Tourists make a beeline to Purple Islands in South Korean

Banwol and Bakji Islands in South Korea are drenched in lavender colour and named Purple Islands. From houses and roads being painted to natives wearing purple hued clothes, these steps are being taken to attract tourists. Dressed all in purple, women held long rakes aloft as they walked in a line to a lavender field to carry out some pruning on an island in southwest South Korea.

Inspired by their native balloon flower, residents of the Banwol and Bakji Islands, known as the 'Purple Islands', have painted their houses, roads and bridges in shades of the hue, and planted purple flowers such as lavender and asters to transform their town into a tourist attraction.The tiny, tranquil islands have a little over a hundred residents and were picked for a tourism project supported by the government.

Since 2015, Shinan county has invested $4.25 million to turn the islands purple, including painting more than 28,000 square metres of roofs lilac. The campaign has drawn over 487,000 people since its official start in 2019, according to media report that cites the county office.

Restaurants on the islands offer purple rice and serve food on purple plates. Some residents have taken to the purple project with gusto. Visitors can walk three purple footbridges connecting the two islands to the larger one near it, with benches decorated with the 'I purple you' slogan made popular by K-pop band BTS' member Kim Tae-hyung, more commonly known as V, which means 'I trust, love and support you.' Those wearing purple are even allowed free entry to the islands.