Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market Tops Navigation Searches Outside Capital Region...Ranks 7th Nationwide Despite Seoul Metropolitan Surge

Sokcho City Dominates New Year Holiday Navigation Searches
Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market Ranks 7th Nationwide...Sokcho Beach 34th
No. 1 in Nature Tourism...Five Sites Listed Within the Top 200

During the New Year holiday, Sokcho Gwangwang Susan Sijang ranked as the only non-capital-region destination within the top 20 in navigation search rankings, demonstrating Sokcho City's tourism competitiveness through data.

Sunrise view at Sokcho Beach on January 1. Provided by Sokcho City

According to the Korea Tourism Organization's "Korea Tourism Data Lab," Sokcho Gwangwang Susan Sijang ranked 7th nationwide, with 19,635 searches, in navigation destination search rankings (based on Tmap Mobility data) for the period from December 31, 2025, to January 4, 2026.

In particular, while destinations in the Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi metropolitan area accounted for most of the top 20, Sokcho Gwangwang Susan Sijang was the only non-capital-region destination included. Even amid a trend in which travel and consumption demand is concentrated in the capital region, the data shows that Sokcho is a "city chosen by many people."

Sokcho City's competitiveness in nature-based tourism was also confirmed. Sokcho Beach (Sokcho Haesuyokjang) ranked 34th nationwide during the same period, with 8,384 searches. Narrowing the scope to nature tourism alone, this figure corresponds to 1st place nationwide. In addition, Daepo Port, Seorak Cable Car, and Yeonggeumjeong Observatory were all ranked within the top 200.

As traditional markets, beaches, and other tourist attractions within the city all made their presence felt in the upper tiers of the holiday search rankings, observers say Sokcho City is gaining attention as a destination that offers both "food and shopping" and "natural scenery."

Data from external platforms also confirmed the high level of interest in Sokcho.

In February this year, Agoda, a digital travel platform, announced that based on its analysis of inbound travelers' accommodation and activity search data, Sokcho City ranked 5th among domestic destinations most searched by foreign tourists during the winter season. This placed Sokcho after Seoul, Jeju, Busan, and Incheon, and, according to Agoda, searches for Sokcho accommodations increased by 37% year-on-year.

Sokcho Gwangwang Susan Sijang on the 15th. Provided by Sokcho City

In December last year, mobility platform Socar also announced that, in its ranking of New Year’s sunrise spots based on users' parking data, "Sokcho Cheongchoho" placed 1st and "Sokcho Yeonggeumjeong" placed 3rd. These rankings were compiled using the locations of vehicles that remained parked with the engine off for at least 30 minutes around the average sunrise time on January 1, 2025.

Mayor Lee Byeongseon of Sokcho City said, "The fact that Sokcho Gwangwang Susan Sijang ranked as the only non-capital-region destination within the top 20 in the holiday navigation search rankings, which were otherwise dominated by the capital region, shows that Sokcho City's tourism competitiveness is clearly reflected in the data," adding, "We will strengthen travel routes that connect the traditional market and the beach, and we will pursue more fine-tuned, on-site-focused tourism and commercial district policies so that tourism demand leads directly to local spending."