Discovering Hidden Destinations Through Photography... "Korea Tourism Contest" Announced

Korea Tourism Organization Accepting Entries Until July 31
Three Categories: Digital Camera, Drone, and Smartphone
Winners Announced November 4 After Expert Review and Public Vote

The Korea Tourism Organization is launching a tourism contest to discover hidden travel destinations across Korea through photography.

The Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 22nd that it will hold the '2026 Korea Tourism Contest Photo Category' and is accepting submissions until the 31st of next month. The photo is the contest poster. Photo by Korea Tourism Organization.

The Korea Tourism Organization announced on the 22nd that it will hold the "2026 Korea Tourism Contest Photo Category" and is accepting submissions until the 31st of next month.

This year marks the 54th edition of the contest. The slogan is "Mapping Korea’s Journey Through Your Eyes." The contest aims to highlight the unique charms of lesser-known regions from a fresh perspective and to increase interest in regional visits among both domestic and international tourists.

There are three contest categories: digital camera, drone, and smartphone. Entries will be selected through evaluation by experts in photography, tourism, and marketing, as well as through an online public vote.

A total of 100 prizes will be awarded. The Grand Prize winner will receive the President's Award and a cash prize of 5 million won. Three Gold Prize winners will receive the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Award and 3 million won each. Three Silver Prize winners will receive the President of the Korea Tourism Organization Award and 2 million won each. Three Bronze Prize winners will receive the President of the Korea Tourism Organization Award and 1 million won each. An additional 90 finalists will receive the President of the Korea Tourism Organization Award and 300,000 won each.

Anyone residing in Korea, including citizens and foreigners, can submit entries via the contest website until 4:00 p.m. on July 31. The 100 final winning entries will be announced on November 4. An awards ceremony and exhibition will be held at the end of the year.

The winning works will later be released through the Korea Tourism Organization’s "Korea Tourism Content Lab." Currently, the organization provides access to over 110,000 high-quality photos through the Content Lab.

Kim Youngmi, Head of the Tourism AI Innovation Division at the Korea Tourism Organization, said, "This contest is an opportunity to discover and promote the diverse charms of Korea’s lesser-known destinations." She added, "We look forward to receiving many compelling photo entries that capture the beautiful nature, unique culture, and atmosphere of different regions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.