Namhae County Selected for '2027 Korea Dulle-gil Promotion Project'... Secures 500 Million Won in Funding

A total of 500 million won, including 250 million won in national funding, to promote walking tourism
Fewer Barae-gil completion certificates despite increase in visitors... County seeks to improve tourism programs
Walking trips to focus on highlight sections... Aim to attract 3,000 visitors

Namhae County in South Gyeongsang Province has been selected for a project to promote walking tourism using the Korea Dulle-gil trail and secured a total project budget of 500 million won, including national government funding.

Namhae County and the Namhae Tourism and Culture Foundation announced on November 7 that they had been selected for the “2027 Korea Dulle-gil Highlight Section Promotion Project,” organized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization.

The project aims to develop walking tour programs centered on key sections of the Korea Dulle-gil and encourage visitors to stay longer and spend more in the region.

[Photo provided by Namhae County] A view of Namhae Barae-gil, one of Namhae County's signature walking tourism attractions. After being selected for the 2027 Korea Dulle-gil Highlight Sections Revitalization Program, Namhae County plans to invest a total of 500 million won to develop walking tourism programs and promote tourism that encourages longer stays.

With a total budget of 500 million won, including 250 million won in national government funding, Namhae County plans to link the tourism resources of the existing Barae-gil trail with those of the Korea Dulle-gil. It will run programs that allow visitors to enjoy walking trips even on relatively short routes.

In particular, the county plans to expand opportunities to take part in walking trips along highlight sections featuring major scenic spots and tourist attractions, moving away from the existing approach centered on completing long-distance routes and receiving completion certificates.

The aim is to make walking trips more accessible to tourists who find long-distance walks challenging and to first-time participants, while encouraging visitors to stay longer and spend money at nearby businesses.

According to tourism statistics presented by Namhae County, the county received 7.24 million visitors in 2025, a 38.3% increase from the previous year.

By contrast, about 12,000 people received certificates for completing the Barae-gil trail during the same period, down 16.7% from the previous year.

In light of the decline in Barae-gil completion certificates despite the increase in total visitors, the county and the foundation concluded that the existing walking tourism programs needed to be improved.

However, the number of people receiving completion certificates may differ from the total number of people who actually take walking trips, so it is difficult to conclude from this figure alone that demand for walking tourism has fallen overall.

Accordingly, the county plans to develop walking tour programs centered on key sections of the Korea Dulle-gil that visitors can join without difficulty, as well as longer-stay tourism content linked to local tourism resources.

It will also consider how to operate related programs so that participation in walking trips leads to the use of local accommodations, restaurants and tourist facilities.

The Namhae Tourism and Culture Foundation has set a target of attracting about 3,000 walking tourists through the project and generating 200 million won in direct spending within the region.

These are targets for the project, and the actual number of tourists attracted and its effects on the local economy will need to be assessed based on the results of the project.

Kim Woo-tae, CEO of the Namhae Tourism and Culture Foundation, said, “We plan to run new programs that make use of Namhae’s walking tourism resources through this project. We will create walking routes that anyone can easily take part in and connect them with local tourism.”

Meanwhile, Namhae County and the Namhae Tourism and Culture Foundation plan to draw up detailed project plans and promote and operate tourism programs using highlight sections of the Korea Dulle-gil.

Given the decline in the number of people receiving Barae-gil completion certificates despite the increase in total visitors, it will be important to assess the actual participation rate in the new walking programs and their impact on local spending.

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