The results of public voting for the 100x100 Project to Discover Korea's Top Attractions, a joint program of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization, have been released on the initiative's official website (https://spot100x100.kr), which is linked to the Visit Korea homepage. This Korea.net series introduces 100 travel themes in eight sectors to highlight attractions recommended by the Korean public for foreign visitors.
Four food-related topics are among the top 10 topics of interest for Koreans in the 100x100 Project to Discover Korea's Top Attractions. Shown is a cockle set meal in Suncheon, Jeollanam-do Province. (Korea Tourism Organization)
By Margareth Theresia
The 100x100 Project to Discover Korea's Top Attractions has released the results of a poll on the Korean public on the country's best destinations selected from a list of candidate places and themes identified by 100 travel experts.
A combined 40,145 respondents cast 1,538,035 votes from June 29 to July 17, resulting in the selection of 9,883 attractions -- excluding 6,336 duplicates -- under 100 travel themes.
The No. 1 theme was "Affordable Restaurants," attesting to the popularity of Korean food as the categories "Hidden Old-school Eateries," "Seasonal Food in Select Regions" and "Nationwide Bread Tours" were among the top 10.
Receiving the most votes in a single category was the landmark bakery Seongsimdang in Daejeon. A provincial bakery claiming the top spot nationwide highlighted the growing trend of regional cuisine as part of a tourism checklist.
The top vote-getter in all categories was Seongsan Ilchulbong (Seongsan Sunrise Peak) on Jeju Island. This site showed its unrivaled appeal by receiving votes in 22 categories like "Sunrise and Sunset Spots" and "Walking to the Top of the Stairs."
By region, Seoul had the most selections with 1,261 sites, followed by the provinces of Gyeongsangbuk-do (1,088) and Gangwon-do (1,058). Provincial train hubs such as Gyeongju Station in Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do; Jeongdongjin Station in the town of Jeongdongjin near Gangneung, Gangwon-do; and Busan Station were also voted as leading destinations in their respective regions.
Gyeongju Station is a leading tourist attraction of Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. Shown is the station on Oct. 28, 2025, decorated with promotional materials for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders' Meeting. (Park Dae Jin)
The results of the survey by theme or on a map are on the project's website (https://spot100x100.kr).
The next installment of this series will cover "Running Courses" under the theme "Experiential Content, Leisure and Sports," followed by "Lifestyle," "Architecture," "Gastronomy," "Travel Preferences," "Culture, Arts and Tradition," "Nature and Ecology" and "K-content" in that order.
Aside from sightseeing, this series showcases a more diverse selection of iconic attractions each week, offering opportunities to experience the country's scenery and daily life to foreign visitors.
margareth@korea.kr
