The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Tourism Organization have identified hidden attractions with unique appeal that could grow into popular destinations despite their current low recognition.
The ministry and KTO announced on the 12th the selection of nine locations as 2026 Small but Strong Potential Tourist Destinations: Ganggyeong Modern History Street (Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province), Geochang Forest Leisure Sports Park (Geochang, South Gyeongsang Province), Manhyujeong Pavilion (Andong, North Gyeongsang Province), Marine Ecology Science Museum (Siheung, Gyeonggi Province), Sille Village (Chuncheon, Gangwon Province), Ondal Tourist Site (Danyang, North Chungcheong Province), Wanggung Jewelry Theme Tourist Site Dino Kids World (Iksan, North Jeolla Province), Jeju Starlight Nuri Park (Jeju), and Sani Garden (Haenam, South Jeolla Province).
The Small but Strong Potential Tourist Destinations program discovers lesser-known travel spots in regional areas and develops them into representative tourist attractions through cooperation with local governments. The program has been running since 2019.
KTO will provide promotional and marketing support through its domestic branches by linking the destinations with key domestic tourism initiatives such as the "Digital Tourism Resident Card" and "Travel Month" campaigns. This year, big data consulting will be provided to three locations—Geochang Forest Leisure Sports Park, Sani Garden, and Sille Village—to help establish systematic marketing strategies. The sites were carefully selected based on their inherent growth potential and their feasibility for super-regional tourism linkages and foreign tourist attraction, which are priorities for KTO's domestic branches.
"Korea has many attractive tourism resources that remain relatively unknown," said Kim Seok, Director of the Domestic Tourism Division. "We will actively develop these selected destinations into Korea's representative tourism content through our domestic branches, creating synergies across super-regional areas and attracting foreign tourists."
The remaining seven Small but Strong Potential Tourist Destinations are shown below.
