319호 [Feb.28 ,2011] | Nation
Jeju Island Wants New 7 Wonders of Nature Title
Why is this an important title? Jeju Island has recently launched a huge campaign for publicity and support. Its objective is to be named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature. This title can be won if voters around the world choose Jeju Island. Officials say that the competition is a fantastic opportunity to attract tourists to Jeju Island. The competition is organized by New7Wonders, a Switzerland-based non-profit organization. The organization started the project in 2007 and selected 28 finalists out of 452 candidates. Jeju Island is among the finalists. Other finalists include the Amazon River in Brazil, the Dead Sea in Israel and Jordan, the Grand Canyon in the United States and the Mud Volcanoes in Azerbaijan. The final vote for the New 7 Wonders of Nature will take place on November 10, 2011. People can vote online or over the phone. In order to promote the island, the National Committee for Jeju New 7 Wonders of Nature was created. Its chairman is former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan. The Committee organized a special event on January 20. Many journalists, politicians and business leaders were present. The chairman asked for the support from important institutions and media outlets to convince voters worldwide to vote for Jeju Island. Hyundai Motor and Samsung Electronics also said they will help promote the island. “Jeju is the only candidate where people, nature, culture and prehistoric heritage harmoniously coexist in a single location,” the chairman said. “This is also the only candidate equipped with all seven major factors the foundation suggests to become a global tourism spot - scenery, an island, a volcano, beaches, caves, waterfalls and fests.” Jeju Island was already named a biosphere reserve in 2002, given the title of World Natural Heritage in 2007 and Global Geopark in 2010.