Dongseo Trail set to open, drawing global spotlight as 'Korea’s Santiago' pilgrimage

This promotional image for the Dongseo Trail, set to open next year, shows its route across Korea. Courtesy of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs

By Ko Dong-hwan

• Published May 3, 2026 3:20 PM KST
• Updated May 4, 2026 5:44 PM KST

849-kilometer trans-country route cuts through depopulating towns

The Dongseo (East-West) Trail, set to open to the public early next year, stretches across the country’s central region from Anmyeon Island in Taean County, South Chungcheong Province, to Mangyangjeong Pavilion in Uljin County, North Gyeongsang Province.

Spanning 849 kilometers, it is the country’s first coast-to-coast hiking route designed for long-distance backpacking, requiring weeks or even months to complete.

Experts at the 2026 Korea Trail Conference in Seoul, Wednesday, compared the trail to the Camino de Santiago in Spain, a global attraction for soul-searching trail hikers.

The Jeju Olle Trail, which circles Jeju Island, has already played a key role in boosting Korea’s global tourism appeal, maintaining steady popularity since its launch in 2007.

In addition to the Jeju Olle Trail and other hiking routes across the nation’s coastal and mountainous regions, the Dongseo Trail is highly anticipated to further empower the country’s tourism assets. Since 2023, investment has been directed to 225 townships across five cities and 21 counties.

“Outdoor manias worldwide are paying attention to K-trails now. Mountains and trails here in 2024 attracted over 885,000 foreign visitors, up from fewer than 49,000 in 2021,” Jeong Chul, a professor at Hanyang University's Department of Tourism, said during the conference hosted by the Hankook Ilbo, a sister company of The Korea Times.

Anticipation for the Dongseo Trail has been grwowing overseas as well. The New York Times in January included it in its "52 Places to Go in 2026," while the BBC in February introduced it as among the world’s five most anticipated hiking trails of 2026.

“They think the trail is already complete. It somehow proves how much the trail has already garnered global attentions. The buzz is nudging us to hurry with the preparation and do it well,” Kim Seong-hak, a research official at the National Institute of Forest Science, said during the conference.

Hiking and trekking are Korea's key outdoor mainstreams, with 11.3 percent of the country’s 15 million participants having completed at least one trail or mountaineering route, according to Jeong. Part of the appeal comes from an honorary badge given to those who finish the hike, similar to a certificate of completion.

The Jeju Olle highlights the Dongseo Trail’s potential. Ahn Eun-joo, CEO of the Jeju Olle Foundation, said the Jeju Olle has been commercially successful for the island by turning it from a place where visitors typically stay for two nights with a rental car into a place worth staying for longer periods.

“We’re bringing global hikers to Jeju Island, the youngest being a five-year-old and the oldest being a 95-year-old woman. One holds a record of completing our trail for the most number of times with 105,” Ahn said during the conference.

Reviving towns

Of the Dongseo Trail’s coverage, 726 kilometers are situated in forests under municipal control and 57 percent of the entire path across townships witnessing a population drop. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Korea Forest Service are betting on the trail to help depopulating towns become more economically sustainable and feel more vibrant with an influx of tourists.

One way to revive such towns is to create jobs. Local residents can be employed to make souvenir goods for visitors and provide services required to operate the trail such as on-site management and the introduction of local cultural assets.

“A trail is just a hardware. Contents should be added to it. That’s what we’ve been doing for the Jeju Olle for most of past 19 years, utilizing resources of 135 townships and their infrastructures for guest houses, cafes and other service sectors,” Ahn said.

Natural resources, crafts and other unique local products can diversify the appeal of the Dongseo Trail’s simple forest hiking, according to Kim.

“Increasing the number of residents in these depopulating towns cannot be entirely resolved by policies alone. What we can do, however, is boosting visitors to these towns through programs,” he said.

For the Dongseo Trail's sustainable operation, experts agreed that the trail must be jointly managed by the government and local residents. Sole government control can risk the trail's operational longevity. However, depopulating townships simply cannot generate money and manpower to manage the trail without government funding.

Participants at the conference agreed on the need for new legislation that would clearly define the roles of local governments and private organizations in managing the trail.

“Different ministries have laid down different trails nationwide. Quality of their management differs depending on who oversees and is totally inconsistent. But if local townships handle it, the governance becomes much more effective,” Ahn said.

Operation of the trail by local townships would lead to more transparent and effective use of government funds reserved for depopulating regions, according to an official from the Ministry of Public Administration and Security who attended the conference.

Earlier this year, the country’s Special Act on Support for Areas with Population Decline was revised for its purpose of funding to include an operation of private sector programs, a financial leverage for local hands interested in running the Dongseo Trail.

“The legal revision’s expansion of purposes of funding will hopefully fill the trail’s contents once it opens next year. Unless a tourism business management is controlled by a local organization, that business will end up a single-time event,” said Park Jung-geun, director of the public administration ministry’s balanced development system division.