Gangwon Province, Goseong-gun and Hoban Group sign investment agreement
A project to develop Hwajinpo in Goseong into an international resort destination is moving forward with a target completion date of 2035, driven by private investment and backed by active administrative support from local authorities.
Hoban Group will invest 680 billion won ($503 million) to build a global tourism destination on the northern East Coast, developing a 51,516-square-meter site in Chodo-ri, Hyeonnaemyeon, Goseong-gun into a complex featuring a 450-room accommodation facility and a range of supporting amenities.
Gangwon Province Governor Woo Sang-ho, Goseong-gun Mayor Ham Myeong-jun, Hoban Group Chairman Kim Seon-gyu and Hoban Hotels & Resorts CEO Lee Jeong-ho signed an investment agreement Monday at the provincial government office to develop the Hwajinpo International Resort.
The northern East Coast has long been recognized for its natural environment but has lacked the infrastructure needed to attract extended stays. The investment is expected to draw more than 700,000 tourists annually and create around 6,500 direct and indirect jobs, dramatically expanding the area's high-value tourism ecosystem while promoting balanced regional development.
The project is also expected to extend visitors' length of stay and boost spending, contributing significantly to the local economy.
The development of large-scale resort and tourism infrastructure centered on Hwajinpo is expected to give fresh momentum to extended-stay tourism by linking the new facilities with existing attractions in the area.
Goseong-gun already holds strong peace-tourism assets, including the Demilitarized Zone, the Unification Observatory and Hwajinpo. Planned improvements to regional transport — including the East Coast Northern Line railway, an east-west high-speed rail link and an extension of the East Coast Expressway — are expected to significantly improve access to the area.
![A visitor at the Goseong Unification Observatory points toward Guseonbong peak in North Korea's Geumgangsan. [Yonhap]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/09/28/news-p.v1.20260928.266748c8163b485bbef310daac0e261f_P1.jpg)
The investment agreement also carries significance as it brings a major private investor into the Goseong Peace Economy Special Zone, giving concrete shape to large-scale private-sector cooperation in the area.
The parties to the agreement pledged to work together to revitalize the local economy through the growth of the tourism industry, the successful development of the Peace Economy Special Zone and the use of locally produced goods.
A Goseong-gun official said the Hwajinpo International Resort development project "is an important undertaking that will elevate Goseong's tourism industry to the next level and breathe new vitality into the local economy," adding that the county would "strengthen administrative support and cooperation with relevant agencies to ensure the project proceeds without a hitch."
Governor Woo said the resort development project, which brings together outstanding natural tourism assets — the sea, a lagoon and dense forests — "is the anchor project of the extended-stay tourism belt along the northern East Coast," and urged the company to "draw on its proven resort management expertise to make this a premier leisure destination representing all of Korea."
Woo added that the province would "actively support the development of Gangwon's East Coast into a world-class tourism destination by focusing on all-season, extended-stay tourism complexes that combine accommodation, culture, recreation and leisure — including the Goseong Haesollria tourism complex, for which an investment agreement was recently signed."
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