Tourist numbers surge at inter-Korean border park after Starbucks sets shop
The number of monthly visitors to a park along the inter-Korean border has more than doubled this year after the opening of a Starbucks store there late last year, officials said Tuesday, Yonhap reports.
Aegibong Peace Ecopark in Gimpo, just northwest of Seoul, saw an average of 32,379 monthly visitors from January to April this year, from 15,852 monthly visitors in 2024, according to the Gimpo city government.
The number of foreign tourists also rose to 3,352 a month on average this year from 1,370 last year.
The city government has credited the opening of the Starbucks store last November for the boost in visitors.
The store has gained online fame for its view of North Korea, just 1.4 kilometers away from the park across the Han River estuary that serves as the western part of the inter-Korean border.
The city government has also pointed to other efforts for the growth in visitor numbers, such as evening admissions to the park once a month.
The peace park, which opened in 2021, is comprised of a hiking trail and an observatory with views of the Han River estuary and North Korea. It is located on Aegibong hill, where fierce fighting took place during the 1950-53 Korean War.
The number of visitors to the park since its opening surpassed 500,000 in February, with the city government expecting the figure to reach 800,000 by the end of this year.
"By securing further tourism infrastructure, (we) will pave the way to vitalize the local economy," Gimpo Mayor Kim Byung-soo said.
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