"'A City That Shines More at Night' Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Announces Night Tourism Specialized City Contest"

3 Locations Selected, Annual Government Funding of 300 Million Won Provided

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced on the 11th that it will hold a public contest for the ‘2024 Night Tourism Specialized Cities,’ places where the night is more beautiful, until January 10, 2024, in collaboration with the Korea Tourism Organization.

Busan Fireworks Festival site.
[Photo by Busan City]

The ‘Night Tourism Specialized Cities’ project aims to build night tourism brands that reflect local stories, enhance night tourism content, and expand infrastructure to create representative stay-type tourist cities. This project is designed to provide tourists with richer night attractions, entertainment, and convenience facilities. Selected local governments will receive annual national funding of 300 million KRW for four years, matched 1:1 with local government funds.

The Ministry plans to establish a total of 10 Night Tourism Specialized Cities by 2027. In last year’s contest, Incheon Metropolitan City and Tongyeong City in Gyeongsangnam-do were selected, and in 2023, Busan Metropolitan City, Daejeon Metropolitan City, Gangneung City in Gangwon-do, Jeonju City in Jeollabuk-do, and Jinju City in Gyeongsangnam-do were chosen.

Busan, selected as a Night Tourism Specialized City in 2023, is conducting various night tourism programs such as ‘Midnight Doguri Popup’ using NCSoft’s characters, ‘Horror Night Tour’ offering horror experiences on city tour courses, and ‘Skate Night,’ which is enjoyed not only by skateboard enthusiasts but also by the general public.

Jeonju introduced night tourism programs combining tradition and modernity, gastronomy, and art, such as ‘Fun(FUN) History Night,’ where visitors can taste the ‘Jeonju Sipmi (Taste) Lunchbox’ made with 10 ingredients while watching traditional cultural and artistic performances; ‘Club The 8,’ a DJ performance held at the Palbok Arts Theater, a complex cultural space; and ‘Jeonju Midnight Theater,’ where visitors can watch movies and taste foods featured in the films.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has designated the night tourism brand (BI) as ‘Korea Night Night Everywhere’ and is promoting it, including the Night Tourism Specialized Cities. In November, the ‘Korea Night Night Everywhere 100’ was selected, introducing night tourism content nationwide that features attractive nightscapes and unique programs that can only be experienced at night.

To enhance understanding of the public contest, briefing sessions will be held on the 11th and 12th at the Korea Tourism Organization for interested local governments and related organizations such as Regional Tourism Organizations (RTOs).

Park Jong-taek, Director of the Tourism Policy Bureau at the Ministry, said, “Through night tourism, we will attract tourists and increase their length of stay to revitalize local commercial districts and economies, providing attractive sights and entertainment for domestic and international tourists.”

This contest will select three final candidate cities by the end of January next year through document and on-site evaluations. Detailed information and schedules can be found on the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Tourism Industry Portal Tourraz websites.