Mountains, Valleys, Hiking, Camping, and Local Produce
Ranked 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, and 5th Nationwide in Top 5
Tourists from across the country have actively recommended the diverse attractions, local cuisine, and leisure activities of Sancheong-gun, Gyeongnam, which boasts outstanding tourism resources.
According to the "2025 Domestic Travel Destination Evaluation and Recommendation Survey by Travelers and Locals" conducted by Consumer Insight, a travel research agency, on August 13, Sancheong-gun's exceptional tourism assets ranked among the top in various categories.
This survey, conducted with 48,790 respondents nationwide, evaluated tourism resources in categories such as traditional markets, local festivals, parks and plazas, well-known restaurants (meals and desserts), local agricultural, livestock, and marine products, and seas and beaches.
Sancheong-gun ranked second in the mountain and valley tourism resource category, third in hiking, third in camping and outdoor stays, and fifth in agricultural products, with many of its resources ranking within the top five nationwide.
Additionally, the region's local festivals ranked eighth nationwide, demonstrating a remarkable recommendation rate among tourism resource categories. In particular, mountain and valley tourism resources, centered around the Jirisan Dulle-gil Trail and Daewonsa Valley, achieved a recommendation rate of 80.6%.
Furthermore, the Jirisan Cheonwangbong to Jungsan-ri course also ranked third in hiking, further validating Sancheong-gun's outstanding natural tourism resources among travelers nationwide.
Moreover, in the camping and outdoor stays category, Sancheong Hwangmaesan Auto Camping Site propelled the region to third place?a leap of 35 ranks compared to 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
This achievement is attributed to the area's status as a multifunctional mountain tourism destination, located in a high-altitude region along the national park or Baekdudaegan ridge, where visitors can enjoy summer water activities, autumn foliage hikes, and year-round camping.
In particular, the Consumer Insight Consumer Trend Research Institute analyzed that Sancheong-gun shows potential as a tourism hub that can simultaneously satisfy both the scalability of its tourism resources and balanced regional development. In the agricultural products tourism resource recommendation rate, Sancheong-gun climbed 60 ranks compared to 2019, securing fifth place.
The region is renowned for its specialty fruits such as dried persimmons, medicinal herbs, tea, Hwang locusts, and rice. Experience-based festivals, direct trade markets, and rural village programs that utilize these specialties are thriving. As a result, the region has strengthened its local specialty brands and effectively linked experiential tourism and marketing, as seen in events like the Jirisan Sancheong Dried Persimmon Festival.
This success is also evident in the local festival category, where Sancheong-gun ranked eighth in tourism resource recommendation rate?a jump of 54 ranks from 2019. According to the Consumer Insight Consumer Trend Research Institute, festivals such as the Sancheong Medicinal Herb Festival have evolved into platforms where visitors can experience the region's unique culture, nature, and specialties by combining local products, nature and ecology, and traditional and folk themes with various experiential elements.
Above all, the originality of the themes, storytelling and planning capabilities, operational expertise, and active participation of local residents have all contributed to the high number of recommendations.
County Governor Lee Seunghwa stated, "I am grateful to be able to deliver good news to our residents who have been struggling due to extreme heavy rains," and added, "We will continue to do our utmost so that more people can fully enjoy the diverse attractions, cuisine, and leisure activities that Sancheong has to offer."
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