Korea selected as 'Destination of the Year' by British travel magazine

The cover image featuring Korea on Wanderlust, a travel magazine from Britain [KOREA TOURISM ORGANIZATION]

Korea was selected as the "Destination of the Year" by British travel magazine Wanderlust and featured as its cover story.

Korea Tourism Organization announced Thursday that the magazine's August-September issue, which was released on Thursday, dedicated its cover and 27 pages to showcase Korea.

Established in 1993, Wanderlust is the longest-running travel magazine in Britain, with a circulation of 138,000 copies, the highest for any independent travel magazine in the country. Its website receives 1.8 million page views monthly from readers across 70 countries.

The magazine said it decided to write an in-depth story about a country per issue starting with its August-September issue. Korea has been selected as the first country.

George Kipouros, the editor-in-chief, said through the Korea Tourism Organization that he saw relatively few foreign travelers in Korea despite travelers' interest in the country. Kipouros added that the country wasn't crowded, people were very friendly and the prices were great.

The cover story on Korea provides detailed guides to things to do in the country. It recommended cultural heritage tours in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang; Andong, North Gyeongsang; Seoul; Suwon, Gyeonggi; and Jeju. The story also highlighted hiking and walking trails in Mount Jiri, Mount Seorak and Mount Bukhan, as well as Suncheon Bay in Pyeongchang, Gangwon.

The article also offers experiences centered on K-pop, K-dramas and K-movies.

The issue additionally features two pages of food recommendations, six pages of accommodation options and a quiz for readers to test their knowledge about Korea.

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