Korea Tourism Organization's new CEO says K-tourism is set to 'reach next level'

Korea Tourism Organization's new CEO Kim Jang-sil speaks during a press conference held on Wednesday at the Press Center in central Seoul. [YONHAP]

Korea Tourism Organization’s new CEO Kim Jang-sil met with local reporters for the first time on Wednesday at the Press Center in central Seoul and said K-tourism will “reach the next level,” expanding the scope of what defines Hallyu, or the Korean wave.

“The government has promulgated the years 2023 and 2024 as ‘Visit Korea Years’ and we aim to attract 30 million foreign travelers to Korea by 2027,” said Kim. “To do so, we’ll focus on expanding cultural content and allow foreign tourists visiting Korea to have a more special and new kind of travel experience,”

Kim said foreign travelers want to come to Korea to have hands-on experiences with Korean content which has penetrated into their lives in so many different ways over the past several years, whether it’s K-pop, K-drama or K-film.

“It’s amazing to see how Korea, which used to import foreign cultural content, has become an active exporter of our own culture,” said Kim. “A lot of travel data research results show Korea high up in the rankings as a favorable travel destination. For example, Seoul landed fourth on the list of places travelers searched for on Airbnb over the past year. We will carry out various campaigns in the following two years to actively attract foreigners and make sure visiting Korea is included on all travelers’ bucket lists.”

Kim said one of the keys to boosting tourism lies in storytelling.

“I remember listening to different stories that were related to the locations I was traveling to, about the history and culture, and I seem to never forget those travel experiences,” said Kim. “I believe Korea has a lot of stories to tell. We can create different travel courses using interesting stories, like allowing travelers to follow the footsteps of how K-pop has developed or an interesting Korean legend.”

The Korea Tourism Organization will also expand virtual travel experiences using Naver’s metaverse platform Zepeto. There are several tourist attractions in Korea that have been realized virtually on Zepeto such as Mokpo’s modern historical cultural spaces or Chuncheon and its renowned dakgalbi (stir-fried chicken with pepper marinade) street.

“We’ll add several more worlds to Zepeto this year and stimulate interest in Korea and at the same time use these platforms as a place where potential visitors can get necessary information, plan their trips, make necessary reservations and so on,” said Kim. “Korea’s status as an appealing tourism destination has been on the rise and the intention to visit Korea is also constantly rising. We will take this opportunity and take a great leap forward with diversified cultural content of Korea.”

Kim was appointed to the post in October, which had been vacant for six months when former CEO Ahn Young-bae stepped down in May. Kim was formerly a vice minister to the Culture Ministry in 2008 during the Lee Myung-bak administration.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]