In 2010, Gwanmaedo was selected by the National Park Service as the brand village to develop tourism. The purpose of this research was to identify the factors influencing the island’s residents’ understanding of, and attitudes toward, emerging socioeconomic and environmental changes in relation to creating the brand village and to define the most influential and significant factor. This study used the SPSS 21.0 program to perform frequency, reliability, factor, and principal component regression analysis. An adequate 18 of the total 23 variables were used to conduct the factor analysis. As a result, a total of five factors were extracted, and these factors can determine 73.35 % of the total variances. To predict the most influential factor affected the residents’ attitudes toward tourism development, a multiple regression analysis was carried out; the analysis of four elements that relate to the social factor, such as increased crime rate, gambling, moral disorder, and loss of local traditions, indicate that the development of tourism and designation of Gwanmaedo as the brand village have not had negative effects in the area. Compared with previous studies, the results of this research show that the residents’ attitudes have positively changed toward the brand village. The findings also emphasize that enabling, supporting, and motivating the locals’ involvement in the planning and implementation processes of a project can be important for its successful development.