Park golf, long regarded as a leisure sport for middle-aged and older Koreans, is expanding into family-oriented recreation and emerging as new content for the tourism industry. Resort operators are building park golf courses using existing golf course infrastructure and idle land, rolling out stay-type products linked to accommodations one after another as they move to seize the market early.
According to the industry Tuesday, major resorts including Kumho Resort and Sono International are expanding stay-type tourism strategies centered on park golf courses.
Kumho Resort built a nine-hole park golf course at Kumho Sorak Resort in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, in September 2023, and has since operated accommodation packages for members in partnership with the Korea Park Golf Association. Every autumn, it holds regular tournaments such as the "Sorak Park Golf Challenge," working to expand demand for group tourism.
Usage is also growing. Since the course opened, cumulative users reached 11,509, and family visitors (four or more people) increased from 365 cases (1,873 people) in 2024 to 615 cases (3,176 people) in 2025. This year, 195 cases (959 people) were recorded over the three months from March to May.
Sono International opened an 18-hole park golf course at Sono Felice CC Vivaldi Park in Hongcheon, Gangwon Province, in May. It utilized idle land at the summit of Maebongsan, and the company that designed the existing Sono Felice CC Vivaldi Park East golf course handled the design and construction, making use of the terrain's characteristics.
"In the early days of opening, the proportion of senior users was high, but after room checkout time, we are seeing a trend of increasing family visitors," a Sono International official said. "Not only the park golf course, but stay-type usage that combines the golf course with various leisure facilities is also increasing."
The official added, "We are pushing to expand multi-round passes for 36 and 54 holes and stay-linked products, and we are also preparing room packages linked to Vivaldi Park's accommodation facilities. Our strength is that we can offer content at one location that satisfies demand across generations simultaneously."
The reason resort operators are paying attention to park golf is its potential as leisure content that can expand stay-type tourism consumption. Through a usage structure combining accommodation, dining and leisure, it can increase length of stay and simultaneously raise room occupancy rates and per-customer spending, making it an emerging new revenue model.
The industry views this trend as a sign of park golf's potential for industrial expansion. "Not only can it efficiently utilize idle land at existing golf courses, but it is also proving effective in increasing customers' length of stay and attracting new customer segments," one industry official said. "Given the high potential for creating synergy among related industries such as tourism and accommodation, the expansion of the related market will likely continue for the time being."
