Nurturing 'Hidden Gems'... Korea Tourism Organization Selects Nine Promising Small-Scale Tourist Destinations

From Ganggyeong Modern History Street in Nonsan to Jeju Starlight World Park
Nine Promising Small-Scale Tourist Destinations

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization announced on March 12, 2026, that they have selected nine sites as promising small-scale tourist destinations for 2026.

The Treetop Lighthouse Observatory at Geochang-gun Forest Leisure Sports Park, newly selected as a promising small-scale tourist destination this year. Photo

The promising small-scale tourist destination project has been run since 2019. The initiative aims to discover lesser-known sites with unique appeal and growth potential and, in cooperation with local governments, foster them into leading regional attractions.

This year’s newly selected sites include: Nonsan Ganggyeong Modern History Street in South Chungcheong Province, Geochang Forest Leisure Sports Park in South Gyeongsang Province, Manhyujeong Pavilion in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Siheung Marine Eco Science Museum in Gyeonggi Province, Sille Village in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, Ondal Tourist Site in Danyang, North Chungcheong Province, Wanggung Jewelry Theme Tourist Site Dino Kids World in Iksan, North Jeolla Province, and Jeju Starlight World Park and Planetarium in Jeju. In addition, Sani Garden in Haenam, South Jeolla Province, has been included again as a beneficiary of extended support.

The Korea Tourism Organization plans to promote and market the selected destinations by utilizing its domestic offices and linking them to projects that revitalize domestic tourism, such as the "Digital Tourism Resident Card" and "Travel Month."

This year, in particular, big data consulting will be conducted for three locations—Geochang Forest Leisure Sports Park, Sani Garden, and Sille Village—to help establish systematic marketing strategies. The organization explained that, during the selection process, they comprehensively considered the unique growth potential of each site, the possibility of linking with wide-area tourism networks, and the potential to attract foreign tourists.

Kim Seok, Director of National Tourism at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, "There are still many attractive tourist resources in Korea that have not yet been widely discovered. We will actively foster the selected sites into Korea’s leading tourism content based on our domestic offices, so they can create synergy on a wide regional scale and attract foreign tourists as well."

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