Everland Resort, an amusement facility equipped with a water park and a zoo, was the No. 1 destination for local and foreign visitors last year, South Korea's tourism agency said Wednesday.

According to the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute, 6.96 million people visited the amusement park in Yongin, just south of Seoul, in 2016. It marks the second year in a row that Everland took the top ranking, although the number of visitors was down 6.2 percent. October was the most popular month for the park.

Gyeongbok Palace in downtown Seoul came in second with 6.02 million people, up 18.9 percent from the previous year. The palace's ranking shot up three slots from the year before.

The Korea International Exhibition Center, known as KINTEX for short, northwest of Seoul, was third, followed by Suncheon Bay Wetland Reserve in South Jeolla Province, 415 kilometers south of the capital.

Imjingak Resort, located near Korea's Demilitarized Zone, took fifth place down three from the previous year. (Yonhap)