Sokcho City Enters the Era of 26 Million Tourists... Tourism Consumption Reaches Record 648.4 Billion Won

Sokcho Ranks No.1 in Gangwon Province
for Tourism Consumption Growth in 2025
Expansion of Public Parking Lots and Improvement of Tourist Site Environments
Resident-Oriented Tourism Policies to Be Implemented

The tourism consumption in Sokcho City, Gangwon Province, increased by 26.9 billion won in 2025 compared to 2024, making it the city or county with the largest growth in the province.

Sunrise view at Sokcho Beach on January 1. Provided by Sokcho City

According to an analysis by the Digital Innovation Research Center (Director: Lee Younghwan) at Korea University Convergence Research Institute, using data from the Korea Tourism Organization’s Data Lab and the Gangwon Tourism Foundation’s big data, Sokcho City’s tourism consumption in 2025 amounted to approximately 648.4 billion won, ranking third among cities and counties in Gangwon Province. The city recorded the largest increase in tourism consumption, while its growth rate stood at 4.32%, ranking fifth in the province. This highlights Sokcho’s prominent consumption growth even among major tourist destinations.

Growth was also evident in terms of tourist inflow. In 2025, Sokcho City welcomed approximately 26 million non-resident tourists, ranking third among cities and counties in the province, and representing an increase of 1.22 million compared to the previous year—the second largest increase in the province. The non-resident tourist growth rate also ranked fifth, at 4.94%. Additionally, the increase in the number of foreign tourists was the third highest in the province, indicating that Sokcho is expanding its presence from being a primarily domestic tourist destination to an international one.

A panoramic view of Sokcho Tourist and Fishery Market in February 2025. Provided by Sokcho City

Notably, the structure of tourism in Sokcho is such that approximately 326 tourists visit for every resident, demonstrating a higher concentration of tourism compared to other major cities such as Gangneung, Wonju, and Chuncheon. This result underscores Sokcho’s status as a tourism-specialized city with high tourist inflow relative to its population among major cities in the province.

Sokcho City plans to implement policies that foster mutual growth between the tourism industry and the local community, ensuring that the benefits of tourism industry growth are tangibly felt by residents. The city intends to share the results of tourism with the community through resident-focused tourism policies, such as expanding public parking lots, improving the environment of tourist sites, and revitalizing local commercial districts using tourism revenue.

The scene during the Yeongnangho Cherry Blossom Festival in April 2025. Provided by Sokcho City

Sokcho Mayor Lee Byeongseon said, "The results of this tourism big data analysis are significant as they show that Sokcho’s tourism is growing not only in quantity but also in terms of consumption and length of stay. Moving forward, we will continue our efforts to help Sokcho grow as a leading tourism city representing Korea by attracting more foreign tourists, improving tourism infrastructure, and managing transportation and tourism capacity."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.