Jeju Olle, a long trail around Jeju Island in South Korea (26 courses, totaling 425km), was founded in 2007 by a passionate social entrepreneur, Ms. Myung-sook Suh, and her supporters. It created a walking tourism boom and has been widely recognized as the top brand among the 585 trails in Korea. The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in early 2020, has been suppressing our daily lives for over two years. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the reasons behind the increase in Jeju Olle walkers, especially among youths in their 20s and 30s, despite the deterioration of the economy, employment, mental health, and the Jeju tourism industry during the prolonged pandemic. The pandemic curtailed domestic service consumption, a sector in which a lot of youths are employed, resulting in an increased unemployment rate. Youths have a higher rate of depression and suicidal ideation than other generations, and have been more likely to suffer from the deterioration in mental health called “corona blue”. At the same time, they have been more inclined to participate in outdoor activities, including walking tours. The annual number of Jeju Olle walkers increased by 5% in 2020, and 54% in 2021 respectively, compared to pre-pandemic 2019 numbers, while Jeju tourists decreased by 33% in 2020 and 21% in 2021. The Jeju Olle Federation, a non-profit organization, has had some success in opening up the youth market during the pandemic, using new marketing and public relations activities via social media. The number of walkers in their 20s and 30s who had finished all courses in 2020 doubled from 2019. Their motives were, in order: to gain a sense of accomplishment (64.3%), the enjoyment of traveling Jeju (55.7%), introspection (49.6%), and making a new start (40.9%), and 72% of them answered that they had been mentally soothed. Therefore, it can be considered that in spite of the prolonged pandemic, the Jeju Olle walking tourism has been prosperous and the newly increased numbers of youths have revalued the brand of Jeju Olle in order to pursue “healing” and “self-realization” amid their struggles under the “with corona” era.
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