Hwacheon County Hosts Sancheoneo Park Golf Tournament Across Multiple Venues, Providing Economic Relief to Sanae-myeon Amid Military Unit Disbandment

Distributed Hosting of Eight Preliminary Rounds for the General Division in Sanae-myeon, Hwacheon County
Over 5,000 Visitors Expected in One Month
Local Businesses Experience Tournament-Driven Economic Boost

The large-scale Park Golf tournament held across multiple locations in Hwacheon County, Gangwon Province, is providing a significant boost to the local economy of Sanae-myeon, which has been struggling due to the disbandment of a military unit.

2025 Hwacheon Sancheoneo National Park Golf Festival Preliminary Round. Courtesy of Hwacheon County

Since August 19, the Hwacheon County Sports Council has been hosting the preliminary rounds of the 2025 Hwacheon Sancheoneo National Park Golf Festival at the Sachang-ri Park Golf Course in Sanae-myeon and the Hwacheon Sports Park Golf Course in Yongam-ri, Hanam-myeon.

Among these, the Sanae-myeon area, where a total of eight preliminary rounds for the men's and women's general divisions are being held, is attracting hundreds of players from across the country for each round.

Although the preliminary rounds take place every Tuesday and Wednesday, players preparing for the tournament are visiting the Sanae Park Golf Course throughout the week and on weekends to familiarize themselves with the course.

Hwacheon County expects that, over the course of the eight preliminary rounds, more than 5,000 club members in total will visit Sanae-myeon.

On the days when the preliminary matches are held, nearby restaurants, cafes, and convenience stores are seeing significantly more customers than usual. These visitors are actively spending, dining, and purchasing necessary items.

The Hwacheon Love Gift Certificates, worth 10,000 won and given to each preliminary participant who pays the 10,000 won entry fee, are also being widely used throughout the region.

Hwacheon County anticipates that once the Gwangdeok Tunnel, which will connect Pocheon City in Gyeonggi Province with Sanae-myeon, is completed and travel time is reduced from the current 26 minutes to just 5 minutes, visits from club members in the northern Gyeonggi region will increase significantly, even outside of the tournament period.

The finals of the 2025 Hwacheon Sancheoneo Park Golf Festival, with a total of about 3,650 participants including players and officials, will be held from September 16 to 19 at the No. 1 and No. 2 courses of the Sancheoneo Park Golf Course in Georae-ri, Hanam-myeon.

Players participating in the 2025 Hwacheon Sancheoneo National Park Golf Festival are having a meal. Courtesy of Hwacheon County

The male and female MVPs will each receive a prize of 30 million won, a solid gold embossed trophy, and the prestigious green jacket.

In the four divisions for men and women, both general and senior categories, the first-place winner will receive 10 million won, the second-place winner 5 million won, and the third-place winner 3 million won. Including special event prizes for each division, the total prize pool for this year's tournament amounts to 191.2 million won, the largest for a single tournament in Korea.

This far exceeds last year's total prize pool of 130.4 million won.

Choi Moonsoon, Governor of Hwacheon County, emphasized, "We will further expand sports marketing to ensure that Park Golf provides new momentum for the local economy's development."

The 2025 Hwacheon Sancheoneo National Park Golf Festival is hosted by the Hwacheon County Sports Council and sponsored by Hwacheon County, the Korea Park Golf Association, the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Park Golf Association, and the Hwacheon County Park Golf Association.