Seo Myung-sook, the founder and chairwoman of the Jeju Olle Foundation, has been posthumously awarded a national honor. Seo died April 7 after a prolonged illness at the age of 68 — a sudden loss for walking enthusiasts at home and abroad.
The Jeju Olle Trail was inspired by the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Japan's Kyushu region later modeled its own Kyushu Olle trail on it, and Mongolia has since developed its own olle-style walking route as well.
At Monte do Gozo — 4 kilometers from the end of the Camino de Santiago — a Jeju Olle marker stone and a dolharbang stand as testament to the trail's international reach.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism posthumously conferred on her the Moran Medal of the Order of Civil Merit on Saturday.
From 2007, Seo developed and operated the Jeju Olle Trail, growing it into one of South Korea's premier walking routes, with a cumulative 13.4 million visitors through June 2026. She built an ecological and cultural space where nature, travelers and local communities coexist in harmony through walking, making a significant contribution to sustainable tourism development.
Seo also expanded the Jeju Olle model to Japan and Mongolia, developing it into an international walking-travel exchange program and spreading the value of walking as a means of connecting people, communities and the world.
The Order of Civil Merit is a government award presented to individuals who have made distinguished contributions to national development. The government decided to posthumously confer the Moran Medal in recognition of her achievements.
Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young visited the Jeju Olle Traveler Center in Seogwipo on Saturday to present the medal on behalf of the government.
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