Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do Province, Yeosu, Jeollanam-do Province, and Seongju-gun County, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, have been named this year’s specialized cities for night tourism. Shown is an evening view of Yeosu.
By Cao Thi Ha
Photos = Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
Three regions that attract tourists with a gorgeous evening atmosphere and charming regional culture have been designated cities specializing in night tourism.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Tourism Organization on Jan. 31 announced the selection of Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do Province, Yeosu, Jeollanam-do Province, and Seongju-gun County, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, as this year’s specialized cities for night tourism.
The three brought the number of such cities to ten including 2022 selections Incheon and Tongyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, and last year’s designates Daejeon, Busan, Gangneung in Gangwon-do Province, Jeonju in Jeollabuk-do Province, and Jinju in Gyeongsangnam-do.
A city specializing in night tourism creates tourism consumption through tourist attractions and content that can be enjoyed at night, plus has the proper conditions for evening travel like food and beverages, accommodations, transportation, information and shopping.
This scene in Gongju, Chungcheongnam-do Province, one of this year’s selections as a specialized city for night tourism, shows a busking performance at the city’s Jemincheon Stream during the event Gongju Culture Night (Sept. 8-Oct. 18, 2023).
Gongju will host the Jemincheon Stream Night Academy, which offers courses in humanities and arts, in the Jemincheon area, where the city’s boarding houses are concentrated. Also scheduled are retro cultural activities at night hosted by music and radio cafes with a 1970s and 80s feel.
The city will also run night tourism content like a “night camp” in the area around the UNESCO World Heritage Gongsangseong Fortress and the Geumgang Starlight Dinner on the Geumgang Iron Bridge.
Yeosu will develop leading new nightscape attractions such as Jangdo Island, Gukdonghang Port and Namsan Park and unique night sounds will show the charm of the city.
Another night tourism plan is the performance “Yeosu’s Night: Thunder Sounds,” which delves into the accomplishments of historical figures such as Admiral Yi Sun-sin, and the sea organ, the world’s second and Korea’s first architectural sound instrument, at Yeosu New North Port.
Hangae Village is located in Seongju-gun County, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, one of this year’s selections as a specialized city for night tourism.
Seongju-gun will offer night tourism courses such as “Night Race in the Forest outside the Castle,” in which participants run on a Korean melon field while seeing the sunset and the forest next to the former site of a fortress; Korean Melon Night Farm Party, where visitors can try barbecue and picking the fruit; and night strolls in Hangae Village and spending the night in a traditional thatched hut to fully enjoy the rural atmosphere.
The county will also prepare night tourism content using darkness such as “Night Exploration of Gaya Tombs” and “Camping under Shining Stars.”
Park Jong-taek, director-general of the ministry’s Tourism Policy Bureau, said, “We plan to support specialized cities for night tourism as footholds in the sector and create specialized business models to spread a variety of night tourism content.”
shinn11@korea.kr
