In recent articles of the Korea Times (Jeju Island Full of Wonders and Jeju - where people, nature and history coexist), I was surprised (and may be shocked) to read that Jeju Island was one of the 28 official finalist candidates for the New7Wonders of Nature. But then I guess Korea will never stop to startle me: no limit, no doubt, no state of mind ... and it works!
I was actually very upset not to find any French names among the 28 nominees selected by the New7Wonders Panel of Experts from a list 77 sites selected through global voting (without any French name either). But may be Frenchies thiught thought France was too wonderful to participate in that kind of game?
The New7Wonders' Experts have based their choices on the following criteria:
- Unique beauty of the nominated site
- Diversity and distribution (accounted for in 7 groups)
- Ecological significance (in terms of either stand-alone eco-systems and/or their significance for human beings)
- Historical legacy (relation that human beings and/or indigenous populations have or have had with the site)
- Geo-location (even distribution of the 28 Official Finalists between all continents).
Jeju Island certainly matches all the above criteria and as an island, it is certainly wonderful in many ways (see my former post in French http://www.millennium-destinations.com/2010/09/jeju-do-ou-les-vertus-de-lennui.html). However, can it really compete with Kilimanjaro, Halong Bay, Grand Canyon, Amazon, Maldives, Galapagos etc. just to name a few ? The answer is "YES".
First of all, the Korean Government is taking this New7Wonders Campaign very seriously as another not to-be-missed opportunity to put Korea on the global scene. As a consequence, many Koreans will feel involved in that national project and will massively vote for Jeju as a way to get personally commited to the promotion of Korea. At least, Korea's branding efforts have been very effective among Koreans themselves. As for the capacity of Korea to convince the Panel of Experts, I would say that Korea is now mastering the art of international competition.
According to Yang Won-Chan, Secretary General of the National Commission for Promotion of Jeju to Win the New 7 Wonders of Nature, "The campaign [to promote Jeju Island as one of The New7Wonders of Nature] will be focused on both domestic and overseas publicity in parallel, because the winner is decided according to both evaluation by specialists and popular vote from the world's citizens".
"Jeju is the only candidate of the twenty eight finalists where people, nature and prehistoric heritage are harmoniously combined in a single location," Yang said. "Jeju has been granted triple crowns by UNESCO, with designations of a Biosphere Reserve, a World Natural Heritage, and a Global Geopark. It proves that Jeju has already been certified as a blessed place with natural and environmental resources," he added.
"Jeju is the only candidate of the twenty eight finalists where people, nature and prehistoric heritage are harmoniously combined in a single location," Yang said. "Jeju has been granted triple crowns by UNESCO, with designations of a Biosphere Reserve, a World Natural Heritage, and a Global Geopark. It proves that Jeju has already been certified as a blessed place with natural and environmental resources," he added.
My only concern is that Jeju (just as Korea) may soon have an identity crisis: to be a natural sanctuary or to be a mass tourism destination (see Korea Times' articles: Jeju Olle Trail and Overheated competition to build walking trails raises concerns)?
To be wonderful can be such a pain sometimes ... Oh by the way, I just have voted for Jeju!
