It's Not Seongsan Ilchulbong... The Most Popular Tourist Spot Among Millennials & Gen Z Visiting Jeju

Hyeopjae Beach Ranks Second, Iho Tewoo Beach Third
Five of the Top Ten Destinations Are Beaches

Hamdeok Beach was selected as the most popular tourist destination among Millennials & Gen Z visiting Jeju.

On October 8, the Korea Tourism & Food Culture Institute released a report titled "A Study on the Development Plan for Jeju MZ Tourism." According to the report, Hamdeok Beach ranked first as the most popular tourist spot among Millennials & Gen Z visiting Jeju. Hyeopjae Beach ranked second, Ihotewoo Beach third, Gwakji Beach eighth, and Gimnyeong Beach ninth, meaning that five out of the top ten destinations were beaches.

Vacationers are playing in the water at Hamdeok Beach in Jeju City. Photo by Yonhap News

Seongsan Ilchulbong was in fourth place, followed by O'Sulloc Tea Museum in fifth, Aqua Planet Jeju in sixth, Geum Oreum in seventh, and 9·81 Park in tenth. The rankings were determined based on portal search volumes, mentions on social networking services (SNS), and the number of visits.

For the top two destinations, Hamdeok Beach and Hyeopjae Beach, the 'SNS → search → visit' travel pattern was found to be the most ideal. In contrast, Seongsan Ilchulbong, which ranked fourth, saw high search and SNS mention volumes but relatively low visit rates.

Seongsan Ilchulbong

Even among Millennials & Gen Z, the "hot places" differed between those in their 20s and 30s. For those in their 20s, the top five hot places were Achim Miso Ranch, Saebyeol Friends, Jeonnong-ro Cherry Blossom Street, Gwetmul Oreum, and Segial Beach. People in their 20s tended to prefer SNS photo spots, seasonal destinations (cherry blossoms, oreum, beaches), and places with an emotional atmosphere. For those in their 30s, the top five were Jeonnong-ro Cherry Blossom Street, Arte Kids Park, Let's Run Park Jeju, Achim Miso Ranch, and Jumbo Village. People in their 30s were found to prefer cultural and leisure complex facilities and unique theme park-type content.

Biggest Spenders: People in Their 30s and 40s Account for 53% of Domestic Card Spending

By age group, domestic tourists' card spending was as follows: people in their 40s spent 766 billion won, those in their 30s spent 739 billion won, those in their 50s spent 612 billion won, those in their 20s spent 323 billion won, those in their 60s spent 312 billion won, those in their 70s spent 71 billion won, those in their 80s and above spent 13 billion won, and those in their teens spent 4 billion won. The generations driving sales were those in their 30s and 40s, accounting for 53% of the total.

For all age groups, the most commonly associated keywords with Jeju travel were restaurants, accommodations, and cafes. For Millennials & Gen Z in their 20s and 30s, keywords like price, discount, and special offer were prominent, indicating a strong tendency to seek cost-effective travel destinations. Across all age groups, emotional keywords associated with Jeju travel included delicious, famous, enjoyable, beautiful, and pretty.

Regarding these findings, the research team explained, "Tourism consumption among Millennials & Gen Z in Jeju tends to be concentrated around specific hot places, and the areas of consumption for each generation also show a structural concentration depending on the destinations visited."