Seoul tourism program turns hidden coins into lessons in inclusion
Summary
A Seoul tourism program brought 20 people, including people with disabilities, older adults and families with young children, to Namsangol Hanok Village and Seoul Namsan Gugak Center on Friday. The Seoul Tourism Organization said the Own Your Way Mingling Tour promoted Seoul as a city open to everyone. The program featured a coin hunt, a universal tourism quiz, a guided village tour and a talk show on accessible travel. The organization said 14 participants faced tourism-related accessibility barriers and used a wheelchair-lift minivan between activities.
Key Facts
- The tour was linked to The Find Seoul, a public art project by British artist Ryan Gander that hides specially designed coins around Seoul.
- Frieze Seoul said The Find Seoul runs from Aug. 31 through Sept. 10 and involves 16,000 hidden coins.
- The Seoul Tourism Organization provided a Seoul Danurim Tourism minivan equipped with a wheelchair lift for the participants.
- At Seoul Namsan Gugak Center, the talk show featured announcer Choi Guk-hwa, wheelchair dance sports athlete Chae Su-min, influencer Jung Sae-yan and Lee Dong-hee, director of the Seoul Danurim Tourism Center.
- Lee Yun-hwa, head of the Art & Mutual Growth Tourism Team, said universal tourism is a foundational environment that allows anyone to enjoy the city in their own way.
Participants in the "Own Your Way Mingling Tour" explore Namsangol Hanok Village in central Seoul. Courtesy of Seoul Tourism Organization
A Seoul tourism program brought 20 people, including people with disabilities, older adults and families with young children, together to explore traditional culture, public art and accessible travel.
The Seoul Tourism Organization said Friday that it held the "Own Your Way Mingling Tour" at Namsangol Hanok Village and Seoul Namsan Gugak Center as part of a campaign promoting Seoul as a city open to everyone.
The program included a hunt for hidden coins, a universal tourism quiz, a guided tour of Namsangol Hanok Village and a talk show on accessible travel.
The tour was linked to The Find Seoul, a public art project by British artist Ryan Gander that invites people to discover specially designed coins hidden around Seoul.
Frieze Seoul says The Find Seoul is running from Aug. 31 through Sept. 10, with 16,000 coins hidden across Seoul.
Participants searched for coins at Namsangol Hanok Village, using the hunt to explore the traditional cultural site from a different perspective.
The organization also provided a Seoul Danurim Tourism minivan equipped with a wheelchair lift so participants could move between activities.
The program continued at Seoul Namsan Gugak Center with a universal tourism talk show featuring announcer Choi Guk-hwa, wheelchair dance sports athlete Chae Su-min, influencer Jung Sae-yan and Lee Dong-hee, director of the Seoul Danurim Tourism Center.
Guests and participants discussed traveling on their own terms and what would make a universal tourism experience more accessible.
One wheelchair user said the lift-equipped minivan eased concerns about transportation and that hearing stories about people enjoying life in their own ways encouraged her to reconsider how she travels.
The Seoul Tourism Organization said 14 of the 20 participants were people facing tourism-related accessibility barriers and that they shared experiences involving travel information, transportation and assistance.
“Through the Mingling Tour, we reaffirmed that universal tourism serves as the foundational environment allowing anyone to enjoy the city in their own way,” said Lee Yun-hwa, head of the Art & Mutual Growth Tourism Team at the Seoul Tourism Organization. “The Seoul Tourism Organization will continue to dedicate its efforts to universal tourism so that Seoul remains an accessible and friendly city for everyone,” she added.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.
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