Seodaemun Prison History Hall and Others Announced in the '2021~2022 Korea Tourism 100 Selections'

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 28th that it has selected the representative tourist attractions of Korea, the ‘2021~2022 Korea Tourism 100 Selections,’ in collaboration with the Korea Tourism Organization.

Since the Korea Tourism 100 Selections began in 2013, a total of 19 places have been selected consecutively five times. Familiar to all Korean citizens, the ‘Five Grand Palaces of Seoul,’ ‘Suwon Hwaseong Fortress,’ ‘Seoraksan National Park,’ ‘Andong Hahoe Village,’ ‘Suncheonman Wetland,’ and ‘Jeju Olle Trail’ have become Korea’s definitive representative tourist destinations.

This year, 29 tourist sites were selected for the first time in the ‘Korea Tourism 100 Selections.’ These include the ‘Seodaemun Prison History Hall,’ where the spirit of independence activists during the Japanese colonial period still breathes; the ‘Incheon Open Port Cultural District and Chinatown,’ which preserves the face of modern and contemporary Korean history; the ‘Sejong Lake Park area,’ selected for the first time since the launch of Sejong City in 2012; and the ‘Hinyeoul Cultural Village,’ a modest village built on seaside cliffs after the Korean War, now famous as a filming location.

Looking at the selected tourist sites, there is a balance between natural tourism resources and cultural tourism resources, with 51 and 49 places respectively. This is evidence that tourism demand is high not only for beautiful scenery but also for history, culture, and humanities.

The Korea Tourism 100 Selections were chosen through a rigorous process involving a first round of document evaluation, a second round of on-site inspections, and a third round of final selection committee review, targeting 198 sites selected from local government-recommended tourist spots and the most visited tourist destinations. Experts from related fields such as tourism academia, travel industry, travel journalists, and writers participated in the evaluation, which also utilized big data from mobile carriers, navigation assistants, and social media.

Detailed information can be found on the Korea Tourism Organization’s official website, Korea Tourism Online.

Choi Bogeun, Director of Tourism Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said, “It is very unfortunate that the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is still ongoing, making it impossible to fully enjoy travel at this moment,” adding, “We hope that COVID-19 will end soon so that domestic and international tourists can freely travel to regional representative tourist attractions, including those selected in the ‘Korea Tourism 100 Selections.’”