Lee Gyu-lee is a business writer at The Korea Times, focusing primarily on IT & telecommunications, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA. Prior to this, she has covered a wide range of cultural news, from film, television and K-pop to lifestyle and fashion.
Naver Map launches another BE LOCAL campaign, expands to Busan, Gyeongju
A promotional image for Naver Map's BE LOCAL campaign / Courtesy of Naver
By Lee Gyu-lee
Naver is launching a second round of the BE LOCAL campaign with the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), Wednesday through Dec. 15, to introduce Korea’s popular destinations to foreign visitors.
The campaign, which first ran for a month in April, offers foreign tourists real Korean local experiences by suggesting trending restaurants, cafes, shopping areas and cultural spaces on Naver Map. The recommended places include frequently saved spots among the platform’s users in their 20s and 30s, as well as long-established local restaurants.
For the second round, the campaign will expand from Seoul to include the southeastern city of Busan and Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, which are expected to welcome more foreign guests to upcoming major international events such as the Busan International Film Festival this month and the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in October.
Naver and KTO will also scale up the campaign benefits, handing out discount coupons for selected restaurants, cafes and cultural venues, as well as for express bus tickets and car rental services.
“Naver Map is a comprehensive platform with Korea’s largest data of information on local establishments and authentic user reviews. It has become an essential tool for travel in Korea as it allows travelers to explore Korea’s latest local trends and move around the country conveniently with a single app,” Choi Seung-rak, head of Naver’s map service, said.
“BE LOCAL will continue to help foreign users enjoy Korean travel more by introducing not just major tourist attractions but also emerging trendy spots and activities.”
The first round of the BE LOCAL campaign garnered a positive reception, especially from younger tourists seeking recommendations in popular Seoul neighborhoods such as Myeong-dong, Seongsu-dong, Itaewon and Hannam-dong.
“Naver Map is the most widely used map app not only among Koreans but also among international visitors. This campaign will introduce experiences that Koreans themselves prefer, while also offering tangible benefits to foreign tourists, thereby raising overall satisfaction with travel in Korea,” a KTO official said.
Since launching multilingual services for Naver Map in 2018, the company has been continuing to make the platform more accessible for international users.
Last year, Naver expanded multilingual support to translate Korean reviews and its filter options. In June, it updated the platform to allow foreign users to access Naver’s reservation, ordering and payment services through an easier verification process.