Luxury travelers more captivated by Noryangjin fish market than fine dining

A foreign tourist handles a live octopus with his bare hands during a visit to Noryangjin fish market in May. Courtesy of O’ngo Food Communications

A decade ago, a foreign traveler made an unusual request while planning a trip to Korea. Money was no object. Rather than asking about the cost, he wanted to know what the finest travel experience Korea could offer would be. At the time, the request seemed unusual. In retrospect, however, it foreshadowed a question Korean tourism would eventually have to confront.

In recent years, Korea has seen a steady increase in affluent travelers from overseas. Culinary tours and cooking classes organized by O'ngo Food Communications now attract visitors from a wide range of countries, some of whom arrive by private jet. Rather than fitting a few more famous attractions into their itineraries, these travelers seek to experience the country's culture and way of life on their own terms. They place a premium on distinctive experiences that cannot easily be found elsewhere.

Last May, O'ngo Food Communications partnered with a global luxury travel network to organize a special culinary program showcasing Korea for travel industry professionals from around the world. Participants experienced traditional Korean liquor paired with contemporary Korean cuisine before visiting Noryangjin fish market to explore the country's seafood culture and its broader food scene.

Contrary to expectations, one of the places that drew the greatest interest was not an upscale restaurant but the fish market. Participants delighted in seeing live seafood up close and speaking with vendors, saying the experience offered them a glimpse into how Koreans live and a deeper understanding of the country's culture.

A foreign tourist touches a live king crab with her bare hands during a visit to Noryangjin fish market in May. Courtesy of O’ngo Food Communications

Food and gastronomy can serve as important windows into a country's culture and way of life, making it increasingly important to turn them into thoughtfully designed tourism experiences. What mattered in this case was not simply showing visitors around a market, but having an expert interpret Korea's food culture and lifestyle in an engaging and compelling way. It illustrates that luxury tourism does not necessarily mean lavish consumption. Its value can instead lie in experiences that offer a deeper understanding of a country's culture and everyday life.

Indeed, luxury tourism extends well beyond expensive meals and designer shopping. At its core is the ability to reinterpret places and cultural offerings around each traveler's interests and tastes while providing exclusive access and personalized experiences unavailable to most visitors. The value of luxury tourism is ultimately determined not by the scale of spending but by the rarity and distinctiveness of the experience. Delivering that requires sophisticated planning and operational expertise.

Korea already possesses tourism assets with global appeal, from K-pop and Korean cuisine to traditional culture and heritage. What it lacks is not content, but ways to reinterpret that content as an exceptional experience. This shift also aligns with the direction of the global tourism industry. UN Tourism, for instance, emphasizes not only visitor numbers but also tourism revenue and contributions to local communities as key measures of sustainable tourism. As a result, it will become increasingly important for Korea to transform its rich cultural and culinary resources into distinctive experiences and premium offerings.

Noryangjin fish market in Seoul bustles with visitors. Yonhap

Last year, for example, an ultra-high-net-worth family from the Middle East traveled to Korea by private jet but departed earlier than planned. Although they were highly satisfied with Korean culture and cuisine, they felt the country lacked the caliber of private services and VIP programs available at leading luxury destinations abroad. In another case, a traveler requested an exclusive after-hours visit to N Seoul Tower, but the arrangement could not be made because of existing regulations.

These high-value travelers can generate substantial tourism revenue from a single visit. Major destinations overseas actively court them by offering private access to cultural heritage sites and personalized concierge services. Korea likewise needs to reinterpret its existing cultural and culinary assets as premium experiences while strengthening the tourism infrastructure needed to support them.

Many of the world's best-known destinations are suffering from overtourism. Visitor numbers have risen, but residents' quality of life has deteriorated, and damage to tourism assets has grown increasingly severe. The time has come to consider not only how many people visit Korea, but also how much value tourism creates and how meaningfully it contributes to local communities.

The question raised by that traveler a decade ago remains just as relevant today: What is the finest experience that only Korea can offer? The next growth opportunity for Korean tourism may lie not in creating new destinations, but in reimagining the assets the country already possesses as truly exceptional experiences.

This column by O'ngo Food Communications CEO Choi Ji-a was originally published by the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, and translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.