Value context and insight. lkm@koreatimes.co.kr
Korea ramps up ‘K-wellness tourism’ under new Healing Industry Act
Business consultations take place at the 2022 Seoul International Travel Mart and Seoul Medical Tourism International Travel Mart at Coex Grand Ballroom in southern Seoul, Sept. 28, 2022. Newsis
By Lee Kyung-min
As international travelers increasingly trade sightseeing itineraries for trips centered on rest and rejuvenation, Korea is deploying legislative muscle and state subsidies to brand itself as a premier global destination for wellness.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said Monday that it selected 20 premier wellness sites nationwide to spearhead a new global marketing push, backing each venue with up to 50 million won ($36,300) in government funding. The initiative marks the first major rollout under the newly enacted Healing Tourism Industry Act, an ambitious piece of legislation designed to institutionalize, regulate and scale a fragmented domestic sector.
The policy framework, which went into effect this spring, establishes an official bureaucratic apparatus to manage the quality of healing services, train certified industry professionals and designate specialized regional "healing tourism zones."
To build its new vanguard of wellness hubs, the government winnowed down an existing list of 88 state-vetted properties before finally choosing 20 based on their readiness to accommodate foreign guests and the sophistication of their programming. The funding will be used to build multilingual digital infrastructure, launch global advertising campaigns and refine localized content across six core areas, including traditional Korean medicine, high-tech beauty spas and forest retreats.
The eclectic roster reflects Korea’s unique blend of modernity, ancient tradition and pop-culture cachet. Among the selected venues is Sayuwon, a sprawling, minimalist architectural park and meditation grounds in Daegu. Also included is Awon Hanok, a 250-year-old traditional residential compound in rural Wanju that became a pilgrimage site for global youth after the popular boy band BTS used it as a backdrop for a 2019 photo shoot. Other properties range from clinically-backed hydrotherapy programs at the WE Hotel on Jeju Island to the sprawling hot-spring complexes of Busan.
Government officials view the initiative as a critical pivot toward high-value, sustainable tourism. A ministry spokesperson noted that wellness travel represents a lucrative, high-growth frontier where hospitality and public health intersect, framing the new subsidies as a way to establish a distinctively Korean model on the global stage.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.