Armstrong, having retired from cycling at that time, did not compete, but for the sake of publicity, he rode one lap around the course of the first stage on his mountain bicycle.

The predecessor to Tour de Korea was stopped in 1997 due to financial strains.

Tour de Korea is divided into two divisions: Elite for invitees and competitive cyclists, and a "Special race" for cycling club teams.

The tour course is 1,500 kilometres (930 mi) long, making it the longest cycling competition in Asia.

The tour was planned this way reportedly because the promoters wanted to minimise time and effort spent in recording and sorting race results.