Free admission for the Namhansansung Provincial Park

Gyeonggi province, on the 7th, reported that it would open the Namhansansung Provincial Park free to anyone from next year.

Local citizens, community organizations and many others in Kwangju strongly requested to open the park free since it is the natural environment, not any artificially made up facility, where cannot be applied with the beneficial principle, which if then would be considered of charging extra tax to citizens. 

Upon the citizen’s strong request, local will discontinue receiving admission fee to the park which was KRW1,000 for adult and KRW300 for children. However, as to the continuous operation and management of the park after this new policy, local province will share its provincial budget to support the Park’s operation.

To make the Park as the most pleasant and anybody’s favorite place of all, approximately KRW4 billion is slated for investment till 2009 to expand the facility and also to provide free admission.

From last year, about KRW800 million has already been used for facility investment such as to improve 1 tramping path, establish 2 more resting places, renovate 5 toilets, and also to have new parking lots. Further in 2007, KRW1 billion will be spent to have 2 more tramping paths, renovation of 5 other toilets in the park, and to provide 120 more parking lots for visitors. Having another investment plan in 2008 with KRW900 million to refurbish tramping path and toilets and also additional investment in 2009, local will be able to have total 15 tramping paths which is 14.1km long re-done and 21 toilets renovated as brand new.

Not receiving the admission fee at the entrance, we will be able to get rid of traffic jam, which were caused by the lined up cars within the park to pay the admission., said the Park Operating Supervisor.