The Seoul Metropolitan Government said on the 1st that it had selected and finalised 100 places where people can experience recovery within the city as the ‘Seoul Wellness Tourism 100’. The initiative aims to turn the growing number of people choosing meditation and healing as the purpose of their travels into a city-wide tourism asset.
Selection whittled down three times from 217 places
The candidates comprised 217 places put forward through an open call, expert recommendations and public nominations. The Seoul Metropolitan Government ultimately selected 100 of them. A steering committee made up of 14 experts and regional specialists conducted two rounds of paper-based assessment followed by on-site inspections. Han Yi-kyung, a representative with experience in global hotel development, chaired the selection committee.
This year’s theme was ‘Seoul, Defines the next wellness’.
52 places for rest, 17 for taste and 31 for style
The 100 places are divided into three categories. The largest, ‘rest’, includes 52 places. Healing and meditation, nature-based healing, medical and traditional Korean medicine, and stays are grouped under this heading. The ‘taste’ category covers healthy food culture and gastronomy, with 17 places selected. The ‘style’ category, spanning beauty, spas and culture and the arts, includes 31 places.
It is notable that facilities focused on meditation are not listed as a separate category, but sit alongside nature-based healing and traditional Korean medicine within the broader ‘rest’ category. The structure treats meditation not as a standalone programme but as one strand of the restorative experience offered by the city.
Temples, hanok and salons share one list
The three places cited by the Seoul Metropolitan Government illustrate the character of each category. Bongeunsa was selected for the ‘rest’ category. The stated reason was its night-time temple meditation experience, which combines the urban nightscape of Gangnam with the tranquillity of a thousand-year-old temple. Pilgyeongjae, which serves royal court cuisine and Korean set meals in a 500-year-old hanok, was highlighted in the ‘taste’ category, while Boston Chamber Salon, which hosts classical music busking performances, was included in the ‘style’ category.
Han Yi-kyung, chair of the selection committee, said: “Seoul has ample potential to create new standards for wellness that attract global attention, with tradition and modernity, and nature and the city, coexisting side by side.”
Travel Week to showcase selection in full at the end of October
The Seoul Metropolitan Government also announced plans to develop the selected 100 places into signature tourism content for the capital. It intends to link them with tourism products and programmes while strengthening promotion and marketing at home and abroad. The 2026 Seoul Wellness Travel Week, which opens on 29 October, will provide the main platform for the full introduction of the 100 places.
Jo Seong-ho, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Tourism and Sports Bureau, said: “We will provide active support so that Seoul can establish itself as a key city leading the global wellness tourism market.”
An open door for meditation facilities
The selection also carries significance for meditation centres and programme operators. Once meditation gains a place on the tourism policy list, promotional and distribution channels open up alongside it. The full list of the 100 places, detailed lists by category and the way they will subsequently be developed into tourism products are expected to be disclosed in greater detail during Travel Week.