Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Boosting K-Wellness Tourism with Health and Healing Programs

*This content was translated by AI.

Attractive tourist destinations can be found not only in outstanding natural environments or long-standing historical artifacts but also in various fields that have developed content.

Therefore, wellness tourism centered on health and healing holds high value. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Minister Choi Hwi-young, hereinafter Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) has decided to accelerate the development of 'K-Wellness Tourism' this year, taking advantage of the rapid global growth in travel demand focused on health and healing, and coinciding with the enforcement of the "Act on the Promotion of Healing Tourism Industry" (hereinafter Healing Tourism Industry Act) on the 9th.

Since 2017, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has selected and supported 'Excellent Wellness Tourism Sites' that provide healing experiences to domestic and international tourists by utilizing diverse healing tourism resources such as beauty (beauty), spa, rest (stay), natural healing, food (food), traditional Korean medicine, and meditation, in collaboration with the Korea Tourism Organization (President Park Seong-hyeok, hereinafter the Organization).

Especially this year, to strengthen the competitiveness of 'K-Wellness Tourism' and promote Korea as a global healing tourism destination, the Ministry selected 20 'Specialized Wellness Tourism Sites for Attracting Foreign Visitors' from the existing 88 'Excellent Wellness Tourism Sites,' focusing on those with superior capabilities in attracting foreign tourists and high-level program operations. The 20 selected sites include Daegu's 'Sawonwon,' which was chosen as a 'Star of Korean Tourism' in 2025; 'Awon Heritage House' in Wanju, Jeonbuk, known for being the location where BTS (BTS) filmed their '2019 Summer Package in Korea' video and photo shoot; and 'WE Hotel Jeju,' operated by the Halla Medical Foundation.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism will support competitiveness-enhancing projects with up to 50 million won per site for the 20th selected tourist destinations. Tailored support will be provided to help each site establish itself as a hub for attracting foreign visitors, including overseas promotion using global platforms, building digital service environments tailored to foreign visitors, and upgrading tourism products and promotional content.

In addition, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has completed the preparation of subordinate laws under the "Healing Tourism Industry Act" (the 21st, 2026) to systematically foster the healing tourism industry, thereby establishing an institutional foundation for its promotion. The Ministry plans to sequentially and promptly implement measures stipulated in the law, including the formulation of a basic plan for the promotion of the healing tourism industry, training of specialized personnel, registration of healing tourism businesses, surveys of the current situation, and designation of healing tourism industry zones. These measures aim to manage the quality of healing tourism services and support the creation of regional healing tourism industry ecosystems.

A policy official at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated, "'Wellness tourism' is a future growth industry combining tourism, health, and healing. We will actively support the establishment of a Korean-style 'Wellness Tourism' model with global competitiveness by fostering 'Specialized Wellness Tourism Sites for Attracting Foreign Visitors,' and help Korea leapfrog as a world-class healing tourism destination."

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*This content was translated by AI.