RISE Project Group Marine & Island Academy Island-Loving 3-Ging

Participatory marine environmental program joined by citizens, companies, and the university presents a “marine education–environment–healing convergence model”

The RISE Project Group of Incheon National University announced that it successfully held the “Incheon Marine & Island Academy & Island-Loving 3-Ging Event” on April 18–19 in the Daeijakdo area of Ongjin County, Incheon, as part of the “Incheon Treasure Island 168 Specialized Competitiveness Enhancement Support Project.”

The event was organized as an industry–academia–research–government collaborative program in cooperation with Incheon Metropolitan City and related organizations. Around 30 participants, including Incheon citizens and business representatives, took part in activities designed to directly experience the value of island environments and marine ecosystems.

In particular, the program drew attention for its distinctive concept called “Island-Loving 3-Ging.” The event combined three themed activities: “Learning-Ging” (Baroalging) to better understand marine and island environments, “Picking-Ging” (Jubging) to collect marine litter, and “Viewing-Ging” (Baraboging) to experience healing while gazing at the sea. Together, these activities formed an integrated marine culture program encompassing education, environmental action, and healing.

On the first day, educational sessions focused on the history, culture, and ecology of the island were held around the Daeijakdo tidal flats and coastal areas, led by Mi-kyung Jeon, representative of Rediscovering Incheon. Participants also directly engaged in marine litter collection activities, experiencing firsthand the importance of environmental protection. On the second day, a sea meditation program led by instructor Seong-shin Hong provided participants with an opportunity to reflect on the values of marine healing and coexistence in nature.

The event was designed not merely as an experiential program, but as an initiative to realize a sustainable regional development model based on the environmental, tourism, and cultural assets of Incheon’s 168 islands. It is particularly regarded as a practical demonstration of the core strategy of the “Incheon Treasure Island 168” project, which aims to develop educational models for island regions and expand marine culture.

Gyu-won Kim, Director of the INU RISE Project Group, stated, “The Island-Loving 3-Ging Event represents a new type of marine program that combines marine environmental protection, understanding of island regions, and marine healing,” adding, “We will continue to expand citizen-participation experiential content to widely promote the value of Incheon’s islands and contribute to building a sustainable marine culture.”

Meanwhile, the INU RISE Project Group plans to further develop the “Island-Loving 3-Ging” initiative into a representative citizen-participation marine and island festival model for Incheon.