Gijang County in Busan announced on the 31st that the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has given final approval to the Gijang Drive Scenic Tourism Project. The county secured 6,168,800,000 KRW (approximately $4,626,600) and 2,640,000,000 KRW (approximately $1,980,000) in national and municipal funding respectively—injecting serious momentum into the plan. The project aims to create a coastal tourism belt in Gijang. It was originally slated for the drowsiness rest area along National Route 31 in Wolnae-ri, Jangan-eup. That site was later included in the Phase 7 National Road Bottleneck Improvement project, which calls for building the Jangan grade-separated interchange. As a result, the county lost access to the land and the project teetered on the brink of cancellation. Officials pivoted, reworking the plan around Jukdo—ranked second among Gijang’s eight scenic spots—and began negotiations with the ministry and Busan City in 2024. Those talks secured final approval to move the project to Jukdo in Yeonhwa-ri, Gijang-eup. Jukdo will be reinvented as Lumina Jukdo, a nighttime, themed media island built around a \"Dragon’s Heart\" storyline. The proposal calls for a mixed-use cultural space, a coastal deck with a suspension bridge, nighttime media art installations, a lawn plaza and an event stage—think glowing installations and an Instagram-ready walk—positioning the site as an overnight, stay-and-explore destination. County officials expect Lumina Jukdo to become a central axis of the \"Dragon Road\" coastal drive tourism belt, linking the nearby Osiria tourist complex and Haedong Yonggungsa Temple, and to provide a significant boost to the local economy. “Even when cancellation loomed, we were able to finalize a sustainable local tourism development plan centered on Jukdo through active consultations with related agencies,” said Gijang County Mayor Jeong Jong-bok. “With the secured funds, we will move forward without delay, aim to break ground in the second half of next year, and showcase Gijang’s distinctive tourism assets.”
