How About These ‘Reset Travel’ Destinations for a Fresh New Start?

With the New Year, many people feel a strong desire to step away from daily life for a while and go on a “reset trip” that allows them to reflect on themselves. It is a chance to recharge bodies and minds worn out by everyday routines and to rediscover a new rhythm of life. Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) has recommended four reset travel destinations to visit at the start of the year under the concept of “travel these days.” These are not just places to rest, but wellness hot spots where you can look back on the past year and realign your daily routines and mindset for the days ahead.

■ After working so hard, escape to Yangpyeong County!
The old advertising slogan “You’ve worked hard, now take a break” still rings true. A nearby destination where you can praise and encourage yourself for having done your best over the past year is Yangpyeong County, Gyeonggi Province, a “healthy city” that embraces Dumulmeori.
In Yangpyeong County you can experience two representative health programs. First, the Yangpyeong Health Tour is the nation’s first health program launched under the name of a “health tour” and is operated directly by Yangpyeong County. Participants begin by checking their physical condition through a health measurement system that precisely analyzes subtle changes in heart rate and pulse waves, and they receive guidance on how to manage their health in everyday life going forward.
They then move on to customized health-healing programs together with coordinators who have completed professional training. These programs basically include trekking courses such as Dumulmeori, Mount Sorisan, and the Yangpyeong Mulsori-gil Trail, and depending on the weather and conditions, participants can also try activities like paragliding, canoeing, and mountain biking.
Mirinae Healbeing Club in Jipyeong-myeon, Yangpyeong County is also a popular spot for reset travel. As its name suggests, Mirinae Healbeing Club places the highest value on “healing” and “well-being.” Within the complex you will find a variety of footbath experience zones, multi-sensory and five-elements therapy rooms, a pine-scented walking trail, an eco-friendly health buffet, and other wellness facilities.

■ A New Year’s gift just for you, PARK ROCHE Resort
PARK ROCHE Resort & Wellness in Sugam-ri, Bukpyeong-myeon, Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province is also an ideal place to prepare for the year ahead. The name Sugam, meaning “sleeping rock,” comes from a rock where travelers in ancient times were said to rest for the night. True to this origin, PARK ROCHE offers visitors deep, restorative sleep as the foundation for complete rest and rejuvenation.
The pride of PARK ROCHE is its Wellness Club, where a wide range of programs are offered. Every day, core offerings such as Sugam meditation and calming yoga are held, along with duo ball therapy, foam roller therapy, recovering yoga, Roche Pilates, and more. All staying guests aged 16 and over can freely participate in one program session in the morning and one in the afternoon. There is also a separate meditation room available for individual use, as well as a library space where you can read and reflect in a cozy atmosphere, allowing everyone to allocate their time in a way that best suits their own style.
A day filled with wellness ends with a good night’s sleep. Guest rooms are equipped with specially made mattresses and bedding, and a variety of pillows are provided upon request to create an optimal environment for deep sleep. The breakfast buffet, prepared with fresh local ingredients, is served from 7 a.m. until noon, giving guests plenty of time to enjoy a leisurely breakfast whenever it suits them.

■ In Wando County, your body and mind feel younger
Wando County in South Jeolla Province is called the “No. 1 destination for marine healing” thanks to the Wando Marine Healing Center, which opened in 2023. Marine healing uses marine resources such as seawater, tidal flats, and seaweed to provide rest for tired bodies and minds. In Europe and other advanced countries, it has been established as part of the healing industry for more than a hundred years.
Wando Marine Healing Center offers special experiences through a variety of marine therapies such as spa treatments, mud therapy, and low-frequency therapy, as well as yoga and meditation programs. The first facility you encounter when you enter the center is the seawater pool, the Thalasso Pool. Named after the Greek word for sea, “thalassa,” this pool offers a range of marine healing experiences, including massages using water pressure and underwater exercise.
Mud therapy is also one of the center’s signature programs. Guests apply mud harvested from Wando County’s pristine seas all over their bodies and then rest, which is said to be highly effective for removing toxins from the skin. The seaweed foam therapy is a spa treatment that uses foam made from seaweed extracts, which not only promotes skin health but also helps improve blood circulation.
Other facilities include a meditation pool for underwater meditation and relaxation experiences, a seawater mist room that sprays fine seawater mist to help improve respiratory and skin condition, and a health checkup room for guests using premium programs.

■ Time to refill yourself, WE Hotel Jeju
WE Hotel Jeju, located in the mid-mountain region of Jeju Island, is also an ideal place to reset a tired body and mind. Its signature program, HAE-AM HYDRO, is an underwater therapy conducted in an aqua meditation pool shaped like a dome, symbolizing a mother’s womb. Wearing a flotation device in pleasantly warm water kept at 34–37 degrees Celsius, guests float while a professional therapist gently releases tension in the shoulders and neck.
The natural volcanic bedrock water used at the hotel is drawn from volcanic strata 2,000 meters underground. Rich in minerals such as vanadium, selenium, and chromium, it is said to offer natural healing benefits simply by staying and bathing in it.
Within the hotel grounds, Dorae Forest, which preserves Jeju Island’s primeval forest as it is, and Haeam Forest, designed as an ideal walking trail, have been created. Step into the cypress groves and the scent of phytoncides fills your lungs, and as you stroll along the narrow paths winding between camellia trees, you will find that all the clutter in your mind has quietly disappeared.
Near WE Hotel Jeju are several places that fully embody the spirit of Jeju Island, making them perfect to visit together. At Bonte Museum, designed by world-renowned architect Tadao Ando, you can experience a meditative space where nature and architecture blend harmoniously. In Hoesu Daok, a premium tea house nestled in Doraemul Village—which means “water that flows in a circle”—you can savor organic Jeju teas and seasonal traditional sweets.
jsm64@fnnews.com Jeong Soon-min Reporter