Sudden spike in South Korea’s tourism-edited by Aishee Biswas

South Korea is a mountainous country, with most of its heights located in the central and northeastern regions, including the Tismak Mountains. The plains are extensive, and the country is home to significant rivers, such as the Han, Nakdong, Geum, Buk han, and Nam han. The country boasts many islands, and it has vast forested areas. The weather is hot, humid, and rainy.

 

The Korean people traditionally follow the clan system, with a strong emphasis on the family foundation.  They respect their family's traditions and elders, behave humbly with high-class people, and are friendly with their friends and lower-class people. South Korea has many historical monuments, including the Palace of Changdeokgung, Hwaseong Fortress, Dongdaemun Gate, and others. It also has numerous entertainment venues, such as Everland Seoul, Seoul Tower, Seogang Bridge, and others.

South Korea is a highly advanced country in terms of technology, with impressive statistics in various industries, such as steel consumption, internet speed, shipbuilding, research and development, construction machinery, annual car production, electronics, and textile industries. It is also a significant contributor to the world export market.

South Korea's visual media and mass communication have had a considerable impact on attracting foreign tourists to the country, with numerous private television channels and networks. The Korean cultural wave, also known as "Korean Wave" or "Hallyu," has contributed to the country's globalization process. The country has produced new cultural productions that combine traditional and modern elements, such as Korean dramas, fashion, cuisine, and hair styles, encouraging tourism policies, promoting Korean language and meditation, and more.

 

South Korea uses various visual media and mass communication products, such as movies, Korean dramas, festivals, concerts, and entertainment programs, to showcase its culture, civilization, natural beauties, and recreational and historical places to the world and attract people to travel to the country.

 

The Korean travel market has shown significant growth in terms of outbound tourism and export revenue for the United States, driven by the Korean people's desire for international travel and the widespread dissemination of information through various media platforms. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the travel industry worldwide, including in Korea. In 2021, there was a drastic decrease of 95.7 percent in international travel by Koreans, compared to 2019, due to international travel restrictions. Nonetheless, Korea's successful handling of the pandemic has positioned it as one of the first rebounding markets and a top inbound travel destination for the United States. Domestic travel has resumed more quickly than international travel, with Koreans choosing safer alternatives such as road trips and outdoor activities. U.S. airlines resumed flights from July 2020, and as more countries reopen and lift restrictive measures, Koreans are preparing to travel overseas. Recent surveys indicate that over 85 percent of Koreans are eager to plan a vacation in the next six months, with overseas travel being the most anticipated activity.

 

Before the pandemic, the U.S. was one of the top five destinations for Korean outbound travelers, primarily due to its unique tourism opportunities, shopping, fine dining, theme parks, cultural attractions, and relatively affordable golf experiences. Korean visitors to the U.S. spent an average of 4,900 USD per trip in 2019, generating over 11 billion USD in tourism revenue. However, the pandemic has posed significant challenges to U.S. tourism exports. In 2019, Korea was the sixth largest source of inbound travel to the U.S., behind Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Japan, and China.

 

The above stated reasons are the major contributing factors for the sudden boost in South Korea’s tourism. However, the obsession over Koreans is also impacting. The media intake from Korea has spread out a lot, which is a good thing, but also crossing the borderline. This is not a healthy thing to follow. People have gone overboard with the obsession and have started to immerse themselves to the extent of forgetting their own identities just to settle in the country. The representation and liking towards anything related to South Korea has made people forget about their own culture. There are examples of people who have gotten unhinged and have started to recognize themselves as Korean, which is treacherous. 

Whether one likes it or not apart from nature, technology and culture this is also one of the reasons why tourism in South Korea has skyrocketed.