By Minwoo Park and Daewoung Kim
SHINAN, South Korea (Reuters) – Dressed in purple, curvy women hold up long rakes as they walk in a row to a lavender field to do some pruning on an island in southwestern South Korea.
Inspired by their native balloon flower, residents of the Banwol and Bakji Islands, known as the ‘Purple Islands’, painted their houses, roads and bridges in shades of hue and planted purple flowers such as lavender and asters to transform their city. . to a tourist attraction.
“Old people like us have a secluded life here as all the young people have left the village,” said the villager Shin Deok-im (79), who has lived on the island of Bakji for more than 60 years.
“I’m glad to see young people and children visiting our town. They’re all like my grandchildren.”
The small, tranquil islands have a little over a hundred inhabitants and have been selected for a tourism project supported by the government.
Since 2015, Shinan Province has invested 4.8 billion won ($ 4.25 million) to make the islands purple, including the painting of more than 28,000 square feet of lilac roofs.
According to the state office, the campaign has drawn more than 487,000 people since its official launch in 2019.
Restaurants on the islands offer purple rice and serve food on purple plates. Some residents approached the press project with gusto.
“Every morning I put on my purple from head to toe, even my underwear and shoes included, and it makes me happy,” said 88-year-old resident Jung Soon-shim in a purple garden house.
Visitors can walk three purple footbridges connecting the two islands with the larger nearby, with benches adorned with the slogan ‘I purple you’ popularized by K-pop group member BTS Kim Tae-hyung, better known as V, which means ‘I trust, love and support you.’
Those who wear purple are even allowed free access to the islands.
“We could not travel overseas due to the COVID-19, which is why we visited these purple islands,” Shin Eun-me said.
“It’s very dreamy to see these grandmothers wear purple clothes.”
($ 1 = $ 1,129.95 won)
(Reporting by Minwoo Park and Daewoung Kim; Edited by Karishma Singh)