Lunar New Year holiday, festivals and film boost lifestyle population in depopulating regions

The lifestyle population in South Korea's depopulating regions grew in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, driven by the Lunar New Year holiday, regional festivals and a hit film. Spending by visitors from outside those regions also increased, adding momentum to local economies.

The Ministry of Interior and Safety and the Ministry of Statistics released the figures Thursday. The monthly average lifestyle population across 89 depopulating regions reached about 23.82 million in the first quarter of 2026.

The lifestyle population concept combines the registered population — including residents and registered foreign nationals — with transient visitors who spent at least three hours in a given area on at least one day per month. The government has been calculating this figure since 2024 under the Special Act on Support for Depopulating Regions.

Monthly figures stood at about 22.26 million in January, about 25.82 million in February and about 23.37 million in March. January and March dipped slightly from the same months last year, but February saw a sharp rise across all regions, driven by a holiday period of up to five consecutive days around the Lunar New Year. As a result, the overall first-quarter lifestyle population edged up from a year earlier.

The transient population in February alone reached about 20.98 million — 4.3 times the registered population of about 4.84 million.

Regional festivals and cultural content also drew more visitors. The areas that recorded the largest year-on-year gains in lifestyle population were Hwacheon in Gangwon Province in January, Gongju in South Chungcheong Province in February, and Yeongwol in Gangwon Province and Gurye in South Jeolla Province in March.

The Hwacheon Mountain Trout Festival, the Gongju Chestnut Festival and the Gurye Sansuyu Flower Festival all contributed to the influx of visitors. Visitor numbers to Yeongwol also surged following the box-office success of "The King's Warden," a film set in the area. The film opened Feb. 4 and has drawn a cumulative audience of about 16.91 million. Cheongnyeongpo in Yeongwol — the exile site of Joseon's sixth king, Danjong — features prominently as a backdrop.

Among transient visitors, the average length of stay was 3.4 days, average time spent was 12.1 hours and average nights of accommodation was 3.9. Day-trippers accounted for the largest share of visitors in most regions.

Repeat visits were also notable. As of January, 13 areas recorded a return-visit rate of more than 50 percent within the preceding three months: Seo-gu and Nam-gu in Daegu; Yeoncheon in Gyeonggi Province; Yanggu in Gangwon Province; Gimje and Jeongeup in North Jeolla Province; Yeongam and Jangseong in South Jeolla Province; Goryeong, Yeongcheon, Seongju and Uiseong in North Gyeongsang Province; and Haman in South Gyeongsang Province.

The average card spending per transient visitor came to 127,000 won ($87), up from the same period last year. Transient visitors accounted for 32.6 percent of total card spending in January, 34.7 percent in February and 32.0 percent in March.

By province and metropolitan city, transient visitors made up between 25 and 48 percent of total lifestyle-population card spending. In some areas, outside visitors supported the local economy on a par with the registered population.

Kim Min-jae, vice minister of interior and safety, said the data confirmed that both the scale of the transient population and card spending had grown compared with the first quarter of last year, injecting real vitality into the regions. "We hope the lifestyle population will serve as a catalyst for overcoming the crisis of regional depopulation and revitalizing local economies," he said.