New Delhi / Chandigarh : Sanjay Pahwa : Jeju Island in Korea has been included in the 28 finalists for New 7 Wonders of nature. The final 28 candidate sites include the Amazon, the Grand Canyon, Kilimanjaro, the Maldives, the Galapagos and Butinah Island in the United Arab Emirates, among others. The voting is now underway and those seeking to cast a vote can do so online .
Jeju is the world’s first and only place to be awarded a triple crown in the natural science field by UNESCO, with designations as a Biosphere Reserve in 2002, a World Natural Heritage in 2007 and a Global Geo park in 2010. Jeju Island, 130 km from the southern coast of Korea, is the largest island and the smallest province of Korea. Jeju special governing province is a premier tourist destination in Korea and is famous the world over for its scenic beaches, waterfalls, cliffs and caves. Its mild weather makes it an even more ideal tourist destination. The renowned Mt. Hallasan National Park in Jeju – do provides a great opportunity to witness the co-existence of flora and fauna of both temperate and tropical varieties. Jeju Island is also an appeal to the MICE market thanks to world-class facilities and comprehensive meeting services. It was ranked as the 9th most popular meeting destination in Asia according to the Union of International Associations’ (UIA) 2006-2007 statistics for international meetings.
The contest has been organized by a Switzerland-based nonprofit organization, the New7Wonders Foundation, since 2007 in an attempt to raise the awareness of environmental preservation.
