- On November 13, Minister YU In Chon and Chairman LEE Boo Jin held on-site discussions with officials from the tourism, beauty, fashion, and K-pop dance at the House of Sulwhasoo Bukchon, gathering insights from diverse areas

On the morning of November 13 (Mon), Minister YU In Chon of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) gathered insights on the new tourism trends favored by foreign tourists on-site at the House of Sulwhasoo Bukchon in Seoul, a “K-Beauty” experience space. The discussion focused on achieving the goal of attracting 20 million foreign tourists by 2024. The attendees include Visit Korea Committee Chairman LEE Boo-Jin, as well as officials from the tourism, beauty, fashion, and K-pop dance sectors.[1]

Minister YU convened this meeting to devise tourism strategies leveraging the global appeal and positive sentiments toward K-culture, translating them into demand for visits, particularly in the post-COVID-19 recovery phase of international tourism. In particular, the participants represent companies offering K-culture experience opportunities for foreign tourists. According to the global K-content tourism platform “Creatrip,” beauty salons affiliated with “Creatrip” have reported an eightfold increase in revenue from foreign customers. In addition, “1MILLION” has gained significant popularity among foreign visitors, with 80% of the K-dance academy’s students being foreign nationals. In light of this, Minister YU plans to engage with diverse participants, listening attentively to stories from the K-Culture scene that have emerged as new tourism trends, including beauty, such as cosmetics and plastic surgery, fashion, and K-pop dance. The Minister intends to discuss strategic approaches for attracting foreign tourists in connection with these emerging trends.

Minister YU said, “In anticipation of “Visit Korea Year 2023–2024,” we are committed to making every effort to discover and promote unique tourism content, enabling foreign tourists to visit and enjoy the birthplace of K-culture, South Korea, firsthand. Through partnerships with diverse private entities, including the Visit Korea Committee, we aim to attract 20 million foreign tourists by 2024.”