When the sun goes down, the expenses at regional night festivals rise

Goryeong County, North Gyeongsang -When the sun goes down, the expenses and the Korean regions run to lead visitors with bright forests, LED kayaks and Starlit markets, which reflects the latest trend of nightly festivals.

A thematic night park, the name of which is translated into the “Daegaya Forest of Light” opened on September 5, is one of them, as on September 6th at 7 p.m., when I was already in Daegaya Arboretum in Daegaya e-eup, Goryeong County, North Gyeongsang.

Visitors ranged from families with children to couples of data under the elaborate lighting systems.

The park extends over an area of ​​around 30,000 square meters (7.4 acres) in the arboretum and was built with a total project costs of 6.2 billion won (4.49 million dollars). It has floodlights, light lines, illuminated sculptures, photo Bones and a lighting show that is arranged on seven topics – including the Ocean, Desert and Polar regions. The Arboretum had been closed for the construction of the park since February and reopened on September 5.




Free entry with local receipts

Kim Soo-Jeong from Dalseong County, Daegu, visited the park with her husband.

“We opened a new theme park nearby and decided to check it,” said Kim. “It was even better than expected. It felt like an adventure under dazzling lights, which in my opinion would really enjoy the children.”

For adults who live outside of Goryeong, the entry fee is 10,000. However, 5,000 We are refunded in the form of a local gift voucher. Visitors who spend at least 10,000 WON per person in Goryeong on this day and present a receipt receive free admission – part of a policy to combine tourism with local economic revitalization.

Local governments across Korea have night tourism initiatives into the night. Some, including Goryeong, create attractions that deal with light. Others start night markets or “night hikes” that offer nightly access to local sights.

Longer visits, more expenses

The local authorities have focused on night tourism because it tends to achieve larger economic advantages than daily tourism. It was shown that it extends visitors and increases expenses.

Night tourism increases the average stay of travelers by 0.7 days and increases expenses compared to day tourism by 31 percent for purchasing, 27 percent for leisure and 19 percent for the food, according to the Korea tourism organization.

In an example, a “romantic” night market in Gumi, North Gyeongsang, ran for 15 days between April 25 and May 31 and attracted more than 204,000 visitors, including 56,000 from outside the region – 28 percent of the total number. The total turnover during the event was around 5.1 billion.

With autumn, which offers ideal weather for outdoor activities, local governments reveal more new night tourism programs.

In Busan, the city and the local tourism organization offer a five -day kayaking under the stars on the Suyeong River near APEC Naru Park. The participants undergo a water safety session before the kayaks get on with the LED-lit kayaks to enjoy the illuminated river view.

In Cheongdo County, North Gyeongsang, an event of “2025 Cheongdo Cultural Heritage Night Tour” will take place between Friday and Sunday under the topic “Moonlit Walk of a scholar”, in which the legacy of Cheongdo is emphasized as the center of Confucian learning.

Seongju County, who organized a night forest walk on August 30, continued its night offers with a night market and a beer festival on the Seongju market this month.

Growing tourism, but increasing concerns

The Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism has also been supporting night tourism through a specific initiative since 2022. Ten cities – including Busan, Incheon, Gongju, Gangneung, Tongyeong, Yeosu, Jinju, Jinju, Daejeon and Seongju – are selected every year to develop unique regional content.

A representative example of the support of the central government for night tourism in regional provinces is the Starry Night Festa 2025, which began on June 28th in Incheon and is held in a relay format in each of the shown cities.

While night tourism has become a powerful instrument to promote the local economy, he has also expressed environmental and social concerns. Light pollution, disorder of ecosystems, unnecessary energy consumption, noise and even crime are potential disadvantages.

Experts say that reduction plans have to be composed together with the development of tourism.

“Night tourism often includes decorative lighting installations that lead to light pollution and can disturb local ecosystems if they are mounted on trees,” said Kim Min-Soo, Senior Researcher at the Fiscal Reform Institute, in a recent report. “Environmentally and ecologically friendly approaches to night tourism have to be part of the conversation.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then published by an English -language editor of the indigenous people. All AI supported translations are checked and refined by our newsroom.
By Kim Jung-Seok [[email protected]]