[InKunming--Sister Cities]  On the 22th, in Imgok-ri, Donghae-myeon, Namgu, Pohang City held the ground-breaking ceremony for Yeonorang & Saeonyeo Theme Park with 300 guests including Mayor Park Seung-ho, City Council Chairman Lee Chil-gu, assemblymen, organization heads, and locals.

The Three Cultural Blocs Project is a national project chosen as a ＂5+2 Metropolitan Economic Spheres＂ project at the 2nd National Balanced Development Strategy Conference in 2008 chaired by the President. An estimated 3.5 trillion won will be invested in 50 such projects for the Daegu and Gyeongbuk region by the year 2019.

Gyeongbuk＇s Three Cultural Blocs Project is set to develop the three cultural blocs of the province: Andong (Confucianism), Goryeong (Gaya), and Pohang/Gyeongju (Silla culture). Pohang City is investing a total of 47.8 billion won by 2017 to pursue three projects. One of them involves paving a ＂storytelling coastal road＂ that features Silla culture by depicting the Tale of Yeonorang & Saeonyeo.

Pohang City is pursuing the following three projects: constructing Yeonorang & Saeonyeo Theme Park (A=82,637㎡) and Ilwol Theme Park (A=23,284㎡), building a 10 km. themed road connecting the two parks, and paving a 5 km. coastal road in Donghae-myeon from Imgok-ri to Heunghwan-ri.

Pohang City kicked off these projects which will become new tourist landmarks by completing the administrative processes of preliminary evaluations concerning natural disaster and environmental impacts. It is aiming for project completion in 2017.

The first phase of the project, groundworks and landscaping of Yeonorang & Saeonyeo Theme Park, is planned to be completed by July 2015 with a total project cost of 7.2 billion won, which includes 4.2 billion won in state funding.

Yeonorang & Saeonyeo Theme Park will have an observation deck, restored Silla houses, Korean gardens, walking trails, parking areas, and an exhibition hall.

Mayor Park Seung-ho said, ＂I expect the park to become a new tourist area of Pohang by becoming an eco-friendly theme park that showcases history and culture for visitors to enjoy and protecting the environment at the same time. When the project is complete, I believe our region will have a more established identity, providing historical sightseeing related to Silla＇s cultural assets along the East Sea.＂