Yeongdeok-gun Advances as a Hub for Wellness Tourism

2024 Korea Health & Wellness Festival, Participation on the Gwanghwamun Main Stage

The Yeongdeok Culture and Tourism Foundation in North Gyeongsang Province participated in the nation's largest medical and wellness-themed festival, the '2024 Korea Health & Wellness Festival (in Korea Beauty Festival),' held at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul from May 31 to June 2.

Yeongdeok County Office.

This event, hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea Tourism Organization, served as the main stage of the 2024 Korea Beauty Festival, which runs throughout June at Gwanghwamun, Hongdae, Seongsu, Myeong-dong, and other locations.

The '2024 Korea Health & Wellness Festival,' which heated up Gwanghwamun Square for three days, featured a total of 112 participants, including Yeongdeok County, leading wellness tourism destinations nationwide, and domestic medical institutions equipped with cutting-edge medical technology.

Each company and institution set up booths divided into the Health Zone, Wellness Zone, Hallyu Experience Zone, and K-Beauty Zone, drawing in more than 20,000 visitors each day. Notably, Yeongdeok County was the only basic-level local government among counties to participate alongside major metropolitan areas such as Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Gwangju, Chungbuk, Gangwon, and Jeonbuk in the Wellness Zone, attracting significant attention.

The Wellness Zone was organized around three themes: mind healing, marine healing, and forest healing. A total of 21 institutions and related companies created unique booths to welcome visitors. The Yeongdeok Culture and Tourism Foundation operated a mind healing booth, offering a variety of wellness experience programs such as meditation to relieve stress and find peace of mind.

In particular, the foundation focused on promoting the activities of the Humanities Healing Center Yeomyeong, which opened in 2019 and has been running meditation academies and wellness citizen camps under the theme 'A Time for Emptiness and Recovery, A Journey to Find Myself.' They also actively promoted the 'Yeongdeok International H Wellness Festa 2024,' now in its third year, which has expanded its participation to Korea, India, the United States, and Germany.

The Korea Tourism Organization invited 123 overseas buyers from about 12 countries to the festival and held a large-scale 'Travel Mart' the day before the opening. This served as a business matching platform, connecting the festival to economic benefits.

At the event, overseas buyers, representatives from 112 participating companies, and 32 institutions gathered to conduct business consultations promoting Korean medical and wellness tourism products, resulting in great success. The Wellness Culture Division of the Yeongdeok Culture and Tourism Foundation also actively promoted the upcoming 'Yeongdeok International H Wellness Festa,' scheduled for October 3 to 6, generating significant interest.

Kim Kwangyeol, Chairman of the Yeongdeok Culture and Tourism Foundation, stated, "Seeing 112 wellness-related organizations and people from 12 countries, both domestic and international, gathered in the heart of Seoul at this festival reaffirmed the potential of the wellness tourism industry. Yeongdeok will continue to develop sustainable medical wellness tourism content using its unique resources and promote the charm of 'Yeongdeok, the Wellness Tourism City' to the world."

The person in charge of wellness tourism at the Yeongdeok Culture and Tourism Foundation said, "Through this largest domestic health & wellness festival, we confirmed the global wellness trend, and it was very encouraging to see foreigners show genuine interest in the international wellness medical tourism festa that has been held for three years in Yeongdeok, a small provincial city rather than Seoul. It seems we have gained significant momentum to successfully host this year's 'Yeongdeok International H Wellness Festa 2024.'"

This year's 'Yeongdeok International H Wellness Festa 2024,' where the capabilities of the county and foundation will be united, will be held on a grand scale from October 3 to 6 at the National Camping Site inside Goraebul Beach, Byeonggok-myeon, Yeongdeok County.