Border tensions cost South Korean frontier counties $22 mil. in tourism, damage
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…
South Korea's border regions suffered a significant decline in tourism spending and incurred direct damages worth over $22 million during 2024 and 2025 due to escalating tensions with North Korea. The increased inter-Korean tensions were primarily caused by North Korea's trash-filled balloon launches and North-South loudspeaker broadcasts, which began under the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
Gyeonggi Province, in particular, reported 24 incidents of damage worth 414.42 million won across 10 cities and counties as a result of North Korea's waste balloon launches from May 2024 to November 2025. Additionally, tourism spending in the five border counties of Gangwon Province saw a sharp decrease, falling from 444.45 billion won in 2023 to 414.15 billion won in 2024, marking a loss of over 30 billion won.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
