Ban Ki-moon trail to be built at his hometown

Published : Jan 23, 2013 - 20:02 Updated : Jan 23, 2013 - 20:02

This photo released by the office of Eumseong county, North Chungcheong Province, shows a guidepost of Ban Ki-moon Bichaigil, a new road under construction in the hometown of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.(Yonhap News)

A trail will be named after U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his hometown in North Chungcheong Province.

The Eumseong county office said Wednesday that it is putting the final touches on construction of the 8.5-kilometer Ban Ki-moon Bichaigil. “Bichaigil” means a road where walkers clear the mind and then fill it with clean things.

Ban Ki-moon Bichaigil was approved by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security last year as an 800 million won ($740,000) project.

The trail is linked to existing tourism resources including Ban’s birth house and memorial hall. The county office has added an observatory pavilion, a picnic area, a photo zone and resting areas to the road.

A local legend of the village where Ban was born has it that three gods came down from heaven for a brief time, then later settled down in the village after being fascinated with apricot blossoms.

The county office expects Ban Ki-moon Bichaigil to give fresh life to the area’s tourism. The road will be dedicated in March.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldcorp.com)