Gyeongsangnam-do and Sacheon City are developing the region's unique geological asset, an alluvial fan formation, into a world-class tourist attraction.
According to the provincial government on the 4th, the alluvial fan in the Yonghyeon-myeon area of Sacheon City will be developed into a local tourist destination with historical and rare value. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Gyeongsangnam-do, and Sacheon City are investing a total of 18.7 billion won in the project. This year, 6 billion won will be allocated.
A 65-meter observation tower offering panoramic views of Sacheon Bay's scenic coastline will serve as the landmark facility. The project also includes outdoor rest areas connected to nearby attractions such as Sacheon Bridge and the Rainbow Marine Road, along with unique experiential content utilizing agricultural wells and geological resources.
An alluvial fan is a fan-shaped landform created when rapidly flowing water from mountainous areas slows down upon reaching flat terrain. As water velocity decreases, it deposits gravel, soil, and sand in sequence. The Sacheon alluvial fan shows distinct land use patterns based on particle size. Spanning approximately 5 kilometers east to west and 8 kilometers north to south, it is considered the most representative example of alluvial fans in South Korea.
However, the site had remained underutilized as a tourist resource. Its massive scale made the unique terrain difficult to observe without aerial views, and its development as an industrial complex left it lacking in storytelling elements. The city began planning a large-scale tourism project centered on the alluvial fan during the 8th popularly-elected administration.
"The 'Alluvial Fan Theme Tourist Destination Project,' a core initiative of the Southern Region Wide-area Tourism Development Program, has finally held its groundbreaking ceremony and begun full-scale construction," said Kim Sang-won, Director of Tourism Development at Gyeongsangnam-do. "We will do our best to contribute significantly to revitalizing tourism along the southern coast by connecting it with major nearby attractions such as the Sacheon Sea Cable Car and Sacheon Bridge."
Gyeongsangnam-do and Sacheon City held the groundbreaking ceremony for the project at the construction site beneath Sacheon Bridge on February 26.