Border tensions cost South Korean frontier counties $22 mil. in tourism, damage

The Korea Times - Oct 2, 2026

South Korea's border regions saw tourism spending fall by more than 30 billion won ($22 million) and reported hundreds of millions of won in direct damage during 2024 and 2025, when North Korea's trash-filled balloon launches and tit-for-tat loudspeaker broadcasts under the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration escalated inter-Korean tensions. According to the data submitted by Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces to the office of Woo Won-shik of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Friday, Gyeonggi Province reported a total of 24 incidents of damage worth 414.42 million won across 10 cities and counties as a result of North Korea’s waste balloon launches between May 28, 2024, and November 28, 2025. Border regions also experienced a sharp decline in tourism spending during the same period. Data from the Korea Tourism Data Lab showed that combined tourism spending in the five border counties in Gangwon Province — Cheorwon, Hwacheon, Yanggu, Inje and Goseong — fell from 444.45 billion won in 2023 to 414.15 billion won in 2024, marking a decrease of more than 30 billion won. Though

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