1. Visit Korea Year 2010-2012, a campaign designednn to provide diverse benefits to overseas tourists, aims to attract 10 million foreign visitors and generate $13 billion.
The campaign’s main goal is to increase tourist numbers in Korea and provide them with better hospitality and a warm reception.
Tourists who visit Korea during this time can many benefits such as a tourist coupon service, welcome plan, free shuttle bus service and discount programs for long stays.
Along with the incentives, special events and festivals have been held across the country as part of the campaign. In July, Seoul Grand Sale 2010, one of the biggest shopping festivals in Korea, was held for 54 days. Last month, the Visit Korea Committee organized “Hallyu Dream Festival” in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, Sept. 10-12. The performance event featured leading Korean entertainers including Kara, 2AM, Super Junior and 2NE1.
Busan International Fireworks Festival has been designated as one of the special events for Visit Korea Years 2010-2012, a campaign designed to increase overseas tourist numbers in Korea.
(Courtesy of the Organizing Committee for Busan Culture & Tourism Festival)
There is more to come in the future. From Oct. 21-27, the Visit Korea Committee and North Jeolla Province are co-hosting the Korea Food Festival in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. Foreign visitors can download coupons online for free prior to the event at
www.koreafoodfestival.or.kr. The festival will feature Korea’s rice wine, makgeolli, as well as Jeonju’s signiture dish, bibimbap. There will be education sessions on Korea’s food culture.
For Busan, its 6th International Fireworks Festival has been designated as the “special event” for Visit Korea Year 2010-2012. From Oct. 21 through 23, the festival will be showing nearly 130,000 fireworks against the backdrop of the night sea and its sky near Gwangalli Beach and Gwangan Bridge. Korea’s leading entertainers including BoA, 2AM and SG Wannabe will be performing at the festival’s performance event, “Hallyu Star Concert” on Oct. 21. The three-day festival is co-hosted by the Visit Korea Committee and the City Government of Busan.
In addition, IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World Championships Daegu 2011 and EXPO 2012 Yeosu Korea have been designated as special events.
Early this year, Korea set a goal to have 8.5 million overseas visitors for the year of 2010. As of Sept. 9, about 6.4 million foreign tourists have entered the country, up 12 percent from the same period last year.
2. A plan to construct South Korea’s longest walking trail along the east coast was announced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Wednesday.
With a distance covering 688 kilometers starting from Busan and reaching northward to Goseong’s Unification Observatory next to the demilitarized zone, the trail named “Haeparang Road,” will be divided into 40 sections. The trail will open to the public by 2014.
The trail will allow visitors to traverse through 18 cities and counties linked together by scenic routes along the coast.
The plan for the project, which will cost some 17 billion won ($14 million), began in November 2009 under the guidance of a group of 10 researchers made up of topography experts, travel writers, a novelist, and a historian.
During a press briefing in Seoul yesterday, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said the trail could even reach Russia’s Vladivostock in the future.
The key concept of the trail is described as fusing together the idyllic scenery of the East Coast with Korea’s history, turning it into a “storytelling road.”
The ministry will look to provide amenities, safety guidelines and travel guide books to ensure convenience for hikers on the trail.