The drive to promote Jeju Island as one of The New7Wonders of Nature is now in full swing. “The campaign will be focused on both domestic and overseas publicity in parallel, because the winner is decided according to both evaluation by specialists and popular vote from the world’s citizens,” Yang Won-Chan, Secretary General of the National Commission for Promotion of Jeju to Win the New 7 Wonders of Nature, said last month at the opening of the campaign’s office in Seoul.
“Jeju is the only candidate of the twenty eight finalists where people, nature and prehistoric heritage are harmoniously combined in a single location,” Yang said. “Jeju has been granted triple crowns by UNESCO, with designations of a Biosphere Reserve, a World Natural Heritage, and a Global Geopark. It proves that Jeju has already been certified as a blessed place with natural and environmental resources,” he added.
The opening of local offices in China and Japan is an immediate priority and a group of ambassadors, including the actresses Ko Doo-Sim and Kim Tae-Hee, will promote the beauty of Jeju Island.
The commission’s roles include:
* Requesting all government departments and its affiliated organizations to participate in the voting.
*Encouraging overseas Koreans to take part in voting via diplomatic missions and also encourage embassies and foreign companies in Korea to participate.
* Promoting the voting through overseas offices of Korean global firms by using their networks.
The chairman of the commission, Chung Un-Chan said, “A few weeks ago, the Governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Woo Geun-Min and the Secretary General, Yang Won-Chan, came to me without any notice and forced me to take the chair job. They did not allow me any time to think it over, whether I would take it or not. They said that it is for the nation and Jeju. When I thought it over, I found that what I have to do is to persuade the people of Korea and the world and draw support from them to make Jeju one of the winners of the 7 Wonders of Nature.”
Chung continued: “Making Jeju as one of the winners is much more than just extolling the glories of Jeju, but it is the way to promote the status of Korea and strengthen the nation’s brand power. It is not like winning and hosting a one-time sport event. Winning the selection will be a crown jewel for the national glory of Korea and an asset, that will be handed down from generation to generation.”
Among the Korean public figures attending the opening of the Seoul office were: the Chairman, former Prime Minister Chung Un-Chan; Unification Minister, Hyun In-Taek; Chief Executive of Grand National Party, Won Hee-Ryong; Governor of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, Woo Geun-Min; Chairwoman of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, Lee Bae-Yong; Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mo Chul-Min; Member of the National Assembly, Kim Woo-Nam; Education Superintendent, Yang Sung-On; President of Jeju National University, Huh Hyang-Jin; Chair of Association for Overseas Jeju People, Kang Tae-Seon; Former President of Jeju National University, Boo Man-keun; CEO of Hyundai Kia Automotive Group, Kim Chang He, and mountaineer Um Hong-Gil.