What comes to your mind if you can travel only during the nighttime? Where would your destination be and why?
We can name a few tourist attractions in the world for night; ‘Symphony of Light’ show in Hong Kong, eye-sore flashing advertisements at Times Square in New York, or ‘Vivid Sydney’ festival in Australia. These are the symbols of victory of modern civilization and the amusements for city travelers who can’t miss any moment while they are awake.
The ‘Night Tourism’ is new-rising concept in tourism industry. It includes all the tourist attractions, tourist contents, and festivals that can be enjoyed at night from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am. As competition between countries to revitalize the tourism industry intensifies, per capita tourism spending continues to decrease, and many countries have begun to develop policies and programs to promote night tourism.
South Korea started research and investment for the growth of night tourism from 2020, when the number of tourists plummeted due to COVID-19. According to the research by Korea Tourism Organization, the effect of tourist spending according to the amount of night tourism in Korea is expected to reach 3.9 trillion KRW(3.07 billion USD) and the effect of creating jobs for about 40,000 people. Also, it was analyzed that when foreigners enjoyed night tours, the number of days they stayed in Korea increased by 0.7 days.
Night tourism in South Korea can give you experience to explore the country’s vibrant culture, delicious food, and exciting nightlife. Many cities in South Korea are trying to develop their own night tourism attractions to pull more tourists. Here we suggest best cities in Korea for night tourism.
1. Busan : Starry Night in Busan
– Best season : from March to May / from October to November
– Highlight : Beautiful sunset at beaches
Busan has been preparing night tourism contents and appealing to visitors for years. ‘Starry Night in Busan’ is the main brand referring the night tourism of the city, covering from nature sceneries, especially the ocean that represents Busan, to cultural attractions such as Gamcheon Culture Village and F1963.
Interesting Korea conducted creators’ tour to promote Starry Night in Busan in 2022, and you can see detailed tour course and information HERE.
2. Seoul : Seoul City Tour Bus ‘Night Course’
– Best Season : from April to October
– Highlight : Various lighting bridges across Han river
Taking a hop on-off city tour bus is the easiest way to look around the highlights of the city, but some travelers who enjoy exploring their own gems might think it’s boring and naïve. However, speaking of night tour, city tour bus can be most fascinating method.
There are 2 types of night course, and we recommend Seoul Tiger Bus’s night course if you visit Korea for the first time. The course covers literally every popular night destination in Seoul.
The best part of taking this course is that you can look at illuminating bridges across Han River closely. Since each Han River park (where you can meet the river and bridges right in front of) is blocked by the road along the river, it’s limited to visit and enjoy various night sceneries of illuminations over Han river in a short time. The Seoul Tiger Bus’s night course, running through 10 bridges, helps you to enjoy beautiful harmonies of city’s night and the calmly flowing river sitting in an open-top bus.
The tour usually takes around 2-3 hours, and it provides a hop-on, hop-off service at Seoul N Tower for 30mins, which means you can get off the bus at one of best observatory spots in Seoul. The night course run at specific time and schedule, the schedule might change depending on the season and the time of the year, so it’s recommended to check the schedule and availability before planning to join the tour.
3. Tongyeong : DPIRANG
– Best Season : all year round
– Highlight : The 1st National Night Tourism Specialized City of Korea
Tongyeong is widely known as a great destination for those who want to experience the natural beauty, delicious seafood, and rich culture of South Korea. And the city is also famous for history of Admiral Yi Sun-sin, who won the battle against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty. Dongpirang mural village, where has picturesque alleyways lined with colorful murals and paintings, Tongyeong Cable Car, which offers a beautiful view of the city and the sea, and delicious cuisines such as fresh seafoods, Chungmu-gimbap(simple gimbap served with kimch and marinated squid), Kkulppang(honey bread) are long-time-beloved-highlights of Tongyeong.
And Tongyeong is about to be known as best night tourism city in Korea. In 2022, the city was selected the first city specializing in night tourism through a public contest by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Tourism Organization. DPIRANG, a nighttime digital theme park that opened in October 2020 and surpassed 100,000 visitors in less than 300 days after opening, played crucial role to draw attention as a fresh night tourist attraction in Korea.
DPIRANG is the longest night digital theme park in Korea located in Nammangsan Park in Tongyeong and has 15 themed trails using light and media show. It is a night view attraction that many citizens visit by changing the night scenery while preserving the original shapes of the park. What makes DPIRANG more interesting is that the spot doesn’t stand alone as a cool destination, but it has storytelling elements connected with surrounding attractions and history of Tongyeong.
Tongyeong City plans to develop five night tourism spots in the next few years, centered on DPIRANG, Dongpirang Mural Village, and Tongyeong Traditional Central Market linking with historical night culture and modern cultural assets alongside the sea.
We recommend you look around the area by riding bicycle or electric scooters which you can rent even in the nighttime, thanks to its flat terrain and well-built infrastructure. You can also enjoy a variety of night markets, such as the Gyeongju Traditional Market, which offers a wide range of traditional Korean food, souvenirs, and local products.
4. Gyeongju : Gyeongju Historic Areas
– Best Season : from April to October
– Highlight : Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond
Gyeongju city itself is so-called ‘a museum without roof’. With the history of being the capital of the ancient Silla Kingdom, which ruled the Korean Peninsula from the 7th to the 10th century, the city owns rich history and cultural heritage.
Gyeongju Historic Areas, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site that encompasses several historical sites from the Silla Kingdom, including Daeneungwon Tomb Site, Cheomseongdae Observatory and Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond. These sites are also illuminated at night, providing visitors not only with a chance for fantastic night pictures of traditional cultural heritage of Korea, but also with a unique experience of solemness.
We recommend you look around the area by riding bicycle or electric scooters which you can rent even in the nighttime, thanks to its flat terrain and well-built infrastructure. You can also enjoy a variety of night markets, such as the Gyeongju Traditional Market, which offers a wide range of traditional Korean food, souvenirs, and local products.
