Slow walking is one of the easiest ways for many people to pursue peace and tranquility, especially people who live in urban areas, surrounded by a fast-changing environment.

Unfortunately however, not many of them are able to take up the opportunity due to their busy routine.

For those who would like a chance to walk and feel the joy of slow walking, Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do, is busy preparing for the 1st World Slow Walking Festival scheduled on April 18, 2009.

The two-day festival is organized to celebrate Wando-gun's first anniversary of becoming a World Health Organization "health city" and joining the international network of towns named "Cittaslow" a neologism combining the Italian word for "city" with the English word "slow," meaning "slow city" or "slow town."

The region of Wando has a beautiful natural environment: the islands are surrounded by clean waters and ringed by white sandy beaches. It also has a long history; it was of great strategic importance to the Silla dynasty (57 B.C.–A.D. 924) and controlled the Northeast Asian seas.
 
Visitors to the area will enjoy its natural charms, rich history, and the hospitality of its people.  Moreover, the World Slow Walking Festival will allow people to free their minds and enjoy life at a slow pace.  

To greet the visitors for the upcoming event, Wando-gun and the Slow Walking Festival Organizing Committee have improved the tourism infrastructure of the area.

For the opening ceremony on April 18, a walking event through the rape flower field and a celebration concert will be held at Myeongsasimni, Sinji Island. Wando-gun is known to have the single, largest rape flower field in Korea.

On the next day, there will be a walking event on Cheongsando (Cheongsan island). It is here that the famous Korean movie director Im Kwon-taek shot his movie Seopyeonje (1993), a story of a family of traditional Korean pansori singers. The movie captured the hearts of audiences and critics alike.

For more information about the festival, click here. For more about Wando-gun, click here
or call Korea Travel Phone 02-1330 (English, Chinese, Japanese interpreting service) or the World Slow Walking Festival Bureau 061-550-5760/5750 (Korean, English).

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer