Kangwon Land Casino

Kangwon Land Casino holds a unique and politically significant position in Korean society: it is the only casino in South Korea that Korean nationals are legally permitted to enter. The remaining 16 or so casinos in Korea — including the Paradise City at Incheon Airport and Seven Luck at various Seoul locations — are accessible only to foreign passport holders. This monopoly on domestic Korean gambling was created to support the economic redevelopment of the former coal-mining region of Sabuk in Gangwon Province.

The casino opened in October 2000 as part of a broader integrated resort development that includes a ski area, hotels, golf courses, and a condominium complex — positioned as a domestic tourism anchor for a region that had seen mass unemployment following the collapse of the Korean coal industry in the 1990s. The original development mandate required Kangwon Land to reinvest profits into the surrounding community.

Despite its remote location — approximately 2.5 hours by car from Seoul through mountainous terrain — Kangwon Land is consistently one of the highest-grossing casinos in Asia. The casino floor covers approximately 23,000 square metres with around 200 table games and 1,300 gaming machines. Regulatory concerns about problem gambling led to restrictions on the number of days Korean nationals may visit per year.