Tourism and Culture City 'Pohang' Rises! ... 120,000 Visitors During Lunar New Year Holiday, Popularity Proven

120,000 Tourists Visit Pohang Over 4 Days... Tourism Doubles Compared to Previous Year

Winter Sea, Themed Travel, Gourmet Travel, etc. Increase Preference for 'Winter Representative Tourist City'

During the Lunar New Year holiday period, the number of tourists visiting Pohang nearly doubled compared to the previous year, signaling a smooth start to the Year of the Gapjin as the "representative winter tourist city Pohang."

Guryongpo Modern History Museum bustling with tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday.

According to Pohang City, an average of 30,000 visitors per day, totaling over 120,000 tourists, visited Pohang’s major tourist attractions from the 9th to the 12th during the Lunar New Year holiday.

This figure is about twice the 63,000 visitors recorded during last year’s Lunar New Year holiday. With the development of travel culture such as small group trips and gatherings during the holiday, Pohang’s marine cultural tourism appeal?widely known for its winter sea and gourmet travel?seems to have attracted many tourists.

The city operated major tourist sites, tourist information centers, and tour guide services normally during the holiday, and opened public parking lots free of charge. Various events were held at key tourist spots, receiving enthusiastic responses from participants.

In addition to domestic tourists visiting in family units, couples, and groups of friends, foreign group tourists touring major attractions were also noticeable, boosted by the popularity of "K-drama filming locations."

Especially on the 11th, at the Cheolgil Forest Oak Square, the "K-Traditional Games Experience Event with Resident Foreigners" was held, where both residents and foreigners dressed in hanbok participated in traditional games, New Year fortune drawing, and jegichagi (shuttlecock kicking) events, creating a unique and lively holiday atmosphere.

Moreover, tourists visiting Pohang took photos with the dragon sculpture at Guryongpo Park, located at the "harbor where nine dragons ascended," to celebrate the Year of the Blue Dragon. They also made special memories with family, friends, and lovers in various ways at attractions such as Space Walk, which was honored as a "Star of Korean Tourism" last year, and the Marine Skywalk.

Along with tourist sites, traditional markets like Jukdo Market were bustling with visitors during the rare holiday period, driving the local economy. On the 11th alone, about 38,000 people visited Jukdo Market, with over 100,000 visitors over the four days enjoying shopping and Pohang’s representative local foods.

Jo Min-seo, who came from Gyeonggi-do to Guryongpo for a family trip during the Lunar New Year, said, “We came to Pohang to enjoy a winter sea trip. I was happy to take photos and make memories at Guryongpo and the Hand of Harmony at Homigot, as well as enjoy Pohang’s winter delicacies like gwamegi, snow crab, and mori noodles.”

Mayor Lee Kang-deok said, “Pohang, as a marine cultural tourism city, is gaining more popularity through tourists’ experiences and media promotion. We will do our best to ensure Pohang tourism offers high satisfaction so that tourists visit throughout the year.”

To ensure convenience for citizens and tourists during the Lunar New Year holiday, Pohang City operated a comprehensive situation room composed of 15 teams and 356 personnel covering disaster and accident management, traffic measures, environmental maintenance, and emergency economic response. The city also designated and operated five emergency medical institutions and 53 on-call medical institutions.