certain height, I started to see the East Sea horizon in the distance.
I was so intoxicated by the snowy mountain scenery that I soon reached the top of the cable car. If you want to enjoy the scenery of the snowy mountain right in front of your eyes, it is a good idea to take a walk around the ‘Balwangsan Millennium Yew Forest Trail.’ Old trees that were green in spring and summer lost all their leaves in the winter winds, but instead gained white snowflakes. As I walk down the street, I see a sign that says ‘Tree of Humility’. As I approached the sign and thought about why it got that name, I tapped my knee. The tree trunk is curved across the hiking trail, so you have no choice but to bend down to pass by. Since I couldn’t keep the resolution I made on January 1st, I used to make the excuse that ‘the real new year starts from Lunar New Year’.
‘I have to live more humbly this year.’ I have one more New Year’s resolution to keep since the Lunar New Year.
Pyeongchang = Reporter Hwang Ji-won support@nongmin.com Photo = Freelance reporter Baek Seung-cheol
copyright ⓒThe Farmers Newspaper. All rights reserved. 02)3703-6114master@nongmin.com
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