Imjado (Shinan)

Imjado’s Purple Island project won the United Nations Public Service Award for community arts revitalisation, an accolade that no other island on this list, including #5 Wando, has achieved. Every June, the lavender fields and purple-painted bridges create the most spectacular single-season spectacle on any Korean island, attracting 50,000 more visitors than the average island festival—a crowd that exceeds #6 Muuido’s annual mudflat festival by 20,000. The initiative transformed the local economy, increasing tourism revenue by 300% since 2019.