YEOSU — Yeosu, the city known for its "night sea" and romantic waterfront, is redrawing its tourism map as the ninth popularly elected local government takes office amid the buzz of the 2026 Yeosu World Island Expo.
The goal is straightforward: to become a city where visitors stay long rather than stop by briefly.
Mayor Seo Young-hak is taking direct aim at two long-standing problems in Yeosu tourism — visitor routes concentrated in the old downtown and a travel pattern built around single overnight stays. The plan is to divide the entire city into six specialized districts, give each its own character, and lift Yeosu into an experience- and purpose-driven destination where travelers stay three nights or more.
Seo's tourism strategy centers on dispersal and longer stays
Yeosu tourism has long been strong. The city has abundant assets with nationwide name recognition, including its night sea, the Romance Pocha food stalls, the cable car and Odongdo Island.
But the limits were just as clear. Visitor traffic concentrated in the old downtown. Stays were short. Tourism spending was skewed toward a few areas.
Seo says he intends to change that structure. Rather than gathering visitors in one place, the strategy is to let them flow across all of Yeosu.
The city is building tailored tourism belts around six districts: the Expo zone, the Yi Sun-sin Plaza zone, the Ungcheon-Soho zone, the Gukdong Port zone, the Hwayang-Eleven Bridge zone and the Dolsan zone. Core infrastructure — including a beauty and spa wellness hub, Light Island Park and the Yeosu Island-It Trail — will be developed in stages through 2030.
Six districts redraw the map of Yeosu tourism
The Expo zone is the international gateway to Yeosu tourism. Building on the infrastructure of the Yeosu Expo site, the city plans to develop it into a global tourism special zone combining cruise and MICE industries. Yeosu has ranked first for four consecutive years in the MICE industry city category of the Korea Top Brand Awards, demonstrating its competitiveness.
Once an international marine leisure and tourism complex and a 20,000-seat multipurpose domed stadium are completed, the Expo zone is expected to emerge as a core hub where marine tourism meets business travel.
Seo's vision is clear.
It is to expand Yeosu from a simple tourist destination into a city that hosts international events.
The Yi Sun-sin Plaza zone puts "Yeosu, the city of Yi Sun-sin" front and center. Historical content will be strengthened through the restoration of the Jeolla Left Naval Command's main hall and stone fortress, media art at Jinnamgwan Hall, and permanent exhibitions at the Seonso Theme Video Hall. The "Yi Sun-sin Road," running from Jinnamgwan Hall to Gosodae and the Angel Mural Village, is another key axis.
Yeosu's 10 signature dishes will be woven in. The strategy is to create a history and culture destination where visitors walk, see and taste.
The Ungcheon-Soho zone will be reborn as a hub of culture and the arts. A "Sea of Art" connecting path will link the Yeulmaru arts center, the Seonso Theme Garden, a waterfront park, Jangdo Island and Soho Bridge. In the waters off the Soho Dongdong Bridge, in particular, a storytelling drone light show involving 1,000 drones will run on a permanent basis. It amounts to adding technology and art to the romance of the night sea. Yeosu nights will grow more dazzling, and visitors will linger longer.
The Gukdong Port zone will draw on the dynamism of a traditional harbor. The exterior walls of an aging fisheries cooperative freezing plant will be transformed into a large media facade. Night scenery linking Dangmeori Clam Beach and Namsan will also be created. The area will become an emotive port combining food, harbor and night views. The approach preserves the texture of an old harbor while layering on new nighttime content.
This is precisely the kind of change Seo means by tourism innovation. It is not about erasing existing assets, but about making them look new.
The Hwayang-Eleven Bridge zone will serve as a base for rest and healing. Using the pristine natural environment of the islands, the city will specialize in wellness tourism. A high-end beauty and spa hub will also be developed. It is a space for resting body and mind away from urban sightseeing. This is where Yeosu tourism evolves beyond eating and sightseeing into staying and recovering.
The Dolsan zone is the energy of Yeosu tourism. The Light Island Park project will be added to existing attractions such as large ocean-view cafes, Art Land and zip lines. Days are for activities, nights for light, and the sea serves as the backdrop. Dolsan is expected to be completed as the most dynamic resort and activity destination.
Seo's decisive bet
Seo's tourism strategy is also clear in the numbers. The goal is to raise the average visitor stay from the current 1.8 days to 3.2 days. To that end, the city will introduce a three-night stay tourism model that combines history, culture and sports. It will develop leisure and sports content using the marine and island terrain, including trail running, yachting and fishing.
The city will also actively court large-scale off-season training camps and sporting events. From 2028, it plans to introduce packages and tailored incentives for visitors staying three nights or longer. After 2030, it will begin strategic promotional marketing tied to major sporting events.
The direction of Seo's tourism push is simple: not a "Yeosu you visit once and are done with," but a "Yeosu you plan for and stay in."
The city is also pursuing qualitative improvements. To address chronic problems that drag down visitor satisfaction, such as price gouging and poor service, Yeosu is introducing Y-TQMS, a mobile-based integrated real-time quality management system for tourist sites.
Major tourism facilities will be assigned unique IDs. Data will be accumulated, and response times to complaints will be shortened. The integrated tourism app "Yeosu-N" will also be upgraded.
It will be improved to allow real-time complaint filing and immediate feedback. The aim is to move beyond handling visitor complaints after the fact to managing them on site.
Seo's tourism push extends to the details. The city will work with well-known architects and artists to build "Art-Rest," landmark multipurpose visitor facilities. The plan goes beyond simply repairing aging public amenities. Restrooms, lounges and rest areas will be turned into artistic spaces. The strategy is to make even the places where visitors rest distinctly Yeosu.
Cities are remembered for such small scenes. Seo is seeking to change Yeosu's image by raising the quality of its tourism infrastructure.
Tourism administration will also be professionalized. The city plans to establish an operating framework for a dedicated future tourism body to run data- and trend-driven tourism administration.
Governance with the private tourism industry will be expanded. Over the medium to long term, the city is also considering creating a tourism division within the Yeosu Cultural Foundation or establishing a separate tourism foundation. The idea is to move away from running tourism around events and toward managing it as an industry.
Yeosu's autumn is heating up as well.
The 2026 Yeosu Dongdong Drum Festival, the city's signature cultural experience festival, will be held from Oct. 3 to 4 in the Seonso and Yonggi Park area. Now in its seventh year, the festival will feature performances and hands-on programs themed on drum sounds against the backdrop of the sea off Seonso.
The drum parade, its flagship program, will start in front of Seonso on Oct. 3 and continue to the main stage at Yonggi Park. Participation by families, groups and overseas visitors will be expanded. Fusion percussion, overseas percussion performances and an opening performance featuring large drums and nanta are also planned. A kids' zone, a citizens' competition, and drum exhibitions and hands-on programs have been strengthened.
A "Dongdong Village" featuring overseas adoptee groups and multicultural families will also operate.
Seo's Yeosu opens the next chapter in tourism.
Yeosu is already a well-known tourist city. But Seo says he will not rest on that reputation. He envisions a city that ties together islands and the sea, history and art, food and sports — going beyond the romance of the night sea. A city that makes visitors plan for three days rather than one. The ninth popularly elected Yeosu city government is now moving in that direction.
"We will connect Yeosu's pristine natural scenery and abundant infrastructure into one to build a sustainable tourism ecosystem," Seo said. "We will firmly establish ourselves as the world's top marine tourism city."
Yeosu's next battleground is not more visitors. It is visitors who stay longer. And at the center of that shift is Seo's vision of a citywide tourism destination.
