Sustainable Destination Gokseong — A Sustainable Local Destination, and Beyond

Sustainable Destination Gokseong — A Sustainable Local Destination, Gokseong, and Beyond...

Say ‘Seomjin River,’ and most people think first of Gurye or Hadong. But the stretch where the Seomjin runs longest is actually Gokseong. In Jeollanam-do, where the river winds through one valley after another, Gokseong is better known as the setting of the film ‘The Wailing’ (whose Korean title is simply Gokseong) than as a travel destination. Geuri Gokseong, a resident-led fair travel agency focused on the region’s nature and its people, is working in all sorts of ways to turn that image around.

Words Parc Jinmyoung
Interviewee Geuri Gokseong

Geuri Gokseong is a local travel agency that turns Gokseong’s natural heritage and regional values into travel content. In 2017, it launched its first product, ‘Gokseong Hanbakwi’ (A Lap Around Gokseong), which explores the region’s seasonal changes in nature along with the lives and pastimes of the people who live by it. Since then, the agency has focused even more on local travel content. It created the ‘Seomjingang Mulmeong Trail Walking’ (a water-gazing walk along the Seomjin River) and the ‘Gokseong Sumeong Trail Walking’ (a forest-gazing walk), and it offers individual packages that combine these programs with meals, lodging, a bundle of Gokseong snacks, and amenities.

Geuri Gokseong aims to go beyond having travelers simply consume a place, creating experiences that they enjoy together with local residents. It also puts forward practical proposals on environmental issues, offers genuine rest in a rural setting, and encourages visitors to reflect on living a self-directed life. All of this, the team believes, leads to action for regional revival and coexistence.

Memo 1. What kind of place is Gokseong?

Could you briefly introduce Geuri Gokseong?
Geuri Gokseong is a resident-led fair travel agency run by the Seomjingang Dukkeobi Cooperative (Seomjin River Toad Cooperative). In a word, we tell the story of Gokseong’s nature and the people who live in harmony with it, and we help make sure the profits from local tourism are shared fairly among residents. We meet local people and discover and document the patterns this land, Gokseong, has drawn over a long time, along with the patterns of life its people have drawn within it. Based on that, we create travel products and encourage people to travel to Gokseong.

How did it all begin?
In 2014, three of us, who had each been living our own lives in Gyeonggi, Gyeongnam, and Busan before settling in Gokseong, started it after a lot of thought. Around then, the idea of promoting ‘resident-led regional tourism’ was starting to appear in government policy, and that gave us the opportunity to start a business. The beginning was very simple. We wanted to invite travelers to Gokseong, the place we love.

Honestly, thinking of Gokseong as a travel destination feels a little unfamiliar.
Even before Geuri Gokseong existed, Gokseong was known for the Seomjingang Train Village and the Gokseong World Rose Festival, which is in its twelfth year. During the festival, around 280,000 people visit. Gokseong’s population is only about 30,000, so that’s nearly ten times as many. By visitor numbers alone, Gokseong looks like a pretty famous destination, and it might seem that many residents work in tourism. But travelers come to visit the Train Village and take part in the festival, not to see Gokseong itself. We wanted to spread the word that Gokseong is a wonderful place to travel. And if possible, we hoped it would have a positive effect on the residents too.

Memo 2. Can a good business be sustainable?

You started with programs built around the Seomjin River, then went on to develop and sell your own Gokseong travel map, and you’ve worked on local travel in Gokseong for quite a long time. I imagine the process wasn’t always easy.
Ironically, COVID gave us a new opportunity. Travelers who used to go only abroad began to notice the value of destinations at home, and demand arose naturally. Thanks to the local network we had been steadily expanding all along, we began to firmly establish what makes Geuri Gokseong unique. I think 2019 was our turning point.

How did you come to put down roots in Gokseong?
Each of us has our own story of how we ended up connected to Gokseong, and it would take too long to tell, so I’ll skip it (laughs). What we have in common is that we couldn’t resist the charm of the people who live alongside the Seomjin River. Another thing we share is that we chose ‘travel’ as the means to make our own lives bloom in Gokseong.
All three of us moved to Gokseong and settled in as an experience-village manager, a local activist, and a social worker, before coming together as Geuri Gokseong. Among our members, some are Gokseong natives, of course, and others were neither born nor raised there but care deeply about it. The cooperative is barely a decade old, and it’s moving that we have gathered purely out of love for Gokseong. It makes me feel grateful all over again.

How is the Seomjingang Dukkeobi Cooperative run?
We currently operate under three co-representatives. In total, nine members take part, all of whom sympathize with the work and values of Geuri Gokseong and want to share in them.

What role do you think a local travel agency like Geuri Gokseong plays in a region?
Before local tourism comes local culture, and before local culture come the lives of local people. A local travel agency ultimately deals with regional tourism, but underneath it lie the sustainable lives of residents. When we can play a positive role, with each side having a good influence on the other, a local culture worth being proud of is created, economic value follows naturally, and regional travel becomes more active. Within that, Geuri Gokseong communicates diligently with the people who love and tend to this region, and actively connects them with travelers. Through this, we hope the trajectory of a sustainable life in Gokseong will keep accumulating.
Of course, this approach comes with difficulties. Because we don’t build relationships with local businesses through commissions the way ordinary travel agencies do, revenue is a constant concern. Local businesses need to receive proper income, and in the process a local travel agency has to turn its planning and operating costs into revenue. Things are getting better, but I think it’s a challenge we need to tackle even harder and more actively, together with consumers.

Memo 3. What does sustainability mean for a local travel agency?

Geuri Gokseong mostly builds its local travel content around the Seomjin River. Tell us what makes Gokseong appealing as a destination.
As you know, the film ‘The Wailing’ made Gokseong quite well known (though it also seems to have stamped a frightening image on the place, which is a little upsetting). Gokseong is a basin surrounded by mountains, which cover 70 percent of the area. The temperature swings between day and night are big, and in winter plenty of snow blankets the town in white. I hear that the film’s director, Na Hong-jin, was drawn to these mountains and shot the film here, and I understand why. The way the mountains look, like dozens of sheets of thin rice paper layered across one another, can’t be fully captured in words or photographs. On the days I come across a scene that suddenly makes me want to paint, I feel so full and glad that I chose to live here.
Then there’s the Seomjin River, the root of Gokseong and the heart of Geuri Gokseong. Today the whole river, from its source to the lower reaches flowing to the sea, goes by the single name ‘Seomjin,’ but long ago the upper reaches running through Gokseong were called the ‘Sunja River,’ written with the characters for quail and son. There must have been a background and a story behind that name. Sharing stories like this with travelers and imagining the scenes of that time: isn’t that a wonderful kind of trip?
Gokseong has almost no industrial facilities. That’s why it counts as a pristine region, but it is also the main reason for its low fiscal independence. I think Geuri Gokseong’s role is truly important in protecting the unspoiled nature while securing sustainability for the local economy. We have to work hard.

Korea is small, yet each region seems to have a really strong character of its own.
Honestly, if you don’t look closely, you might feel that everywhere in Korea is more or less the same. Someone who studies regional culture told me: ‘Since COVID, I’ve traveled around the country more, and I’ve discovered that there are really many charming places. The one disappointment is that they all sell pasta and coffee.’ That’s a fatal flaw. I’d add dessert bread to that list. Luckily, Gokseong has been somewhat spared from that trend, though some people feel that’s a pity.

Is there a region you look to as a role model, or one you’d like to follow?
In southeastern Canada, there’s a tiny island called Fogo Island. I haven’t been there yet, but when I learned about its remarkable undertaking a few years ago, I made it my role model. The islanders perceive their local environment and climate so finely that they divide the year into seven seasons. Building on that, they began promoting tourism in order to preserve their traditional way of life. Fogo Island Inn, at the center of it all, is regarded as both a way of showcasing local culture and a real contributor to the community’s economic revitalization. Most admirable of all, it shows guests how the profits circulate back into the community. Guests aren’t simply spending money; they come to see concretely how it helps the local economy. I’d love to emulate that, and I think it’s the direction Geuri Gokseong should aim for.
In Korea, there’s a social enterprise called the Nolluwa Cooperative in Hadong, Gyeongsangnam-do. It’s a close neighbor, but it’s also a place we always look to and learn from, in how it runs the cooperative and the direction of its business. The ‘village hotel,’ which has recently been tried in Korea as a new model of regional tourism, is also approached in a way that suits Hadong’s local character. Rather than following trends, they plan and run travel and content that fit the region, so they’re a neighbor we always keep an eye on.

Of all the destinations practicing sustainable local travel, which is your favorite?
I love Porto, Portugal. It’s a port city more than 2,000 years old with no shortage of attractions, yet I feel it’s not as well known as it deserves to be. A few years ago, Porto set out to draw the motifs of its city design from the stories of its residents. The blue logo that came out of that effort hinges on the period placed after the name Porto. With a history as long as its layers of stories are deep, Porto can’t be defined by anything else. It is simply Porto. That period, which means ‘Porto is Porto,’ holds all the possibilities the city has. I think it’s the product of an effort to focus on the relationships among local residents and to approach tourism as one of the functions that move a community, alongside welfare, culture, and education. It’s one of the destinations I watch closely because it weaves connections between travelers and residents naturally into everyday life.

What are your plans going forward?
We’re trying to make a lot of changes this year. First, we plan to convert from a regular cooperative to a social cooperative. That will make clear Geurigokseong’s identity as a private business that secures the public value of local tourism and carries out that function, and we also intend to actively attract the support we need.
We’re also planning to operate our own lodging and launch a village hotel within the year. Accommodation accounts for the biggest share of any trip, and because most of our partner businesses are rural homestays, we sometimes get disappointing feedback. To address this, we’ll introduce a consignment system and run lodging of our own.
Last is the ‘travelers’ transition town.’ A transition town is a community movement that practices alternative ways of living and pursues local economic growth through shared skills, lower energy costs and carbon emissions, and buying local food. We’ve been imagining village residents and travelers building one together. Travelers who become part of Gokseong’s ‘relationship population’ would think through and design, together with us, how Gokseong as a hub can function as a transition town. And this hub would create a zero-waste lodging system for nature, culture, and human life. It’s still just an idea, but I’m optimistic that we can make it real, and I think it will have a big impact on the region. Please cheer us on!

Memo 4. Three Gokseong spots Geurigokseong recommends to travelers interested in sustainable travel

Jewolseom and Hamheojeong: Located in the north of Gokseong, on the upper reaches of the Seomjin River, Jewolseom is a small island floating in the river. You can walk onto it by crossing a small bridge. The land was once planted with saplings for sale; after Gokseong County reworked it into an ecological playground and educational site, it opened to the public. Geurigokseong also runs a variety of programs here together with the local government. You can wander a small forest of metasequoias and many other trees, and with luck you may even spot animals that are hard to see otherwise, such as flying squirrels, woodpeckers, and toads.
Hamheojeong is a pavilion perched on a cliff overlooking Jewolseom. Beyond a low, knee-high wall you can see the Seomjin River and Jewolseom, and at sunset you can watch the sun sink behind Mudeungsan far in the distance. I recommend taking a loop around Jewolseom and Hamheojeong and spending some time listening to the sounds of nature.
Taeansa Temple: Taeansa is a thousand-year-old temple nestled comfortably in a spot embraced by the wings of a phoenix. Historically, it was one of nine temples nationwide that opened as centers of Seon meditation when Seon Buddhism was in full bloom. Many little-known hermitages dot the surrounding area, and Seon monks come and go without pause. Above all, the forest path to Taeansa runs alongside a stream, and you can see many kinds of trees in the old woodland. At the entrance below the temple stands a memorial literature museum for Jo Taeil, the poet who represents Gokseong, so be sure to stop by.
If you’re interested in sustainable travel, don’t forget to look up Geurigokseong first!