South Korea’s purple Banwol island

South Korea’s purple Banwol island

by

(CNN) – A South Korean farming community has rediscovered itself by creating an attraction that is perfect for the Instagram era.

Banwol Island, off the west coast of central South Korea, became known as ‘the purple island’ after painting the roofs of about 400 buildings in a lovely lilac screen. In addition, there are fields of lavender, telephone boxes with amethyst and a large purple bridge.

And because the country’s borders are essentially closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, travel-hungry people flock to the area. Between June and August of 2020, more than 100,000 visitors came to Banwol Island, a jump of 20% from the previous year.

Since 2018, more than 490,000 guests have visited the islands.

The project was planned in 2015 as part of the South Jeolla Province’s branding initiative to “create attractive island destinations” and was inspired by the purple bell flowers (also known as campanula) that are native to the area.

Small Banwol and Bakji islands have less than 150 inhabitants. Since the press project began, farmers have started growing kohlrabi and beets, both of which are on trademarks. The local government has planted 30,000 New England asters and 21,500 square feet of lavender fields.

Visitors can walk through the two islands – you may have seen it coming – another purple bridge.

07 banwool island south korea LIMITED

The purple bridge was repaired and repainted in early 2020.

Thanks to the Shinan County Office

To cater for the new waves of tourists, there are a few more amenities on the island, including a cafe, two full service restaurants (one each on Bakji and Banwol), bike rental services and a small hotel. It takes about six hours to get there by bus or private car from Seoul.

Banwol’s risky but beautiful move seems to be bearing fruit. South Koreans leaving the country and returning are subject to a two-week quarantine when they return, so most locals opt for domestic tourism.

Colorful towns have long been popular with travelers, even before they were designed specifically for social media. The bright yellow “pueblo magico” of Izamal, in the Yucatan state of Mexico, was painted entirely to honor a visit by Pope John Paul II, or to ward off a plague, depending on who you ask.
Chefchaouen, Morocco was all painted in blue by a Jewish community who settled there and regarded the color as happiness. Although the community has long since moved away, the bright colors remain a source of joy.

.Source