E-Journal #1. Necessity of Geotourism in Gyeongju

<Necessity of Geotourism in Gyeongju>

  There are many different purposes and reasons for travelling. Some tourists go to the mountains to enjoy sports like hiking or skiing, while some go to the beach or the island to take a rest and enjoy their holiday in summer. Especially, the travelers who are interested in history go to historical and cultural sites to experience firsthand as well as just look around. Accordingly, it is important that the destination should grasp and satisfy the needs of tourists. Over the years, there has been an increasing number of visiting Korea but it has been focused only in Seoul, Pusan and Jeju island. Contrastively, the number of visiting Gyeongju has shown a downward tendency, though there are numerous heritages. Why does this happen? This situation can be solved in terms of both preservation and the adequate utilization of resources through ‘geotourism’.

  In Gyeongju, the rapid industrialization caused imprudent and myopic development and thus, brought damages to preservation of nature and cultural properties. For example, there are a lot of large modern-looking buildings at the center of Gyeongju. Besides, people can see many flashing neon signs, even late at night. These appearances do not assimilate with the historical and beautiful surroundings. Although Gyeongju is the attractive city that tourists can be impressed by just looking around the city, the structures spoil the beauty of the city. Therefore, it is necessary to foster old-fashioned and traditional environment through geotourism. If the beautiful natural landscape and the historical properties will be preserved well as it was then the Gyeongju can attract more tourists.

  When it comes to ‘the adequate utilization’, even though Gyeongju has a great wealth of valuable tourism assets, it does not use them sufficiently. Nowadays, the tourists who travel historical destination prefer experiencing firsthand and fully understanding about tradition with sympathy to just sightseeing. However, the tourists visiting Gyeongju may just enjoy static tours. Therefore, it is required to change the ways to travel through geotourism. For instance, experiencing the real life of our ancestors, watching the performances related to our proud history which made by local people will be great way to meet the needs of tourists. It will also able to create more job opportunities, bring the harmony among local citizens. Finally, Gyeongju will be able to become the best destination to go and maintain their own tradition.

  In korea, Gyeongju is well known for the old historical capital. That is because Gyeongju was the capital city of Silla dynasty a thousand year ago. If the city will not only preserve but also utilize adequately the attraction of cultural assets, then geotourism will be realized. It means to bring a lot of benefits to the city. The local people can take pride in their region and develop their local community by themselves. Eventually, they can depict 'the millenium moment'.