Annual Visitors Surge to '7.78 Million'... This Place Surpasses Everland, Home of Pubao

Suncheonman National Garden and Wetlands, No.1 in Visitors Last Year
No.2 Everland, No.3 Kintex

Last year, the tourist destinations with the highest number of visitors nationwide were Suncheonman National Garden and Suncheonman Wetland in Jeollanam-do.

On the 9th, Yonhap News cited an announcement from the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute, reporting that among 2,752 major tourist sites nationwide last year, Suncheonman National Garden and Suncheonman Wetland ranked first with 7.78 million visitors. While these sites ranked 9th in 2022 with 2.67 million visitors, the number of visitors surged by 5.1 million in just one year.

Scenery of Suncheonman Bay National Garden

An official from Jeollanam-do stated, "The successful Suncheonman International Garden Expo held from April to October last year had a significant impact," adding, "Many visitors who came for mega events such as the National Sports Festival and the International Ink Biennale held across Jeollanam-do, as well as the Plum Blossom Festival in Gwangyang, also visited Suncheonman National Garden and Suncheonman Wetland."

Everland in Yongin, Gyeonggi-do, which ranked first in visitor numbers two years ago, dropped to second place last year with 5.88 million visitors. Following were Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi-do (5.84 million), Gyeongbokgung Palace in Jongno (5.58 million), Lotte World in Jamsil (5.19 million), and the National Museum of Korea in Yongsan (4.18 million). Daegu E-World, which was outside the top 10 in 2022, rose to 8th place last year with 3.11 million visitors, an increase of about 770,000 compared to two years ago. A Daegu E-World official analyzed, "Facility improvements such as restroom renovations, theme park floor construction, and photo zone creation contributed to the increase in visitors." On the other hand, Yeosu Expo Ocean Park in Jeollanam-do, which ranked 6th two years ago, fell outside the top 10 last year with 2.06 million visitors.

Everland Rose Festival
Photo by Samsung C&T Resort Division

The total number of visitors to the top 10 tourist destinations last year was 47.35 million, an increase of about 30% compared to the previous year. The rise in visitors is attributed to the full-scale transition to a COVID-19 endemic, leading to more people traveling again. Among the top 10 destinations, eight were paid tourist sites, excluding 7th place Ganggu Port in Yeongdeok, Gyeongbuk (3.82 million) and 10th place Dodamsambong in Danyang, Chungbuk (2.86 million). Additionally, six of the top 10 sites?Everland, Kintex, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Lotte World, National Museum of Korea, and Deoksugung Palace?are located in the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas.

Meanwhile, the visitor statistics for major tourist sites are managed by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Culture & Tourism Institute. These data include registered representative tourist sites by region. Since these are visitor counts for individual tourist sites, they may differ from the total number of tourists in local governments or specific regions.