KOREAN NET

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization on Jan. 20 announced their annual list of the country's top 100 tourist attractions. Shown is a snow-covered Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul's Jongno-gu District. (Korea.net DB)

By Aisylu Akhmetzianova

The annual list of the country's top 100 tourist attractions includes the five royal palaces of Seoul, Purple Island in Jeollanam-do Province and Udo Island near Jeju Island.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on Jan. 20 said that along with the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), it released the 2025-26 Top 100 Korean Tourism Attractions.

Marking its seventh edition, the biennial list has picked and publicized the nation's top tourist hotspots since 2012.

The entries include 61 cultural tourism resources such as historical sites, architecture, interactive and leisure facilities and 39 natural and ecotourism resources such as forests, beaches and wetlands.

By regional distribution, the Greater Seoul area has the most sites with 22, followed by the provinces of Gangwon-do (State) with 11, Chungcheong-do 15, Jeolla-do 18, Gyeongsang-do 28 and Jeju six.

Debuting on the list are 27 places including interactive spots to enjoy things "like a Korean" like eating ramyeon (instant noodles) at a park by the Hangang River; shopping at Sokcho Central Market in Sokcho, Gangwon-do; exploring Gyodongdo Island off the coast of Incheon, where parts of the hit Netflix series "Squid Game" were filmed; and seeking inner peace at the garden Sayuwon in Daegu.

Another 14 are longstanding fixtures on the list like Seoul's five palaces, which were selected for the seventh straight time, Buguksa Temple and Seokguram Grotto in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, and Jeonju Hanok Village in Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do Province.

For the upcoming Seollal (Lunar New Year) holidays, the ministry will host events to mark the latest list like taking "surprise verification" photos from Jan. 24 to Feb. 3 and a trip review challenge from Jan. 24 to Feb. 9.

In the first half of the year, the release of a "traveler's passport" containing the 100 sites will be accompanied by a stamp-collecting tour covering the country's travel destinations.

More information on these events is available on the official website of the tourism campaign "Visit Every Corner of Korea" (korean.visitkorea.or.kr) and the list's Instagram account (@visitkorea 100).

aisylu@korea.kr