Monday, July 3, 2017

Glorification for Jeju Island


By Kwon Bong-woon, m.koreatimes.co.kr

Jeju island image from

Jeju is the largest island off the south coast of the Korean Peninsula. Jeju Island has long been the country's favorite domestic holiday destination, thanks to its beautiful beaches, lush countryside and seaside hotels designed for rest and relaxation. Tourists, for a less-demanding nature experience, meander along one of the Jeju Olle Trails and explore tangerine- trimmed country roads, jagged coasts and narrow lanes dotted with cottage-style homes made from black lava rock.


The ocean is never far away, so plunge into the blue seas to view coral as colorful as the sunsets and dig into Jeju Island's unique cuisine, including seafood caught by haeneyo (female free divers).

Jeju Island's exotic charms make it a favored honeymoon destination for Koreans and, recently, Japanese and Chinese tourists looking for a nice gateway.

It is no wonder then that international conferences are frequently held in scenic places, such as Jeju. Recently, Jeju successfully hosted the second annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s board of governors, which lasted from June 16 through June 18. Jeju Island is a Korean version of Hawaii, Haian or Okinawa. It is well known today as the nation's top tourist magnet for its volcanic beauty and seclusion. It is a great honor for us to host the various international conferences. Scenic Jeju Island is our pride and joy. Jeju Island has eventually become a competitor of Monaco in France and Basel in Switzerland.

Jeju Island's tourists will enjoy multiple topics for the good of all humanity, not just for their own interest. Then, global citizens will come up with support.

Furthermore, the island is also one of South Korea's best places for public diplomacy. Public diplomacy is seen as a manifestation of soft power - the ability to shape a perception through attraction. Joseph Samuel Nye, who is an American political scientist, states that soft power is associated with intangible assets. In other words, the soft power of a country rests on its resources of culture, values and politics. In international relations, public diplomacy or people's diplomacy, broadly speaking, is communication with and dissemination of propaganda to the foreign public to establish a dialogue designed to inform and influence. However, there is no definition of public diplomacy, and it may be easier to describe than to define it, as definitions vary and continue to change over time.

''Jeju Island will also meet all of our power demand via renewable energy such as solar and wind power without resorting to thermoelectric or nuclear power,” Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong said. We need to pay attention to Won's remarks. The world keeps an eye on Jeju's eco-friendly energy strategy, which was demonstrated at a series of international conferences. The model can be benchmarked by thousands of citizens across the world. As a result, half of the electric cars in Korea are being operated on Jeju, and the island is seen as the fastest and most innovative region in Korea in terms of dealing with energy demand.

Remarkably, Jeju Island is operating "an eco- friendly energy strategy" that can heighten the synergy between electric cars, energy storage systems and renewable energy. An eco-friendly energy strategy is expected to make Jeju the host of an eco-friendly green city that involves futuristic technologies including homes, plants, roads and information technology.

The world will envy Jeju as not only a treasure island of the world but also as a green city of power via renewable energies.

The writer resides in Dongjak-gu in Seoul. Write to kbw 8234664@ naver.com.

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