'Korean Wave' Attracting Female Tourists to S.Korea
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The popularity of Korean celebrities, TV dramas and movies in Asia, is helping to bring in the foreign tourists.
A study by Korea's tourism authority shows the number of female visitors have grown at the fastest rate.
Chang Yeo-jeong has details.
"Hallyu", the Korean Wave, or the remarkable popularity of Korean soap operas, dramas and pop music in Asian countries, is becoming the key to attracting females to Korea.
A recent study released by the Korea Tourism Organization shows, women accounted for more than 44 percent of the total number of foreign tourists to Korea in 2005.
The figure is up 2.3 percentage points from the previous year.
The proportion of women visiting has been on the rise since 1995, when they accounted for 33 percent of tourists.
Women made up nearly 39 percent of tourists in 2003 and 41.9 percent in 2004.
The study indicates that the main reason for this is the popularity of Korean TV drama heartthrobs such as "Winter Sonata's" Bae Yong-joon.
In fact, Bae Yong-joon was so popular in Japan that he's affectionately called Yonsama by his mainly female, Japanese fans.
Though Korean pop culture is spreading to many Asian countries, the study noted that female travelers from Japan and China have surged the most since 2003.
The country's tourist organization highlighted the need to diversify travel programs, which currently have a heavy focus on star-oriented marketing, to appeal to other travellers too.
Chang Yeo-jeong, Arirang News.
Video by following the link
A study by Korea's tourism authority shows the number of female visitors have grown at the fastest rate.
Chang Yeo-jeong has details.
"Hallyu", the Korean Wave, or the remarkable popularity of Korean soap operas, dramas and pop music in Asian countries, is becoming the key to attracting females to Korea.
A recent study released by the Korea Tourism Organization shows, women accounted for more than 44 percent of the total number of foreign tourists to Korea in 2005.
The figure is up 2.3 percentage points from the previous year.
The proportion of women visiting has been on the rise since 1995, when they accounted for 33 percent of tourists.
Women made up nearly 39 percent of tourists in 2003 and 41.9 percent in 2004.
The study indicates that the main reason for this is the popularity of Korean TV drama heartthrobs such as "Winter Sonata's" Bae Yong-joon.
In fact, Bae Yong-joon was so popular in Japan that he's affectionately called Yonsama by his mainly female, Japanese fans.
Though Korean pop culture is spreading to many Asian countries, the study noted that female travelers from Japan and China have surged the most since 2003.
The country's tourist organization highlighted the need to diversify travel programs, which currently have a heavy focus on star-oriented marketing, to appeal to other travellers too.
Chang Yeo-jeong, Arirang News.
Video by following the link
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