blog entry 2

While a lonely island in the ocean was floating, nobody neither living in nor visiting, an art museum combined with lodging facilities called the "Benesse House" was constructed. Now the population of 50 times more than the original population of the island is visiting the island to see this abandoned island. However, the island is not just an 'abandoned' island, but is an island newly-created with the construction of the Benesse House, which is proudly called 'the underground museum.'

The reconstruction of the island has been done for years, since 1998, from gaining materials such as wood from collapsed buildings. Called a 'house project,' the construction was done by many workers in many different fields, including nearby residents and some of the most famous artists and architects in the world. They not only built the house but also volunteered to clean up the streets.

While there had been such efforts to make a secluded community be born again as an island of art, Korea is suffering from lack of places for tourism. However, it's not that we are lacking the places but is lacking the innovativeness to change the traditional tourist places into unique ones. Moreover, the goal of making all these changes should be the improvement of artistic value and development in those fields; we shouldn't focus our efforts only on the financial benefits that the nation gets from tourist businesses.