Gyeonggi Province Develops 403 Barefoot Walking Paths in First Half of 2025

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kim Gap-dong] As Gyeonggi Province announced plans to secure 1,000 "Gyeonggi Soil-Scented Barefoot Walking Paths" by 2026, the province will develop 403 barefoot paths in the first half of this year.

On the 27th, the province held an on-site discussion meeting at Pungsan Nearby Park No. 3 Barefoot Walking Path and Naruul Library in Hanam City and shared the "Gyeonggi Soil-Scented Barefoot Walking Path Guidelines" containing these details.

Previously, Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon declared at the "Gyeonggi Soil-Scented Barefoot Walking Path Development Declaration Ceremony" on November 13 last year that the province would carry out a project to create 1,000 barefoot paths, with at least one path in each of 603 eup, myeon, and dong for residents' health.

Accordingly, in the first half of this year, the beginning year of full-scale projects, the province will develop 403 barefoot paths. These include 377 dry-type paths (ochre mixture with masato as the main ingredient), 3 wet-type paths (masato mixture with ochre as the main ingredient), 14 sand paths, and 9 ochre foot-bath paths (capable of providing foot-bath effects using ochre as the main ingredient). The project budget is 36.91 billion won (70% from provincial funds and 30% from municipal and county funds).

Project sites will be selected through consultation between the province and municipalities/counties based on demand surveys. The province plans to achieve the target of 1,000 paths through 108 already developed paths, 403 paths in the first half of this year, and 489 paths next year.

The guidelines also include standards for design, construction, and safety management; the province's policy implementation direction; city and county cooperation systems; accident prevention; facility maintenance; and civil complaints handling.

Meanwhile, the province held an on-site discussion meeting with officials from all 31 cities and counties to coincide with the establishment of these guidelines. Through barefoot walking benefits education, guideline explanations, and case presentations, successful examples and challenges were shared, and barefoot walking path experience sessions were conducted to review actual field conditions.

The event was attended by approximately 150 people including Hanam City Mayor Lee Hyeon-jae, Gyeonggi Provincial Council Budget and Accounting Committee Chair Kim Sung-su, Barefoot Walking National Movement Headquarters Chairman Park Dong-chang, and officials from all 31 cities and counties.

Lee Jung-su, Head of the Provincial Garden Industry Division, said, "We have prepared these guidelines to promote a culture where residents can safely and healthily walk barefoot," and added, "We will more actively implement the barefoot path development project by reflecting the vivid voices of cities and counties gathered at the on-site discussion meeting."