Cooperative Management of Protected Areas and National Park – Case study: Healing Island, Yeongsando

Most of the national parks in South Korea have beautiful natural ecosystems and are preserved in farming and fishing villages. In these villages, most of the local residents living there are aging, and labor production is gradually decreasing, requiring new alternatives to revitalize these village communities. Under these circumstances, the Korean National Park Service has worked on a big project developing the “luxury village” as an alternative to raise both the income of residents and the value of national parks. Working to utilize well-preserved ecosystems and landscapes along with cultural resources is the overall approach being utilized and a total of seventeen of these villages have been built so far. The first was the luxury village of Dadohae Haesang Marine National Park in 2010. The most successful case of a “luxury village” has been the “Yeongsando Luxury Village.” The strategies that have enabled successful cooperation between national parks and local residents and helped to transform this location into a sustainable tourism destination are examined in further detail.

Led by: Dr. Soyoung An