Park Jin-hai primarily focuses on K-dramas, entertainment shows and actor interviews. Beyond that, she also pens articles covering the broader arts scene, with a particular emphasis on classical music, dance and various aspects of lifestyle. Since joining The Korea Times in 2013, she has made significant contributions in the realms of hallyu (Korean wave), industry news and international affairs.
5.4 Club seeking tourism linking tourism, culture
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Choi Jung-wha, center, president of the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI), and Park Moo-jong, third from left, president and publisher of The Korea Times, pose with members of the 5.4 Club at the restaurant Congdu in central Seoul, Thursday. / Courtesy of CICI
By Park Jin-hai
By Park Jin-hai
Members of the 5.4 Club, a cultural tourism promotion organization, agreed at a meeting Thursday that the way to promote tourism in Seoul is to bridge tradition and modernity.
“It has been almost one year since we launched our club. Looking back, we have done many things to present more to see and experience for foreign visitors. But, there is more work to be done,” said Didier Beltoise, CEO of Cs, a consulting firm. He and his wife Choi Jung-wha, president of the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI), co-founded the non-profit club in March 2013.
The 5.4 Club was launched by CICI last year under the motto “Feeling Korea through Five Senses and Four Themes.”
Choi shared the ideas with its members about the club, including the recent Korea Image Awards ceremony that took place last month.
Choe Yong-won, chairman of Club Octagon, pointed out that the current tourism programs lack in showing off the beauty of the city’s nightscape. Choi agreed to some extent, and added that a night tour to Gyeongbok Palace which was introduced a few years ago would boost local tourism.
Darren Morrisch, general manager of the Grand InterContinental Hotel, expressed the concern over K-pop based tourism products and pointed out that they should rather place more focus on style, culture and quality tourism services.
“Japanese traditional ryokan inns are a great example of bridging tradition and modernity. A lot of foreign tourists think that it is a privilege to stay in a ryokan, since it provides a different level of service. It maintains the tradition of sedentary culture,” he said. The manager added that Korea should make more efforts to promote its charms to the outside world.
Beltoise said that to create more tourism attractions, the government should make a good use of combining traditional Korean houses, or “hanok” with other tourism products.
Sohn Ji-ae, president of Arirang television, brought up ideas she got from a recent policy talk she participated in with related government officials, saying, “We concluded that the ministries should work closely in coordination. For instance, to develop a farm tourism product, we need a comprehensive program that can show the traditional farms as well as giving chances to learn and experience farming. But, at present, it is even hard to find qualified farms meeting the basic requirement like having clean restrooms.”
Bernhard Brender, general manager of the Grand Hilton Seoul, talked about his experience with a Malaysian family who came to Korea to experience the temple stay program and said that those experiences have potential to be further developed into tourism resources. “The whole family of five opted to stay in the temple, while there were other options like shopping malls and casinos. Isn’t it wonderful to stay in a beautiful temple for three days to unwind and focus your mind?”