Jeongseon-gun announced Sunday that its "Mindungsan Place Branding and Landmark Development Project" won the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism minister's award in the project category at the 2026 Korea Public Design Awards ceremony.
Hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and organized by the Korea Craft and Design Foundation, the Korea Public Design Awards is a prestigious prize recognizing outstanding cases where public design has resolved local challenges and improved quality of life. This year's ceremony was held Friday at Culture Station Seoul 284 in Seoul.
Since 2024, Jeongseon-gun has pursued a place branding initiative to transform Mindungsan from a simple autumn silver grass destination into a tourist attraction with a distinct local identity and differentiated appeal.
The project focused on developing a brand image that draws on Mindungsan's natural features — its silver grass meadows, mountain ridgelines and distinctive terrain — and applying that identity to key entry points, information facilities and pedestrian spaces to improve visitor convenience and create a cohesive tourism environment. The design also carries a message of sustainable tourism.
Jeongseon-gun, the Gangwon Design Promotion Institute and Eum Partners worked together in a public-private partnership to reinterpret Mindungsan's natural landscape and regional character through design, integrating the results into improvements to the tourism environment and place branding.
Jeongseon-gun plans to expand locally tailored tourism content and link Mindungsan Station, surrounding villages, hiking trails and nearby commercial areas to extend visitors' stays and stimulate the local economy.
"Receiving the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism minister's award is a meaningful achievement that recognizes our efforts to develop Mindungsan's unique natural environment and local character into a competitive tourism asset," said Shin Won-seon, head of the Jeongseon-gun tourism division. "We will continue to enhance Mindungsan's differentiated brand value and steadily expand its tourism environment and content so that it grows into Jeongseon's signature destination — one that draws visitors and keeps them coming back in every season."
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