Kangwon Land President Moon Tae-gon.

Kangwon Land is building a tentatively named “High1 Luge” at a cost of 18.4 billion as part of efforts to expand infrastructure to make Kangwon Land a four-season family resort.

The design of the luge has been completed. The luge, being built at an area covering 102,000 sq. meters in front of High1 Grand Hotel in Jeongseon, Gangwon-do, is to be opened next October.

Kangwon Land President Moon Tae-gon said tourism products related to regional tourist spots will be developed like a regional tour pass as part of efforts to ramp up the competitiveness of High1 Resort. High1 Resort is stepping up efforts to attract large-scale events, strengthen overseas marketing activities and offer strategic incentives to lure tourists.

High1 Resort also strives to expand four-season cultural content related to four themes: flowers, wind, woods and light.

The resort also wants to make festivals such as High1 Fireworks Show its landmark cultural content.

Kangwon Land is laying a foundation to develop the slot machine manufacturing business. Five new theme slot machines have been developed and five others are under development. The company is seeking to secure facilities to mass produce the new slot machines.

Two 1st-class in-house venture teams have been inaugurated to cultivate creative corporate culture and explore new revenue sources. Three 2nd-class venture teams are to be selected. Kangwon Land President Moon spoke of these and other policies during a parliamentary audit of the corporation by the National Assembly Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee on Oct. 15.

A society contribution center will be dedicated by 2021 at a cost of 13 billion won as part of Kangwon Land’s efforts to raise social values.

Kangwon Land plans to expand a project to share hotel rooms with the underprivileged during off-seasons, dubbed as one of the company’s representative social contribution activities.

Kangwon Land offered 2,000 rooms free of charge as an opportunity to help those in low-income brackets experience leisure and rest.

The company plans to provide 4,000 rooms for the underprivileged this year. Kangwon Land plans to regularize volunteering activities such as “High1 Plea Market.”

As part of efforts to expand public participation opportunities for open communications, Kangwon Land continues to operate civic participatory innovation team, run “High1 24,” an on-line communication channel and hold public idea contests and other events.

Kangwon Land is expanding social contribution projects to nurture future manpower like the operation of “High1 Dream Expedition” and cultural exchanges and college student mentors’ teams.

Kangwon Land President Moon said in the parliamentary audit that the company has made every efforts to revitalize the economy of the once-mining area and contribute to society by implanting diverse projects related to the region using revenues the company has reaped on the operation of Kangwon Land casinos and multi-purpose resort.

Kangwon Land paid the central and local governments for about 8.976 trillion won in taxes and funds, contributing to adding up to national tax revenues.

The company has invested about 2.4 trillion won in resort development and regionally connected projects to transform the former mining area a high-land tourist destinations, he said.

The company is continuously implementing shared growth and regional win-win projects such outsourcing with regional business partners and the purchasing of regional food materials to create direct and indirect production spill-over effects worth about 2.7 trillion won and contribute to the reinvigorating of the local economy, President Moon said.

A general view of High1 Resort. (Photos: Kangwon Land)