The island of Jeju in South Korea has announced its intention to offer the new “digital tourism resident card” in NFT format to Korean visitors. The goal is to attract a greater number of tourists by offering them exclusive benefits in return.
South Korea and the new NFT tourist cards of Jeju Island
The island of Jeju in South Korea has announced that, from the second half of 2025, it will offer new “resident cards for digital tourism” in NFT format to visitors.
According to quanto riportato by the Maeil Business Newspaper, Korean tourists visiting Jeju will be able to enjoy various benefits thanks to the new NFT tourist cards.
Such NFT cards will be launched in the second half of the year, with the intention of attracting the attention especially of GenZ visitors. In this regard, the Island plans to increase the rate of revisitation thanks to the use of digital tourist identity cards for residents.
With the new NFT card, tourists will be able to travel to Jeju with a digital tourist stay card, and register the destination, time, photo, and video on the related blockchain platform.
In exchange, Jeju Island plans to provide subsidies for travel, registrations, and discounts on tourist destinations.
South Korea: the regulation of digital assets and NFT
While Jeju Island aims at NFTs to attract Korean GenZ visitors, South Korea had already shown support for the sector.
In fact, last June, South Korea had made a shift in the regulation of digital assets, including NFTs.
Specifically, the Country’s Financial Services Commission has decided to treat some NFTs like regular cryptocurrencies, introducing a regulatory framework intended to govern the growing market of mass-produced NFTs.
This move aimed to ensure greater transparency and security in the market while simultaneously protecting consumers.
For many, this new regulatory model can represent a model for other countries and contribute to establishing global standards for the NFT sector.
The NFT market of 2024
Recently, it was analyzed how the NFT market in 2024 has increased in value, with the sales volume surpassing that of 2023 by 100 million dollars.
In fact, the NFTs closed 2024 with a total sales volume of 8.8 billion dollars.
Dominating the scene throughout the year, the blockchains of Ethereum and Bitcoin have been responsible, with sales of 3.1 billion dollars each in 2024.
As the NFT collection of the year, Pudgy Penguins emerged, remaining at the top of the rankings during 2024. Not only that, on December 17, Pudgy Penguins NFT also launched its new token PENGU. Today, the price of PENGU is performing better than the main cryptos.
