Namdong-gu Promotes Sorae Wetland Ecological Park, Where Ecology and History Meet

Incheon’s Namdong-gu District (District Mayor Lee Byung-rae) announced on the 28th that it is promoting the value of Sorae Wetland Ecological Park (소래습지생태공원) as a representative architectural asset of the region that preserves both ecology and history. Located near Sorae Port in Nonhyeon-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon, the park was completed in May 2009 after restoring tidal flats, tidal channels, and abandoned salt fields into habitats for wildlife and migratory bird stopover sites. It currently operates ecological experience and hands-on craft programs, providing citizens with a space for ecological learning and rest.

[The Korean Today] Namdong-gu Promotes Sorae Wetland Ecological Park, Where Ecology and History Meet (사진 제공: 남동구청)

The park features the Sorae Wetland Ecological Exhibition Hall, a restored salt farm, and a tidal flat experience area, among other facilities. The exhibition hall introduces Incheon’s tidal flats and salt marsh wetlands, the uses of salt, and the importance of preserving the natural environment. Windmills and bird-watching platforms scattered throughout the park also offer visitors sights to see, and in particular, the three windmills standing amid the reed fields are considered the park’s iconic scenery.

The Sorae wetland area is a site where salt was produced from the time a salt farm was established during the Japanese colonial era until 1996, and it preserves the history of the Sorae Salt Farm, which once accounted for 60% of South Korea’s sun-dried salt production. South Korea’s first salt storehouse also remains there, making it a space of great historical and cultural value. Sorae Wetland Ecological Park, where ecology and history coexist in this way, has been recognized for its social, economic, and scenic value and designated as an architectural asset that forms the regional identity of Namdong-gu.

In August, Incheon Metropolitan City established and announced an urban management plan to integrate three parks — Sorae Wetland Ecological Park, the Jangdo Battery Site (장도포대지구), and Haeorum Park — in order to meet the requirements for designation as a national urban park. Namdong-gu District Mayor Lee Byung-rae said, “Sorae Wetland Ecological Park, together with Sorae Port and Haeorum Lake, is a precious architectural asset representing the ecology and history of Namdong-gu,” adding, “We will continue to actively promote the district’s architectural assets so that local residents can take interest in and make use of them.”

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