From student trips to exports, South Chungcheong broadens ties with China

More than 700 teenagers from China converged on Gongju and Buyeo County, two of the three main capital regions of the ancient kingdom of Baekje (18 B.C.–A.D. 660) in South Chungcheong, and attended the Boryeong Mud Festival in early August.

The students came on two-day school trips in groups of four from Shandong and other regions that have exchange or sister-city ties in the province, touring cultural heritage sites and spending time with local students.

South Chungcheong is in the midst of expanding ties with Chinese local governments in areas including trade, tourism and youth exchanges as it seeks to revitalize the local economy.

Parents accompanying their children reportedly showed particular interest in hands-on safety training at the ChungCheongNam-Do Safety Experience Center. Students learned how to respond and evacuate during emergencies including earthquakes and floods at the center, designed to resemble actual disaster sites.

The school trips are part of South Chungcheong's efforts to strengthen exchanges with Chinese local governments amid challenges in economic relations with the United States involving tariffs and high oil prices. The province hopes the additional tourism generated by school trips will help revitalize the local economy and contribute to expanded local exports. South Chungcheong opened an office in Shanghai on Aug. 25 last year to support local companies seeking to enter the Chinese market.

South Chungcheong Gov. Park Soo-hyun met Chinese Ambassador to Korea Dai Bing on Friday to discuss ways to promote cooperation between the countries' local governments.

“South Chungcheong is China's closest friend in Korea, and we should create a new model for Korea-China cooperation that encompasses advanced industries, culture and tourism,” Park said.

Dai replied that they "will explore ways for the Chinese government and South Chungcheong to cooperate with each other."

During the meeting, Park requested an increase in international cruise ships departing from China and calling at Daesan Port in Seosan, South Chungcheong.

The international cruise ship Vision arrived at the port on Aug. 1 carrying more than 1,800 tourists, returning for the second time since stopping in July. The tourists then visited attractions including traditional markets in Seosan and the city's Haemieupseong Walled Town.

Seosan is working to secure additional cruise calls through October by providing services such as mobile payment options and interpreters.

South Chungcheong is also working on measures to help local small- and medium-sized businesses expand into the Chinese export market. A total of 11 companies selling products popular with Chinese consumers — including red ginseng, dried seaweed and processed sea cucumber products — and automotive equipment parts participated in an international economic and trade fair in Harbin, China, in May. The companies held consultations on exports worth $3.65 million and signed export agreements worth $1.65 million.

“Exchanges and cooperation between local governments in Korea and China are an important foundation supporting the stable development of relations between the two countries,” Gov. Park said. “We will strengthen cooperation in a variety of fields going forward.”

South Chungcheong has sister-region ties with seven of China's 34 provincial-level governments, including Hebei and Guangdong. The province also has cooperative ties with seven others, including Shandong.

It holds an annual meeting with Chinese local governments, discussing ways to promote local government cooperation in the AI era with 11 Chinese provinces at this year's meeting.

BY SHIN JIN-HO [[email protected]]