- Creating Integrated Tourism Belts Through Place Branding Across Six Distinct Districts
- Developing Citywide Hubs for Relaxation, Experiences, and Culture by 2030, with Integrated Quality Management to Elevate Tourism Standards

Yeosu, one of Korea's leading tourism cities known for its romantic atmosphere and beautiful night sea, is embarking on a fundamental transformation of its tourism model under its ninth elected municipal administration, as the 2026 Yeosu World Island Expo is in full swing.

Moving beyond short, primarily one-night visits concentrated in the old downtown area, the city plans to build a high-value-added tourism ecosystem that encourages experience-based, purpose-driven stays of three nights or longer through place branding across Yeosu.

To achieve this, Yeosu will divide the city into six specialized districts and develop integrated tourism belts tailored to each area's distinct identity.

The six districts are Expo, Yi Sun-sin Square, Ungcheon–Soho, Gukdong Port, Hwayang–Eleven Bridges, and Dolsan. By 2030, the city plans to accelerate related infrastructure projects, including a beauty and spa wellness tourism hub, Light Island Park, and the Yeosu Island-Connecting (Sum-it) Trail.

■ Turning All of Yeosu into a Destination: Six Customized Tourism Belts

The Expo District is emerging as a global tourism zone combining the cruise and MICE industries, supported by the infrastructure of the former Yeosu World Expo site. It has demonstrated its competitiveness as a business tourism destination by ranking first in the MICE Industry City category of the Korea Representative Brand Awards for four consecutive years through this year. With a planned international marine leisure tourism complex center and a multipurpose domed stadium seating 20,000, the area is expected to become a global MICE hub.

The Yi Sun-sin Square District will establish itself as a leading historical and cultural destination, drawing on the strong identity of Yeosu as the City of Admiral Yi Sun-sin. Major heritage projects include restoring the government office of the Jeolla Left Naval Command and Seokbo, creating media art at Jinnamgwan Hall, and establishing a permanent exhibition at the Seonso Theme Video Hall. The Yi Sun-sin Road, linking Jinnamgwan Hall, Gosodae, and the Angel Mural Village, will be combined with Yeosu's ten signature dishes and southern Korean cuisine to create a destination where visitors can walk, dine, explore history, and stay longer.

The Ungcheon–Soho District will become a center for culture and the arts, bringing artistic experiences into everyday life. Existing attractions, including Yeulmaru and Seonso Theme Garden, will be connected with waterfront parks, Jangdo Island, and Soho Bridge through a new Art by the Sea Trail. In particular, a permanent storytelling drone light show featuring 1,000 drones will take place over the waters in front of Soho Dongdong Bridge, presenting Yeosu's vision.

The Gukdong Port District, where the energy of a traditional working harbor remains alive, will be transformed into an atmospheric waterfront destination called Emotional Port. The aging exterior of the Gukdong Fisheries Cooperative's cold storage factory will become a large media facade displaying spectacular light art. A nighttime themed landscape connecting Dangmeori Shell Beach and Namsan Mountain will help establish the district as a destination for food, atmosphere, and multisensory experiences.

The Hwayang–Eleven Bridges District will specialize in rest and rejuvenation away from the city center. Drawing on the outstanding natural environment of Yeosu's islands, the area will feature healing and wellness experiences, along with a premium beauty and spa hub offering a truly relaxing getaway.

Finally, the Dolsan District will become a dynamic center for relaxation and experiential tourism, combining existing attractions such as large ocean-view cafes, Art Land, and zip lines with major new developments including Light Island Park.

■ Pursuing Both Tourism Growth and Higher Quality

Yeosu will fully introduce purpose-driven, three-night tourism models combining history, culture, and sports. To encourage longer stays, the city will make active use of its distinctive coastal and island geography. Plans include developing locally tailored leisure and sports tourism activities such as trail running, yachting, and fishing, and actively attracting sports events, including large-scale training camps.

Beginning in 2028, Yeosu plans to introduce travel packages and customized incentives to encourage stays of three nights or longer. After 2030, it will launch targeted strategic marketing campaigns linked to major sporting events. Through these efforts, the city aims to increase the average visitor stay substantially from the current 1.8 days to 3.2 days.

Alongside physical infrastructure expansion, the city will pursue qualitative improvements to strengthen the tourism ecosystem. First, it will introduce the Mobile-Based Real-Time Integrated Tourism Quality Management System (Y-TQMS) to address persistent complaints about excessive pricing and unfriendly service that undermine visitor satisfaction.

The city also plans to assign unique identification numbers to major tourist facilities to systematically collect data and upgrade its integrated tourism app, Yeosuen, to enable real-time complaint submissions and prompt responses.

In addition, Yeosu will pursue an Art-Rest project to develop landmark-style multifunctional visitor amenities in collaboration with renowned architects and artists. The initiative will apply distinctive Yeosu-inspired designs to aging public facilities, transforming restrooms, rest areas, and other amenities into attractive artistic spaces that serve as both places to relax and galleries in their own right.

In particular, the city plans to establish a dedicated tourism organization capable of providing professional, consistent tourism administration informed by data and trends. To this end, it will expand cooperation with local private tourism businesses and, over the medium to long term, consider establishing a Tourism Headquarters within the Yeosu City Cultural Foundation or creating a new tourism foundation.

Yeosu Mayor Seo Young-Hak stated, "By bringing together Yeosu's outstanding natural scenery and extensive tourism infrastructure, we will build a sustainable tourism ecosystem that encourages visitors to stay another day and discover the city's diverse attractions." He added, "Through these efforts, we will firmly establish Yeosu as the world's leading marine tourism city."

As Yeosu's ninth elected municipal administration sets out to achieve both quantitative growth and qualitative improvement in tourism, attention is turning to its ambitious next chapter.