Virtual school tours to Korea grow popular in Hong Kong, Taiwan

Middle school students of Christ College in Hong Kong participate in the Korea Tourism Organization's “Digital School Tour to Korea” program at their school, April 15. Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization

By Jun Ji-hye

A program offering virtual school tours to Korea, operated by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), has become popular in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.

The KTO said its “Digital School Tour to Korea” program, which was designed in response to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, enables students in other countries to interact with Korean students via video conferencing and virtually experience Korean food, K-pop and tourist attractions in the country.

Since the organization's Hong Kong branch began the program on April 15, targeting 120 middle school students of Christ College, the program has been drawing attention from other schools. Some 20 schools in Hong Kong have since applied for the program for their 3,900 students.

The number is higher than the 3,209 students there who visited Korea in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic started.

In Taiwan, Kaohsiung Girls' Senior High School became the first to participate in the program in May. The KTO said some 400 Taiwanese students are expected to participate in the program annually.

The program will begin in Japan in July targeting 1,200 students.

The KTO said the program will offer a wider range of content after reviewing the requests made by each school.

“We hope our Digital School Tour to Korea program will lead to a recovery in international interactions between students that were almost suspended due to the pandemic,” said Kim Yong-jae, who head the KTO's Northeast Asia team. “Through the program, we also expect Korea to become a more popular school trip destination after the public health crisis comes to an end.”