On March 11th, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) produced the "Big Map" of Busan in a bid to spread local-staying walking tour culture for the first time.

           The KTO chose Busan because it has abundant historical resources such as its past experience as an interim capital during the Korean War, which are advantageous to storytelling on walking trips. Also, a high demand for walking trips at "Haeparang-gil" and "Galmet-gil" in Busan and many well-conserved walking courses also contributed to the selection.

           The map divides Busan into seven sections and introduces the courses. The courses also include good photo spots and brunch cafes that are popular on social media to revitalize the demand of walking tours among the 20s and 30s. This map is distributed at 19 major tourist information centers in the city, including the centers near the Haeundae and Busan Central Bus Terminal, and 17 quality-certified accommodations. The PDF file of the map is also downloadable from "Durunubi," a walking tour portal operated by the KTO. In addition, there is an application that was produced in collaboration with the Busan Tourism Organization and the KTO to provide the stories about the tourist spots of walking trip courses through audio.

           Jung Yong-Moon (Director of leisure tourism team, Korea Tourism Organization) said, "We utilized the merit of the paper map and the audio application to promote the Busan walking courses. This map, in particular, is a sidewalk-centered map that has never been used before, so it fits into a walking tour and is practical. Also, I think it will help boost local tourism as many tourists can feel the unknown value and charm of Busan through this map and audio book. We also plan to make an effort to spread the walking trip culture in Daegu and Seoul in the future."

By Jeong Moon-Ju, Desk Editor

jjmoonju@pusan.ac.kr