Korean-style tourism: "Exporting" Oppa and using the K-Pop "virus" to invade the world

Background: Although the two Koreas have been at war for a long time, South Korea still cannot escape the "dangerous" image in the hearts of international tourists, leading to an extremely underdeveloped tourism industry.

Plan: Strive to export its culture, from K-Pop to movies, the K-Pop "addiction" gradually becomes a wave of attack in every corner of the world, creating hundreds of millions of "addicts" to Korean culture.

Result: South Korea has risen to become a capital of tourism, shopping and healthcare, bringing in a significant source of revenue for the country. It can be said that K-Pop has contributed to the "miracle of the Han River".

South Korea's thorny beginnings

South Korean tourism only began when the Korean War was temporarily suspended in 1953, and it was not until 1962 that the first statistics showed that South Korea only welcomed about 15,000 tourists per year.

The reason behind the "modest" number is that the student riots and political instability are still present in the minds of tourists. South Korea is mostly known as a country "participating" in the inter-Korean tension with the presence of nuclear weapons.

But South Korea got its chance with the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, with 2.3 million tourists and more than 3.2 billion USD in revenue. After this event, a modern and youthful South Korea began to appear in the world media.

However, the South Korean government still did not develop its tourism industry until it became a co-host of the 2002 World Cup with Japan. A record year for the land of kimchi with more than 5.3 million tourists and 5.9 billion USD in tourism revenue.

Things were different just 10 years later. Fast forward to 2011, when the "Korean Wave" (Hallyu) had taken the world by storm and brought in more than $3 billion to the country's economy. The "Oppa"s were so well advertised that Seoul was overwhelmed with tourists in the summer of 2010, with an estimated shortage of more than 26,500 rooms during that peak season.

Recognizing the effectiveness of K-Pop, the Korean Tourism Organization invested $264,000 to host an international K-Pop event in France in 2011.

According to a survey conducted during the event, 9 out of 10 attendees expressed their desire to visit Korea as soon as possible, and 75% had already started planning a trip to the land of kimchi.

Realizing the needs of tourists, the Korean government invested in a giant amusement park with items such as: K-Pop Village, K-Pop Stage or Avenue of Stars... All to satisfy the needs and attract more K-Pop fans to Korea.

"Addiction" to Korean culture

In late 2012, the number of tourists visiting South Korea suddenly dropped sharply due to the increasing threats from North Korea. This decline presented the South Korean government with a difficult problem: How to maintain the image of "safe Seoul" in the world media?

Determined to change the image on all media, the South Korean government spent a huge amount of money to "overload" the international media with images of "The daily lives of Korean people are not affected by North Korea's threats." At the same time, online media companies were also supported by the government to create a new weapon, a "virus" of Korean culture.

With nothing to do during the long Christmas holiday, Kayla Ann Villanueva, a young woman in the US, was confused and went online to search for movies to watch. Attracted by an eye-catching poster, Kayla watched one episode of a Korean movie, but that one episode quickly turned into... dozens of parts.

Kayla not only watched the movies but also learned about the actors, the songs in the movies, and similar movies… "In the blink of an eye, my computer was filled with SHINee songs and my room was filled with SS501 posters. My passion for Korean culture made me want to learn their language and visit the country one day. Not only that, my fandom also urged me to spend money to go to the shows instead of just watching them on the computer."

"It's like an addictive drug," said Lavinia Pletosu, a 22-year-old from Italy. "The passion for K-Pop makes you want to understand everything else about Korea, from the language, history, culture, food ..."

Recognizing the effectiveness of modern media, the Korean government is determined to use channels like YouTube to attract tourists. It is estimated that K-Pop videos have received more than 2.3 billion views across 235 countries and territories each year.

Many experts also believe that the Korean government "backed" the success of PSY's Gangnam Style in 2012, which was guaranteed not to be a "flop" and gradually became the most viewed video of all time.

Not only YouTube, the Korean tourism industry also "proficiently" uses other social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. As shared by a tourism ministry official: "Understanding the "stormy" development of social networks in China and nearly 70% of the number of international students in Korea coming from this country, a group of "reporters" was selected from Chinese international students to promote the image of the kimchi land on the country's social networks."

There are also bloggers or Instagrammers who are paid by the government to become media representatives.

"It's not just China. We also select international students from Europe, North America, Southeast Asia... to promote Korea through their accounts and their native languages," said a representative of the Tourism Bureau.

Not just promotion

"The two biggest obstacles for international tourists when coming to Korea are language and transportation. Understanding this, we continuously develop phone technology, expand free wifi areas, and even have a virtual reality application that can recognize and translate restaurant menus or signs."

In addition, the Korean government has built a network of trains and buses to connect most of the famous tourist spots, making it easy for tourists to visit from any major city.

A huge investment has also been poured into Seoul. As the largest gateway to Korea, the capital Seoul has been developed by the government to always create a feeling of "wanting to come back" for all tourists.

Korea also promotes medical tourism programs, with strengths in the international market for cosmetic surgery, quality health check-ups and cancer treatment.

In addition, Korea also offers shopping paradises such as Myeongdong and Dongdaemun districts. Or there is Seoul Sky, the third highest observatory in the world.

The Korean government is also very creative in continuously creating attractive destinations based on "recycling" old structures, such as Seoullo 7017 Avenue from an overpass that is too old, or the "Oil Tank" Cultural Park - a large oil tank redesigned to become an art gallery combined with a cafe...

Results

By "exporting" its culture, especially K-pop and dramas, Korea has gradually removed its image of political instability to become an attractive destination for international tourists.

But not only K-pop, the Korean government also knows how to do tourism by always supporting tourists, creating new entertainment spots and increasing its value.

By 2016, Korea welcomed more than 17.2 million visitors, reaching a record number of visitors per year. The Korean market still has a lot of potential and is expected to develop further in the future.