'Hallyu' fans invited to travel around nation

Published on 2012/05/28 | Source

By Yun Suh-young

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is hosting "Touch Korea Tour", a campaign to invite 15 "hallyu" (Korean wave) fans from around the world to tour the nation, starting next month.

The KTO said Monday out of 2,000 candidates who submitted user created content (UCC) from over 100 countries, seven were selected as winners, while the remaining eight were chosen by regional KTO offices overseas.

The Touch Korea Tour Contest will give exclusive tour opportunities to the 15 fans, who will be divided into three groups, each of which will be given a week to experience Korean culture throughout the nation. The tour will be divided into three themes _ fun, food and fashion _ and last from June 7 to 27. The groups will participate in the tour consecutively.

The participants will be able to hang out with K-pop stars such as 2PM and Miss A for a day. The stars, who are also honorary ambassadors for the KTO, will help them learn more about Korea's charms while also create special memories for them.

The groups will be given missions and the one that does best will receive a "Korea Pass" worth 5 million won to spend at tourist sites and shopping malls around the country.

"At this year's Touch Korea Tour Contest, the number of applicants from English-speaking countries increased significantly, making us realize how well K-pop was being received around the world", said Shin Pyeong-sup, executive director of the KTO brand and product department.

"We hope to provide more dynamic opportunities for hallyu fans to fully experience Korea".

ysy@koreatimes.co.kr