Chungcheongnam-do

▲ The Grandma and Grandpa Rocks at the Kkotjji Beach are some of Anmyeon Island's attractions in Taean

Tourism in Chungnam can be characterized by the diverse contents in the harmony of sea and land. It attracts numerous tourists throughout the seasons thanks to the rias coasts of the Yellow Sea that are the most beautiful ones in the nation and the clean marine products. It holds a world-famous festival of ginseng grown in Geumsan every year.
In 2007, Taean of Chungnam was hit by a horrendous oil leakage accident from the Hebei Spirit. After making harsh efforts to recover from the fatal damage, the locals have finally restored the shore to its original clean state. It also holds fun festivals of its specialty products you can’t enjoy elsewhere in the world between autumn and winter, attracting tourists from all over the world.

▲ It has been 24 months since the oil leakage accident in Taean in December, 2009. In 2007 when the accident occurred, many doubted the sea would ever be restored to its clean state after the world's largest oil leakage case. The photo depicts the contamination and the recovery efforts at that time.

Taean of Chungnam, One of the World’s Greatest Coasts
The year of 2007 witnessed one of the worst oil leakage accidents in history, and Taean was the victim. After years of hard work to recover the damage, it is now regarded as the mecca of environmental protection. In April and May of 2010, Chungnam is planning to hold the Taean Environment Festival to promote the valuable nature of environmental protection. It will also hold events to awaken people to the importance of the environment and to present the “Miracle of Taean” that restored the oil-covered coast to its original clean and beautiful state.
In memory of the successful recovery from the oil leakage accident, it holds the Sand Vista Marathon every July and August and provides 40,000 or so runners from 16 countries and the press with a chance to run on the beach and realize the preciousness of nature once again. The main event is to walk or run barefoot the 8km beach of Cheongpo, whose width is the biggest in the nation at 500m. Walking or running on the beach, you will enjoy the clean coast, which was the result of the many volunteers’ sweat and hope, and the beautiful sunset.

Geumsan Ginseng Festival of Medicinal Plants

▲ Geumsan Ginseng is already one of the world's most famous products. Those that know ginseng also know about Geumsan Ginseng, containing the most definite medicinal elements. Every year the Ginseng Festival attracts numerous visitors home and abroad to purchase, taste, and experience Geumsan Ginseng.

Ginseng is a kind of medicinal plant and has been used for its root. Since it’s shaped like a human figure, it’s called Insam in Korean (a word using a character that means human in compound words in Korean). Throughout history, ginseng has been known for its excellent efficacy. The main ingredient, saponin, has been proven for its effects on fatigue, growth, and lower blood sugar.
Naturally growing at 30~48° north latitude, it has only three regions of natural growth: the Korean Peninsula, Manchuria of China, and Maritime Province of Siberia. Equipped with the most proper natural conditions and developing the best growing and processing techniques, Korea has been recognized as one of the major players in the field. And Geumsan of Chungnam has been known as the major place for ginseng in the nation.
Geumsan is the nation’s largest gathering place of ginseng and has the world’s largest ginseng and medicinal plant market. It has held the Geumsan Ginseng Festival since 1981 to promote the efficacy of ginseng throughout the world. The festival has attracted attention from tourists home and abroad doubling as a local folk festival. Since the international exchange exhibition of ginseng, though, it has emerged as the key point in the global ginseng market ankd developed its festival as an integrated culture and tourist festival with local cultural and global events.
(Visit the homepage at http://geumsan.go.kr/festival/autumn/2009/index.jsp)

▲ Migratory birds are the proof that Seocheon's natural environment is alive. One can easily experience the mystery of life and nature when migratory birds start to dance in groups at the sea at dusk. The locals grow agricultural products with no agricultural chemicals and do not harvest them so that migratory birds can eat them.

Seocheon, Home of Migratory Birds
Located along the west coast of Chungnam, the Cheonsu Bay is regarded as Northeast Asia’s biggest winter habitat for migratory birds, which start to gather at the bay around September and stay there until March of next year, making the bay heaven for migratory birds. The Seocheon area is the stopping place for winter migratory birds from Siberia to their ultimate destination. About 300 kinds of migratory birds spend the winter there every year. You can observe most migratory birds from mid October to late November with up to 400,000 of them a day.
In winter, Seocheon presents the best chance to observe migratory birds. Just look at the birds soaring to the sky through the telescope at the observatory, and you will naturally develop a yearning for great nature.
The basic devices you need to bring to observe migratory birds are a pair of binoculars, camera, notebook and an illustrated bird book. It wouldn’t hurt either to study the characteristics of the destination and major birds in advance. Your costume should include thick clothes to block cold wind and colors like brown which are similar to the surroundings. If you have no binoculars, you can always use the telescope at the sites of Cheonsu Bay and the mouth of Geum River. When migratory birds come back every year, the members of the birds protection groups are stationed at the sites and provide visitors with detailed explanations about them so that they can learn about nature and enjoy the views.