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Busan Metropolitan City Achieves Milestone as Dongnae Hot Spring District Is Designated the Nation’s Fourth “Hot Spring City”

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Busan Metropolitan City, led by Mayor Chun Jae-soo, announced that the Ministry of the Interior and Safety designated the Dongnae Hot Spring District in Dongnae-gu as the nation’s fourth “Hot Spring City” yesterday, October 1.

This is the second round of Hot Spring City designations following the designation of three areas in 2023—Suanbo Hot Springs in Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do; Onyang Hot Springs in Asan, Chungcheongnam-do; and Bugok Hot Springs in Changnyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do. This time, Dongnae Hot Springs was the sole area designated.

Based on the Hot Spring City plan, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety conducted an on-site inspection and expert review and made the final designation after comprehensively assessing Dongnae Hot Springs’ hot spring resources, accessibility from the city center, development potential, and differentiated development strategy.

Under the Hot Spring Act, the “Hot Spring City” designation is granted by the Minister of the Interior and Safety based on a comprehensive assessment of factors including the quality of hot spring resources, efforts to promote hot spring tourism, the potential for developing the hot spring industry, and contributions to revitalizing the local economy.

The Dongnae Hot Spring District is highly competitive as an urban hot spring city, with 1,400 years of history, high-quality hot spring resources reaching 70.3°C, and excellent accessibility.

As one of Busan’s leading hot spring tourism resources, Dongnae Hot Springs has a history of approximately 1,400 years dating back to the Three Kingdoms period. In particular, it features high-temperature hot spring water reaching up to 70.3°C and excellent water quality containing silica.

Located in the city center, the district offers excellent accessibility through convenient transportation networks, including Busan Metro Lines 1, 3, and 4 and the Donghae Nambu Line. Supported by hot spring facilities and other related infrastructure, the area attracts approximately 2 million visitors annually.

In particular, its proximity to natural, historical, and cultural tourism resources such as Geumjeongsan National Park and Dongnae Eupseong Fortress provides favorable conditions for developing the area into a stay-oriented tourism hub that links hot springs with nearby attractions.

Taking this designation as an opportunity, Busan Metropolitan City plans to develop Dongnae Hot Springs beyond conventional bathing-centered hot spring tourism into an urban hot spring tourism city that combines healing, relaxation, hands-on experiences, and tourism.

To this end, the city will establish a Hot Spring Healing Center to provide professional aquatic healing services and create a Multi-purpose Hot Spring Experience Facility, fostering a hot spring-friendly city where residents and tourists can enjoy hot springs as part of everyday life.

The city also plans to expand tourism content and inject new vitality into the local economy by developing specialty products under the Dongnae Oncheonjang brand and hosting the Dongnae Hot Spring Festival.

Busan Metropolitan City expects the designation to serve as an opportunity to highlight anew the value of Dongnae Hot Springs, with its 1,400-year history, and further strengthen Busan’s competitiveness in hot spring tourism.

Mayor Chun Jae-soo said, “The designation of Dongnae Hot Springs as the nation’s fourth Hot Spring City, as the sole area selected this time following Suanbo, Onyang, and Bugok in 2023, is a meaningful achievement recognizing the value of Dongnae Hot Springs, with its 1,400-year history, outstanding hot spring resources, and excellent accessibility from the city center.”

He added, “Building on this designation, we will expand healing, relaxation, and tourism content that makes the most of Dongnae Hot Springs’ strengths and move forward without disruption so that the revitalization of hot spring tourism can bring new vitality to the local economy.”