Gangjin-gun offers up to 70% subsidy for youth visitors, making summer travel nearly free
The county launches the Regional Love Vacation Support Project with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization on June 10
If you are still deciding where to spend your summer vacation, Gangjin-gun in South Jeolla Province may be the answer. The county — widely recognized as the originator of the half-price travel concept, a model that has drawn presidential attention and been replicated by local governments across the country — will offer tourists up to 70% of their travel expenses back through the "2026 Gangjin Half-Price Travel (Regional Love Vacation Support Project)," run in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization.
Gangjin-gun will formally launch the program on June 10.
The initiative marks an expansion of Gangjin's half-price travel policy into a national program. The president cited the county's approach on multiple occasions as a standout example of regional tourism promotion, and Gangjin-gun was selected through a competitive application process to operate the national project.
The program targets tourists who live outside Gangjin-gun and reimburses a portion of their travel spending through mobile Gangjin Love gift vouchers, known as Chak. It runs through August, covering the summer vacation season, with the dual aim of attracting visitors and stimulating the local economy.
A notable addition this year is a special support tier for young travelers. Youth tourists — those born between April 1, 1992, and April 1, 2007 — who live outside Gangjin-gun and travel to the county alone can receive 70% of their spending back as mobile Gangjin Love vouchers, up to a maximum of 140,000 won (about $100), provided they spend at least 30,000 won (about $20).
General tourists receive the same 50% rebate as under the existing Gangjin half-price travel program. Individual visitors can receive up to 100,000 won, while groups of two or more can receive up to 200,000 won.
A key condition of the program is that only purchases made at merchants affiliated with the mobile Gangjin Love voucher network qualify for reimbursement. Only transactions paid with mobile Gangjin Love vouchers purchased by the primary applicant are accepted; credit card and cash receipts are not eligible. Accommodation costs are an exception — credit card and cash receipts are accepted for lodging.
The design is intentional: rather than simply subsidizing tourist spending, the program channels consumption directly to local small-business owners and self-employed residents, boosting their sales. Officials describe it as Gangjin's model of mutually beneficial tourism policy, one that pursues both tourism growth and local economic revitalization at the same time.
Tourists must also visit at least two attractions within Gangjin-gun and may participate once during the program period. Those who have already used the separate "2026 Gangjin Open Half-Price Travel" program are eligible to participate in this new project as well.
However, residents of four neighboring counties — Wando-gun, Haenam-gun, Yeongam-gun and Jangheung-gun — are excluded from the program under guidelines set by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization.
After the Regional Love Vacation Support Project ends, Gangjin-gun plans to draw up a supplementary budget to secure 2 billion won from the local extinction response fund, with the aim of relaunching the "Gangjin Open Half-Price Travel" program. Once funding is secured, residents of the four neighboring counties currently excluded are expected to benefit from that program as well.
Over the past three years, Gangjin-gun's half-price travel policy has established a new model for regional tourism — one that drives visitor numbers and spending simultaneously. That track record is widely credited as the reason the approach was adopted as a national government program.
"It is deeply meaningful that the half-price travel policy Gangjin started has been recognized as a leading example of regional tourism promotion and has grown into a national program," a county official said. "Through this project, we will attract more tourists to Gangjin, ensure that visitor spending flows into the local business community, and build a tourism city where residents and tourists thrive together." The official added that the county would work to make Gangjin a destination visitors want to return to year-round, and would press ahead with efforts to grow the resident population and revitalize the local economy.
kkm9971@heraldcorp.com
