The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, together with the Korea Tourism Organization, announced on October 31 the selection of 15 sites as the “2025 Excellent Public Campgrounds.”
Since 2023, the Ministry and the Tourism Organization have been selecting and announcing excellent public campgrounds in order to respond to the diverse needs of campers and to improve the quality of public campgrounds. Excellent public campgrounds are chosen through an open call, targeting campgrounds operated by local governments and public institutions nationwide.
This year’s open call was divided into four specialized categories: family (child)-friendly campgrounds, eco-friendly campgrounds, campgrounds accommodating the transportation disadvantaged, and pet-friendly campgrounds.
As a result of the open call, 11 sites were selected in the family-friendly category, 3 in the eco-friendly category, 3 in the transportation disadvantaged category, and 1 in the pet-friendly category. Since three campgrounds were selected in two categories each, the total number of excellent campgrounds selected is 15.
Gunpo Chomakgol Ecological Park Zelkova Tree Campground in Gyeonggi Province [Photo by Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]
The “Chomakgol Ecological Park Zelkova Tree Campground” in Gunpo, which offers a variety of experiential programs such as the narrow-mouthed toad ecological experience, was selected as a family-friendly campground. The “Deoksin Campground” in Hallyeohaesang National Park, Namhae-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do, which presented a sustainable campground model by making maximum use of a closed elementary school and the natural terrain, was selected as an excellent eco-friendly campground. The “Naejangho Campground” in Naejangsan National Park, Jeongeup-si, Jeollabuk-do, which installed barrier-free caravans and made shared restrooms accessible without obstacles, was selected as an excellent campground for the transportation disadvantaged. The “Gangcheon Island Campground” in Yeoju-si, Gyeonggi-do, which allows pets in all areas, was selected as an excellent pet-friendly campground.
The Ministry and the Tourism Organization will award a plaque designating each selected site as an “Excellent Registered Campground by Category.” In addition, articles about the excellent campgrounds will be posted on the Korea Tourism Organization’s Go Camping website, the Korea Travel Easy website, and social media channels. Furthermore, these sites will be utilized as venues for camping-related events next year, such as the “Camping School.”
Kim Geunho, Director-General for Tourism Industry Policy at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, stated, “The 15 newly selected excellent public campgrounds this year will serve as exemplary cases that raise the qualitative standards of campgrounds in Korea and enhance user satisfaction.” He added, “We hope that cases such as eco-friendliness and accommodation for the transportation disadvantaged will spread to private campgrounds as well.” He continued, “The Ministry will continue to improve relevant regulations in an advanced manner so that the public can experience camping safely and comfortably, and will steadily support registered campgrounds in cooperation with local governments.”
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