Kangwon Land’s efforts to attract inbound tourists by making the most of the so-called K-culture have paid off.
Kangwon Land said on April 1 that High1 Resort saw foreign visitors surge 54 percent during the 2025-26 winter season compared to the previous season.
The number of foreign tourists who came to High1 Resort during the recent winter season stood at about 43,000, a jump from 28,000 last season.
Business sources said the surge is owed to the strengthening of content tailored to the needs of the global market, coupled with four-season resort infrastructure.
Kangwon Land’s own programs, such as the wellness program “Korean Scent Class” and “K-food experience program” have attracted foreigners’ attention.
Unique experience programs, such as tourist products connected with touring of a coal industry transition area have also played a part, leading to a good reception.
Kangwon Land had strengthened user’s convenience by creating “one-stop lounge” targeting foreigners centering around High1 Ski Resort and operating one-day ski tours and the global ski festival, named “High1 Go Go Ski Festival.”
Strategies to diversify access routes have contributed to improving business. Kangwon Land has expanded channels of attracting inbound customers by attracting group tourists via chartered flights through Yangyang International Airport.
Lee Min-ho, acting chief of the Tourist Marketing Division at Kangwon Land, said, “We’ve been accelerating efforts to attract inbound tourist in keeping with the government’s goal of luring 30 million foreign tourists, and Kangwon Land will ramp up global competitiveness by expanding products based on K-culture, such as wellness and traditional Korean culture experiences in the future.”
A whole view of High1 Resort Grand Hotel.
High1 Resort Selected as ‘Excellent Wellness Tourist Destination’ by KTO for 4th Consecutive Year
High1 Resort, owned and operated by Kangwon Land, has been selected as one of “excellent wellness” tourist destinations for four years in a row.
Places with excellent tourist facilities and programs capable of healing tourists’ hearts and minds have been designated as “excellent wellness” tourist destinations by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Tourism Organization.
High1 Resort, boasting of a pristine natural environment of a highland 1,340 meters above the sea level has been evaluated highly for continuously strengthening stay-type healing content programs going beyond rest using indoor and outdoor wellness infrastructure.
Integrated wellness environment conditions with woods, meditation and healing programs, such woods and moonlight experiences, tea therapy and foot bath relaxation courses have been selected with High1 Resort’s exclusive things with a competitive edge.
Outcomes of the “2025 Excellent Wellness Tourist Destination Satisfaction Survey,” conducted by KTO, showed that 81.7 percent of customers of High1 Resort replied that they experienced an improvement to their health.
High1 Resort dose not rest on its laurels and plans to make a leap forward as a global wellness resort.
High1 Resort plans to upgrade programs in time for the opening of an “infinity pool” at its hotel and present differentiated healing experiences to Korean and international tourist by attracting global wellness workshops and large-sized wellness festivals.
Lee Min-ho of the Tourist Marketing Division said, “The feat of being selected as one of excellent wellness tourist destinations for the fourth consecutive year is the outcomes of our efforts to develop customer-oriented wellness content, and High1 Resort will spearhead on the global wellness tourism market by showcasing high-quality healing experiences it can exclusively offer on the backdrop of the pristine natural environment.”
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