Culture ministry unveils 9,883 travel sites picked by public

The culture ministry said Wednesday it will release 9,883 travel sites chosen by public vote for its 100x100 project.

The ministry ran the project with the Korea Tourism Organization. The June 29-July 17 vote drew 40,145 participants and 1,538,035 votes. The sites, selected across 100 themes, represent 6,336 unique locations after duplicates are removed; travel journalists, writers and other specialists recommended themes and destinations. For nine themes with fewer than 100 candidates, voters recommended 199 additional sites for the final list.

Good-value restaurants drew the most interest, followed by hidden long-established businesses and seasonal food offerings. Four food-focused themes ranked among the top 10. The top-ranked themes also included historical and cultural destinations, such as modern and contemporary historical sites and traditional markets, as well as healing forests and nature parks. The pattern pointed to travelers seeking affordable meals, story-rich places and rest rather than elaborate trips.

Daejeon's Seongsimdang bakery received the most votes for a single theme, while Seongsan Ilchulbong in Jeju received support in 22 categories and ranked first when votes across all themes were combined. The National Museum of Korea and Gyeongbokgung followed in the overall ranking.

The results will be available on a map-based website, where users can view rankings by topic, filter destinations by region, theme and topic, receive suggestions for nearby sites and take a travel-preference test. The ministry said it will periodically update rankings based on site-view counts and feature destinations during major travel-planning periods. "We will support the 9,883 sites chosen by the public so they lead not only to discovery but actual visits, and travelers' footsteps reach local areas beyond the capital region," Culture Minister Choi Hwi-young said.