9.81 Park Jeju surpasses 3 million cumulative visitors

9.81 Park Jeju has surpassed 3 million cumulative visitors, a milestone attributed to its proprietary IT-based systems, intellectual property collaborations and an entertainment-tourism strategy.

DSM's Monolith division announced Thursday that cumulative visitors to 9.81 Park Jeju exceeded 3 million as of June. The figure comes roughly six years after the park opened in July 2020. The count is based on paid ticket purchases, so the actual number of people who visited — including those who used ancillary facilities without buying a ticket — is expected to be higher.

9.81 Park links usage data from all its activities — including gravity racing — to a proprietary AI platform, allowing visitors to check and share their records and rankings in real time.

A tiered license system encourages repeat visits. Top performers who earn the highest-tier "Master License" qualify for the year-end championship GROC (Gravity Race of Champions). Last year, GROC participants visited the park an average of 10 times and rode the course more than 120 times on average; the park's most frequent visitor came 19 times and rode a total of 225 times over the year.

Original festivals and IP collaborations have also driven visitor growth. Beyond the park's own music-and-activity event, the "9.81 All Day Festival," the park teamed up with Pokemon Korea last year to present "Pokemon: Meta Villa." This year, it is running a promotional collaboration with the Korea Baseball Organization called "My Dream: KBO 981 League Cheering Captain."

International visitor numbers have continued to climb. In Chinese-speaking markets, targeted promotions centered on the social media platform Xiaohongshu pushed visitor numbers up 393 percent year on year last year. Visits by K-pop artists — including NCT, DAY6 and Zerobaseone — shared widely among overseas fans also contributed to the increase.

Building on its track record in Jeju, DSM plans to sustain growth with 9.81 Park Incheon Airport, an indoor park slated to open in spring next year.

"Through 9.81 Park Incheon Airport, set to open next year, we will offer global tourists a more advanced leisure experience," DSM chief executive Kim Jong-seok said. "We will not rest on the achievement of surpassing 3 million cumulative visitors, and will continue developing differentiated content."