Since taking office in early July 2022, Ongjin County Mayor Moon Kyung-bok has been busy listening to the voices of his residents. This has been producing remarkable positive results.
In 2023, Ongjin County paved the way for a new leap forward, including finalizing a plan for the construction of Baekryeong Airport in the area, being selected as a Korean tourism Island, applying to become a UNESCO Global Geopark, and launching a circular ferry service for three islands in the Yellow Sea. Moon also cited an improvement of residents’ settlement conditions in 2023, including an increase in the settlement subsidy for five islands in the Yellow Sea and the expansion of old house improvement projects. However, Moon regretted that he failed to attract a large passenger ferry between Incheon and Baengnyeong Island in Ongjin County.
“We introduced various incentives, including compensation for deficits to ferry service companies, and traveled all over the country to attract them. We failed, because the companies did not respond due to deteriorating management and a bad economy, but we had no time for frustrations,” Moon said. “We, the people at the Ongjin County Office, will put our heads together again to prepare to hold an event to attract ferry service companies and find other alternatives,” Moon said.
Ongjin County has increased Happy Buses on small islands, Yeongheung Buses and Samok Buses. It has also prepared long-term plans for infrastructure improvements such as berths, bridges, and water and sewerage systems that require large budgets, population policies, and future growth drivers.
“We will support the Korean government’s construction of Baekryeong Airport and pump up efforts to accelerate its opening,” Moon said. “We will also jointly work with Ulleung and Sinan Counties where airports will be built to establish duty-free zones. Although we failed to introduce a large passenger ferry to Baekryeong, we will try again to attract ferries that depart in the morning from Yeonpyeong, Deokjeok, and Jawol Islands.” A 466-ton Deokjeok Jado fuel carrier currently under construction for islanders is scheduled to launch its service in the second half of 2024.
In preparation for the opening of the Yellow Sea Peace Road between Yeongjong Island and Sin Island in 2025, the Korean government is focusing on expanding roads in Bukdo township, creating a 300 km bicycle path, and upgrading the section of road that stretches from the northeastern area of Daebu to Janggyeong-ri Beach into a government-supported local road for Yeongheung residents who are suffering from extreme traffic jams.
The Ongjin County Office will set up specialty food markets for the sale of local products and an increase in residents’ incomes in Bukdo township and on Deokjeok Island, which will benefit from the opening of Seohae Peace Road and Arabaet Seaway. It will support the growth of specialized local companies, expand payment of interest, offer special guarantees and payment of credit card commissions for small local business owners, and support the remodeling of shops.
The Ongjin County Office will give local farmers and fishermen an annual public service allowance of 600,000 won and install a 500-ton drying and storage center (DSC) worth 4 billion won on Buk Island to solve labor shortage problems, which will be similar to one on Baengnyeong Island. The development of Ongjin County’s rice brand, which will reduce the region’s dependence on government purchases and increase the added value of locally produced agricultural products, will also be expanded to Baengnyeong Island after Buk Island.
Refrigerators and freezers will be provided to boost the quality of seafood products and to prevent maritime accidents and ensure safe fishing, seafarers’ insurance and a fishing accident prevention system will be introduced, and old engines for ships will be replaced with new ones. Biodegradable eco-friendly fishing gear will be distributed to actively combat environmental pollution.
“The Baengnyeong Island K-Tourism Island Project was selected in a contest held by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Daeijak Island Project in the Incheon Island Tourism Project Competition,” Moon continued, adding that there will soon be surprising changes in the islands of Ongjin County.
The Ongjin County Office will transform Jawol Island into a wildflower island and set up camp sites on Soyado Tepuru and Jawol-do Janggol Beaches. Hydroponic facilities will be installed at Yeongheung Siklipo Beach, and a marine pedestrian bridge and observatory will be built on Yeonpyeong Island.
This year, the Ongjin County Office will complete the Baengnyeong Ecotourism Experience Center, the Baengnyeong and Daecheong National Geopark Centers, Jawol Moonlight Wind Astronomical Park, Soyado Soyarang, and Deokdeok Natural Recreation Forest. In addition, the Baengnyeong and Daecheong National Geopark Centers will be listed as UNESCO World Geoparks, making Baekryeong and Daecheong islands of peace that can receive attention and tourists from all over the world, and will excavate cultural heritage sites of high historical value, such as the restoration of Gyenam Branch School and Junghwa-dong Church, and the construction of the Deokdeok Catholic History Memorial Hall and the Yeongheung Christian History and Culture Exhibition Hall.
“The population problem in the region can be solved only with sustainable economic policies and improved settlement conditions rather than short-term incentive measures,” Moon said. “Last year, the implementation of the Opportunity Development Zone and the Peace Economic Zone system removed many of the restrictions on attracting businesses that had hamstrung Ongjin County in terms of economic growth. This year, we will apply to make the site of Ecoland in Yeongheung district designated an Opportunity Development Zone that includes an agricultural and fishery complex. With the completion of the Peace Bridge, we will start attracting large-scale recreational complexes and high-tech eco-friendly companies to increase jobs and actively attract young people so that we will achieve the goal of 30,000 residents in Ongjin County.”