'Boring city' no longer: Why Daejeon hotel bookings are up 190%
by Korea JoongAng Daily
Hanwha Eagles fans watch a KBO game at Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark. [JOONGANG ILBO]
As baseball team Hanwha Eagles soars above the rest of the league, the club's hometown Daejeon is basking in glory, and its municipal government is capitalizing on the momentum to elevate the city’s brand value.
Businesses near stadiums are seeing a boost, and more visitors are booking accommodation in the city.
The Eagle soars above
The Hanwha Eagles of the KBO and the K League 1's Daejeon Hana Citizen are both sitting in first place in regular season standings.
The Eagles secured their 12th consecutive win for the first time in 33 years with an 8-0 victory over the Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in Guro District, western Seoul, on Sunday. Although their streak was snapped by the Doosan Bears on Tuesday, they remain tied for first place with the LG Twins.
Their home stadium, Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark, has sold out 15 consecutive games — home and away — from April 24 through Tuesday.
“Getting a ticket is like winning the lottery,” one fan wrote on an online forum. Others chimed in, saying, “My long-dormant fan spirit is back,” and “Weekend games? Forget it — it’s impossible to get the tickets.”
Meanwhile, Daejeon Hana Citizen leads the K League 1 standings with 28 points as of Tuesday — a first since the club’s founding in 1997.
Fans watch a KBO game between the Hanwha Eagles and Kiwoom Heroes at Gocheok Sky Dome in western Seoul on May 11. [YONHAP]
City leans into sports
Daejeon is actively leveraging this sports fervor for city branding. The city recently launched a line of collaborative merchandise featuring its mascot Kumdori — originally created for the 1993 Daejeon Expo — and the Eagles.
Since May 1, 16 different items, including jerseys, ball caps, plush toys and cheering gear, have gone on sale.
This comes on the heels of a broader push since January 2024 to promote Kumdori-branded products. The city has 159 such items, including pens, tote bags, postcards and shopping bags, sold at four locations including the Daejeon PR center in Shinsegae Department Store.
Last year, the goods generated 900 million won ($626,410) in sales. Between January and April this year, the figure hit 423 million won.
Mayor Lee Jang-woo has visibly embraced the campaign, sporting a Hanwha cap and Citizen jersey at a recent city meeting. He’s also actively promoting the teams on his Facebook page.
“Every day is thrilling with Hanwha on a 12-game winning streak and Citizen fending off challengers to stay on top,” he wrote Saturday. “From topping quality-of-life rankings to breaking records across the board, Daejeon has never been more dynamic. Let’s keep the support coming!”
Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo wears a Hanwha Eagles cap and a Daejeon Hana Citizen uniform as he presides over a weekly meeting. [DAEJEON METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]
Baseball brings boom to old town
The baseball craze is reviving Daejeon’s old commercial districts. Restaurants near the ballpark are seeing a sharp rise in customers, according to local merchants.
“On game days, sales jump by over 20 percent,” said one sundae gukbap (Korean blood sausage soup) restaurant owner. “We’re definitely riding the wave.”
This success is partly thanks to the city’s proactive sports investment. Daejeon spent 143.8 billion won to build the new Daejeon Hanwha Life Ballpark, expediting the project to finish six months ahead of schedule — in February instead of the originally planned September.
The stadium’s capacity increased from 14,000 to 17,000 seats.
“We cut construction time from 41 to 36 months by focusing administrative power into streamlining the process,” a city official said. “We divided the work into three simultaneous sections and used precast concrete methods to fast-track completion.”
People line up outside the Sungsimdang DCC branch in Yuseong District, Daejeon, on April 27. [YONHAP]
Spike in lodging bookings
The city’s reputation as a “boring town” is fading fast. During the holiday period from May 1 to 6, hotel bookings surged 190 percent year-on-year, according to reports.
Daejeon has ranked in the top three cities by brand reputation every month since January, according to Brand Reputation Index, alongside Seoul and Busan.
“With the recent performance of the Eagles and Citizen, public interest in Daejeon is surging,” a city official said. “We were once dismissed as dull, but not anymore.”
Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
Reference Written by KIM BANG-HYUN [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr] Provided by Korea JoongAng Daily
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