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ZEROBASEONE's Matthew Seok drives 40 mil. views in Seoul's new tourism push
ZEROBASEONE member Matthew Seok shops in Seoul’s hip Seongsu-dong neighborhood as part of the Seoul Tourism Organization's "Met U in Seoul" campaign video. Courtesy of Seoul Tourism Organization
By Lee Kyung-min
In its ongoing effort to translate global enthusiasm for Korean pop culture into real-world foot traffic, Seoul’s municipal tourism agency has turned to modern idol culture to power its latest promotional drive — and municipal officials say the payoff came in the tens of millions.
The Seoul Tourism Organization, the city’s official tourism promotion body, said Tuesday that its digital campaign starring Matthew Seok, a member of the popular K-pop group ZEROBASEONE, surpassed 40 million cumulative views across its official Visit Seoul social media platforms in just over two weeks.
Titled "Met U in Seoul," the 12-part video series was designed to introduce international audiences to what organizers describe as Seoul-style hospitality. The campaign followed Seok as he toured a curated mix of the capital's iconic landmarks and trendy neighborhoods, including the hip fashion hub of Seongsu, the waterfront spaces at Jamwon Hangang Park and the traditional stone-walled alleyways of Seosulla Street.
The rollout — which spanned teaser clips, main promotional videos, social media challenges and behind-the-scenes interviews — was distributed in four languages across 12 distinct social channels starting June 29. Beyond the view count, the agency reported roughly 980,000 post interactions and an influx of about 95,000 new social media followers, a demographic city officials view as prime prospective travelers who will continue receiving city promotional updates.
An accompanying social media contest underscored the campaign's global reach, attracting 5,661 participants across English, Japanese, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese platforms — resulting in a competitive entry ratio of roughly 82 to 1.
The campaign highlights a deliberate postpandemic strategy by Seoul authorities to move away from generic broadcast marketing in favor of hyper-targeted, platform-specific content. By tailoring media to specific international demographics rather than releasing identical material worldwide, Visit Seoul has built a combined digital audience of approximately 3 million followers.
Capitalizing on the momentum, the tourism organization plans to expand its targeted digital marketing during the second half of the year, focusing heavily on Chinese- and Japanese-speaking traveler markets while increasing promotional content centered on the city's nightlife and evening culture.
"Through this campaign, we connected the global K-pop fandom directly to Seoul tourism, further expanding Visit Seoul's international reach," said Won Jong, head of the agency's International Tourism and MICE Division. "We will continue executing strategic digital marketing tailored to key markets so that growing online interest leads to actual visits."
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.