Gimcheon City Wins Top Prize at Korea International Tourism Expo

Creative Content and Interactive Booth Operation for Gimbap Festival
Captivates Visitors' Attention

Gimcheon City in North Gyeongsang Province demonstrated its regional tourism promotion capabilities by winning the top prize in the "Booth Operation" category for basic local governments at the "10th Korea International Tourism Expo," held at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province from July 20 to 22.

Nakho Bae, Mayor of Gimcheon (fourth from the left), is posing for a commemorative photo with related personnel after receiving the Grand Prize at the 10th Korea International Tourism Expo.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, the Korea International Tourism Expo is the largest comprehensive tourism exhibition in the country, with over 210 local governments and tourism-related organizations from across Korea participating to showcase their representative tourist attractions, festivals, and local specialties.

At this year's expo, Gimcheon City drew significant attention from visitors and industry officials by prominently promoting the "2025 Gimcheon Gimbap Festival," which will be held from October 25 to 26.

The large photo zone featuring a gimbap character became a popular spot for family visitors and members of the MZ generation to take photos for social media, while interactive booth activities such as nostalgic prize draws and souvenir giveaways generated a positive response on site.

In addition, promotional materials and exhibits introducing Gimcheon's major tourist destinations and local specialties effectively conveyed the city’s unique identity and the competitiveness of its tourism resources to visitors. The overall booth design was also highly rated for its originality and practicality, contributing to the award.

Nakho Bae, Mayor of Gimcheon, stated, "It is meaningful that we were able to promote Gimcheon's culture, tourism, and festivals nationwide through this expo," and added, "We will further strengthen our promotional marketing efforts to ensure that the Gimcheon Gimbap Festival becomes a new signature festival for the region."

Meanwhile, Gimcheon City plans to continue developing stay-type tourism content and pursue strategic marketing to target both domestic and international tourism markets.