Can South Korean Temples, Beaches Tempt Tourists?

G A N G J I N, South Korea, Oct. 16 -- For centuries, the southwest corner of South Korea was a rural backwater, a place of exile for dissidents. Some of the first Westerners to land on Korean soil — aband of shipwrecked Dutch sailors — were held captive here in the 17th century.

Even in modern times, South Korean powerholders considered theJeolla region to be politically irrelevant, at times troublesome.In 1980, the military crushed a pro-democracy uprising in thesouthwest city of Gwangju. The region was the home base of KimDae-jung, an opposition figure who became president after thedemise of authoritarian rule.

Today, South Korean tourism planners are showcasing southernJeolla (pronounced choh-lah), hyping it as a haven for visitors whocan soak up history, buy Chinese-inspired celadon pottery and spendthe night in spartan quarters at a Buddhist temple.

Officials in the region's Gangjin county are rebuilding a YiDynasty fort that was destroyed in a revolt. There are coasts andforests, tombs and Confucian shrines.

Riding Wake of World Cup

The campaign is part of a broader effort to promote South Koreain the wake of its wildly successful role as co-host of the 2002World Cup soccer tournament. Attractions in China and Japan, fearsof conflict with North Korea, and the South's focus on economicgrowth at the expense of aesthetics, have long sidelined SouthKorea as a tourist destination.

"Korea is frustrated at being unknown," said David Mason, anadviser to the South Korean government on tourism.

Still, Mason said "it's a lot better than it used to be," andcited the availability of tourist brochures in English inprovincial cities, as well as paved roads all over the country.South Korea was far more inaccessible for foreigners when it hostedthe 1988 Olympics, he said.

About 5.3 million people visited South Korea last year, many ofthem on business from Asian countries, but the government wantsmore Western tourists. Over the summer, President Roh Moo-hyundeclared South Korea would be a "cultural super-nation"attracting more than 10 million tourists a year, on a level withThailand.