Social media influencers invited to experience Korea

YouTubers experience a Templestay program at Beomeo Temple in Busan. Templestay is a cultural program that lets people experience the life of Buddhist practitioners at temples. / Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization

KTO taps YouTubers, Instagrammers to promote tourism

By Kang Seung-woo

As the government is seeking to attract international tourists to end the nation's chronic deficit in tourism, the state-run tourism promotion agency is turning its gaze to independent travelers.

And one of its steps is influencer marketing, inviting high-profile social media celebrities to Korea, showing them the wonders of the country and encouraging them to promote these wonders on their platforms.

According to the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), two groups of influencers active on YouTube and Instagram came to Korea last month to visit a number of nationwide attractions.

The first group, comprised of four YouTubers and an older Instagrammer couple, came from Japan, while the other team of 11 YouTubers were from Australia, Canada, Germany, Russia and the United States.

According to the KTO, 97.8 percent of the overall tourists from seven major countries of Europe and North America ― Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Russia and the U.S. ― independently traveled to Korea in 2017, while 79.9 percent of Japanese who visited here did so in 2018.

In addition, 71.8 percent of those from European and American countries used the internet to collect travel information and so did 47.9 percent of Japanese.

"Tourists from Japan as well as the aforementioned European and North American countries travel to Korea independently rather than in groups compared to tourists from other regions," Kim Man-jin, executive director of the KTO's International Tourism Department, told The Korea Times.

"In addition, they tend to search for travel information on global portal sites or social media platforms, so we believe those countries are ideal markets for the KTO to jointly promote Korea's tourism with social medial influencers."

Under the title of "Subscribe Korea," 11 people participated in three themed programs: outdoor activities on Jeju Island, historical and cultural tourism in Busan and Gyeongju, and K-pop, beauty and fashion in Seoul.

Australian YouTuber Jorden Tually goes surfing on Jeju Island. / Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization

The participants gave rave reviews of the KTO programs.

"The temple experience was the best thing. Just going and understanding what I have never seen before," David Hoffman told The Korea Times, adding that he was impressed by the lifestyle of monks.

The Miami native, with more than 284,000 subscribers, picked the historical and cultural tourism program because he was interested in the country after studying the Korean War in high school.

"It was a really cool experience that I have never done before and I will definitely do that again," he said.

Hoffman was also into Korean food, saying there are "so many dishes and so many different things."

"I think one of the best things that we had in Busan was hanjeongsik. That was the best meal," he said. Hanjeongsik is a Korean traditional full-course meal with various side dishes.

"(It had) so much variety and so many things I tried and when you think it is over, it is not over. I did not know about this."

The YouTubers also found the nation's sightseeing spots attractive.

"There is a lot to do and a lot to see," said Allison Anderson, another YouTuber from Seattle who has more than 455,000 subscribers.

"I am glad that I came with the KTO because I probably wouldn't have thought to do like DMZ Tour or I didn't realize the national museum. When you usually think of a museum, you kind of think it is boring but Korea really has interactive museums. They have lots of virtual reality and interactive screens and they are really interesting, so I was surprised to see how much there was to do and in addition to normal tourist stuff."

Hoffman described Korea as "an amazing tourist destination."

"Everybody speaks English and I think that is a super draw. I have been to China many times, but no one speaks English. I think that is a big thing that is specially to bring more Americans over here and Westerners who speak English. That is No. 1 I feel," he said.

"Food is incredible and has so much diversity. I think that is an aspect that people need to understand and realize that Korean food is not just kimchi and barbecue.

"If you come to Asia, you have to come here. I have been to almost 10 countries in Asia and Korea is one of the easiest to navigate and I think safety and cleanness is huge. It is very connected; you can get to Busan in three hours and Jeju in one hour."

Japanese Instagrammer couple Bon and Pon, whose real names are Tsuyoshi and Tomi Seki, ride in a rickshaw in Bukchon Hanok Village in central Seoul. / Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization

As for the Japanese social media influencers, Yuka Kinoshita, who has the most subscribers among female YouTubers in Japan with 5.16 million viewers thanks to her successful mukbang activities, visited major cities such as Busan and Daegu to stream her eating spree featuring Korean local delicacies and seasonal food.

The silver-haired Instagrammer couple Bon and Pon, whose real names are Tsuyoshi and Tomi Seki, was focused on promoting tourist attractions that can appeal to active seniors such as traditional markets, musicals or aesthetic medical treatments using Oriental medicine, during a one-week stay.

"As I experienced a lot of things in Korea, I think I can easily promote Korea's tourist attractions to people," Seki said.

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