By Ko Dong-hwan
Seoul has launched a bus tour package visiting major cities and provinces to introduce foreigners to attractions outside the capital.
“K Travel Bus,” a one-night package, will be available from Memorial Day, a statutory holiday, on Tuesday. The tour will visit Daegu, Ganghwa Island next to Incheon, Gangwon Province, South Jeolla Province and North Gyeongsang Province.
Guests will be able to experience a foot massage using Korean traditional medicine, pick fruit in orchards, taste tea at the home of independence fighter Kim Koo from the Japanese colonial period (1910-45), go ski jumping, play a gayageum (Korean zither) while dresses in hanbok (Korean traditional clothes) and make hahoetal masks.
Seoul Metropolitan Government signed the tourist deal with the regional governments in April. Seoul will extend the destinations to six by the end of the next year and to eight by 2019.
K Travel Bus was previously “K Shuttle,” a similar service for foreigners launched by Seoul in 2012. The business was taken over by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2015 with the present title on board. With a launch of the latest tour package, Seoul re-acquired the business.
“We hope K Travel Bus becomes a signature tourism product representing Seoul and other regions, contributing to regional economies by encouraging partnerships between Seoul and local governments,” a SMG official said.