The National Natural Heritage Institute, Korea's first national institution dedicated to natural heritage, will be built on Eulsukdo Island in Busan. With nearly a decade of Busan's efforts to attract the facility now bearing fruit, Eulsukdo is expected to emerge as a national hub encompassing natural heritage research, exhibition, and ecotourism.
The Busan Metropolitan Government said Wednesday that the National Natural Heritage Institute construction project, promoted by the Korea Heritage Service, cleared the preliminary feasibility study of the Ministry of Economy and Finance's Fiscal Project Evaluation Committee on Monday.
The National Natural Heritage Institute is the only national institution in Korea that professionally surveys, researches, conserves, and exhibits national natural heritage such as natural monuments and scenic sites. The planned construction site is the Eulsukdo area at the mouth of the Nakdong River, where a total project cost of 119.3 billion won will be invested to build a specialized facility with a total floor area of 22,969㎡, including storage vaults, a research building, and an exhibition building.
The passage of the feasibility study is the result of the city's strategy to attract the facility, pursued since 2016. The city has continuously argued to the Korea Heritage Service and the government that Eulsukdo, Korea's largest migratory bird habitat with outstanding ecological value, is the optimal location for the natural heritage institute. During the feasibility study process, the city also actively explained the project's policy significance and balanced regional development effects, responding jointly with the Korea Heritage Service.
Once the National Natural Heritage Institute is established, the Eulsukdo area is expected to grow into Korea's largest natural heritage cluster. In connection with the existing Nakdong Estuary Eco Center, Busan Museum of Contemporary Art, and the National Youth Eco Center, it is expected to form a complex ecological and cultural hub that concentrates functions of natural heritage conservation, research, education, and exhibition.
Through this, the city also expects to boost ecotourism and generate economic ripple effects for the region. It anticipates that as domestic and international visitors increase, tourism content centered on the Nakdong River estuary will become more diverse.
The Korea Heritage Service plans to begin follow-up procedures, including establishing a basic plan and basic and detailed design, following the passage of the feasibility study. The city will also continue administrative support to ensure the project proceeds without disruption.
"The passage of the National Natural Heritage Institute's feasibility study is a turning point for Busan to leap forward as the central city of Korea's natural heritage policy," Mayor Jeon Jae-soo said. "By combining the ecological value of Eulsukdo, a world-class migratory bird habitat, with the specialized functions of the National Natural Heritage Institute, it will present a new model for the conservation and utilization of natural heritage."
