Kolon Hotel Gyeongju's first female GM is rewriting 40 years of tradition—ditching uniforms, flattening hierarchy, and proving legacy hotels can reinvent culture without losing soul.
Property Type: Hotel
Address: 289-17 Bulguk-ro, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do
Room Types: Jamiwon, Suite, Superior, Standard
Amenities: Outdoor water park, sauna, outdoor lawn sports field, Koho Road, business center, public golf course, etc.
Nearby Attractions: Bulguksa Temple, Seokguram Grotto, Silla History & Science Museum, Bomun Tourist Complex, Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, Gyochon Hanok Village, etc.
Q: Hello! Please introduce yourself and the property.
Jinyoung: Hi, I'm Heo Jin-young, general manager at Kolon Hotel Gyeongju. Our hotel opened in 1978 — we're 41 years old now, a four-star property with deep roots. We have 317 rooms, two restaurants, a water park, business center, golf course, outdoor lawn field, Koho Road, and more. Annual occupancy runs above 60%.
I started as a hotelier at Paradise Hotel and spent about 25 years in the industry. In 2006, I joined the opening team at Seacloud Hotel. Then I moved to Kolon Hotel Gyeongju as F&B director, and last December I was promoted to GM — the first female general manager in our group. It was a dream I'd had since day one, so I was thrilled. But the weight on my shoulders got heavier, too. I'm trying things that haven't happened here in 40 years. It's tough, but the staff have been amazing — I'm grateful they're following along.
Since last year's Moonlight Festival, we've ditched the stiff uniforms and gone casual. We're even wearing comfortable shoes now (laughs). That's partly logistics — we're on a huge property, so if a guest calls, we need to sprint. But it's also cultural. We've flattened the org chart. Everyone's a manager or director now. We use titles instead of honorifics. It creates accountability, and younger staff love it. The most common compliment this year? "It feels younger," "You've changed," "The vibe is brighter."
I think we run a deeply ethical hotel. Hospitality trends shift fast, but Kolon's ethical code is ironclad. No one can sidestep it. That's kept our values intact. And our staff work hard — maybe that's why we've lasted 40 years. People. We've built a horizontal culture of communication and passion. If the past 40 years were built on that, why not the next 40? I once watched a documentary about a century-old hotel and thought, "I want to work somewhere like that." Now I'm living it. Every small detail feels heavy. It's exhausting. But that's why I show up every day.
Q: The property is enormous — garden golf course, sports field, Koho Road. Managing all that must be a challenge.
Jinyoung: We sit on 80,000 pyeong (about 65 acres). Facility management and guest safety take constant attention. Our first-floor outdoor lawn field uses artificial turf, so families with kids can play safely. It's our most popular space. We keep it gated — guests only — for security. Even when we cut costs elsewhere, we never cut safety or security staff. Safety is the top priority in this year's slogan.
Years ago, running this property took over 300 employees. Last year it was about 150. Now we're down to 100. We streamlined procedures and eliminated idle time. That means we don't have staff stationed everywhere 24/7 — which might inconvenience some guests. For example, our Korean restaurant used to run with four people in the kitchen and front-of-house. Now we adjust staffing dynamically — fixed headcount for weekdays, flex up for weekends and group bookings. Staff have shorter commutes, more breaks. It's more efficient.
Q: As Gyeongsangbuk-do's third registered tourist hotel, you have 40 years of history. What space best reflects that legacy?
Jinyoung: Our motto is: "A hotel isn't just a place to stay — it's a place to experience history." The cornerstone from 1978 still sits in the lobby, right when you walk in. The café on the first floor has been repainted and redecorated, but the bones are over 40 years old.
It's hard to strip away all the age. We clean obsessively, but sometimes we get harsh reviews. When we see praise for our staff's kindness, though — that's what keeps us going. Even if you can't see it, we've been upgrading safety and hygiene: ripping out old carpets, removing unnecessary furniture, refreshing interiors. Floors 3 and 5 are done; next year we'll expand the renovation. We're also planning to raise the ondol floors like bed platforms so guests sleep more comfortably.
You can feel the history outdoors, too. The trees lining the walking paths and entrance are lush and towering. In Korea, we say someone at 40 is bulhok — unshaken. These trees were planted when the hotel was built. They've aged with us. Every time I see them, I think: that's incredible.
And we still insist on manual golf carts. First, pulling the cart is exercise. Second, it forces you to slow down and take in the scenery. We keep upgrading interiors, bedding, the surfaces — but the soul stays the same. Retro's trendy now, right? We didn't plan it. It just soaked into the walls. (Laughs.)
Q: You're known for F&B. Tell us more.
Jinyoung: We put a lot of emphasis on F&B and run two Korean restaurants in-house. "Gyerim" on the second floor now operates by reservation only — group bookings, weekends. The other Korean restaurant on the third floor is open regularly. Most hotels serve Western food. We lean on Korean cuisine because of our heritage. Twenty years ago, Kolon Hotel Gyeongju was the place in this region for VVIP events, high-end Korean banquets for foreign dignitaries. We were the hot spot. Some ingredients are harder to source now, but we've kept the recipes alive. The people who know them are still here, so we do our best to maintain that flavor.
Our bakery is another point of pride. Three expert pâtissiers run it. They don't even know how to use preservatives, let alone add them. Everything's that safe. Our twisted doughnuts (kkwabaegi) sell out the moment they come out of the oven — word of mouth is strong. (Laughs.) The old packaging was plain, so now we're making gift sets that younger customers like and exploring distribution channels.
Q: You've developed unique bakery items exclusive to this hotel. Tell us more.
Sanggi: Hi, I'm Lee Sang-gi, pâtissier and director at Kolon Hotel Gyeongju. These days, bread is becoming a regional specialty everywhere. Gyeongju's always been famous for bread, so I wanted to make something with local ingredients — locavore-style. We tried Gyeongju-style bread, barley bread, holiday cookies, raw chocolates. Eventually, we landed on baked sticky rice bread filled with nuts.
It didn't take off at first, so we pulled it and went back to the drawing board. When we relaunched recently, the response was strong. Even though it's sold on-site only — no preservatives — we move over 2,000 boxes a year. It has the recommended daily nut intake built in, so it feels healthy. Golfers freeze them and eat them as light meals. Before launching any product, we hold internal tastings and invite regulars for feedback. After release, we keep sampling with customers for about two months — refining taste and presentation based on market response.
Q: With BBQ packages, garden picnics, and the water park, you must attract a lot of families. Who's your core customer?
Jinyoung: Travel trends have shifted our customer base. Until last year, 70% of our guests were group bookings. Now it's flipped — over 60% are young individual travelers. We used to run standard hotel packages. Now we lean into what makes us unique: healing yoga programs, picnic packages that use our natural spaces.
Last year we ran a swimming pool. This year we raised the walls and turned it into a safer water park. Adults loved it — we even extended weekend hours. It used to open mid-July. Now we're considering heating it so it can run year-round outside summer. We're also planning kids' packages and hocance (hotel + vacation) packages — experiences you have at the hotel, not just sleep.
People assume we attract older guests because we have 40 years of history and a golf course. But thanks to these packages, most visitors are in their 20s and 30s, then 40s. People in their 50s and 60s are actually a minority. Gyeongju has tons of golf courses, so most guests aren't here for golf — they come for healing and relaxation. We do have a sauna, which other places don't, so golfers love getting complimentary sauna passes.
Q: You offer pickup and drop-off service — rare for hotels. That must be popular with travelers who don't drive. What inspired it?
Jinyoung: Our CEO throws out a lot of fresh ideas from a business perspective. Pickup service is old-school hotel culture. At first I thought, "Why bring that back?" Then I realized: it's 35 minutes from Singyeongju Station to the hotel, but a taxi costs ₩40,000. That's more than the room in some cases. We couldn't let that slide, so we launched pickup and drop-off. That's when we started thinking: What do guests find inconvenient, not just what they like? We've been filling gaps one by one since then.
We take reservations and our staff rotate driving the van themselves. It's been a win-win — we get direct feedback from guests during checkout. The response has been great. We're pretty communicative when planning new services. It's informal, but young staff especially see and experience more, so they're closer to trends. Instead of stiff meetings, we have casual chats — "What'd you do yesterday?" — and catch the insights that way.
One of our internal benefits is an annual voucher to stay at a partner property. Hoteliers need to know accommodations better than guests to deliver great service. So even on trips, we're comparing properties obsessively. People think hotels don't benchmark, but we do — aggressively. Hotels benchmark hotels, F&B benchmarks F&B, even uniforms benchmark uniforms. If we hear about a famous restaurant, staff will drive there at dawn, eat, and come back to debrief. Our execution speed is 5G-level passionate. (Laughs.) We also pull a lot from TV and social media. It's entertaining, and trends hit there first. That's how we came up with our Halloween event at the end of October!
Q: You recently held the second Moonlight Festival. What inspired it, and how did guests react?
Jinyoung: The idea started simple: Gyeongju is a city of historic sites. Wouldn't sunset here be beautiful? We wanted to create memories for guests. So we launched the Moonlight Festival with concerts, parties, and a collaboration with a local flea market. We started in 2018 for the hotel's 40th anniversary and planned to end it after one year. But the "Light Classic Market" flea market inside the festival was so popular, we kept opening it quarterly.
Hotel guests loved it. Citizens from Gyeongju — and visitors from Pohang, Ulsan, Busan — kept coming. People were intrigued: "A flea market at a hotel?" It's content that resonates with people in their 20s and 30s, and it's also a way to support the local community. We want to keep that partnership going. During the festival, the hotel makes and sells food on-site — like our twisted doughnuts. We also brought in Kolon Band (our corporate band) and a DJ set, which got great reactions.
This year we moved the festival from October to late August to avoid the cold — last year it was freezing. The response was even hotter. Guests made memories, ate well, shopped, and didn't spend much. Hotel guests and external visitors were both thrilled. We're already getting inquiries about next year's dates.
People think hotels are supposed to be quiet. We're working to make ours fun and lively.
Q: How did you discover ONDA, and how's it been using the service?
Sooyoung: Hi, I'm Lim Soo-young, marketing manager at Kolon LSI. We first learned about ONDA when TMON's extranet system changed over. We'd been using the old TMON extranet, then transitioned to ONDA and signed a contract through Manager Lee Ha-neui.
An extranet is essential for hotel operations. ONDA has been easier to use than other platforms — probably because we started with it through TMON. ONDA Star lets us register rates and inventory, set up promotions, and add packages ourselves, directly. It's incredibly convenient. Especially for us — we run monthly events and programs that change constantly. Being able to update everything in real-time without waiting on a third party is a huge advantage.
Q: Finally, any hidden gems or personal restaurant recommendations near the hotel?
Jinyoung: Restaurants… well, Kolon Hotel Gyeongju is the restaurant, so I can't really recommend anywhere else. (Laughs.) But seriously, one place that moved me: "Bobul Eotang Myeongga," a fish soup restaurant above Café Sodeobi. Think of it like chueotang (loach soup), but with fish. It's not fishy at all, so even people who don't like chueotang enjoy it. They also serve kalguksu and sujebi. The fish soup comes in mild or spicy — I recommend spicy. Ask for extra minced garlic and add a spoonful. It brings the flavor alive.
After a bowl of restorative fish soup, head downstairs to Café Sodeobi. I've been about ten times. Lately, their jujube tea is thick and medicinal — it's delicious. The retro vibe is strong, too! As for sightseeing, you're in the Bomun Tourist Complex, so Bulguksa Temple, Seokguram Grotto, Donggung Palace and Wolji Pond, and the Silla History & Science Museum are all nearby — walking or driving distance.