Super Junior most-favored hallyu group as travel companion

Published on 2011/06/13 | Source

K-pop group Super Junior

By Lee Hyo-sik

Foreign fans of hallyu, or the Korean Wave, picked K-pop group Super Junior as the hallyu star they would most like to travel with in Korea, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) said Monday.

KTO conducted an online survey through a VisitKorea website (www.visitkorea.or.kr) set up to promote Korean tourism among non-Koreans from May 11 through May 31. A total of 12,085 people from 102 different countries took the survey and gave answers in seven categories.

When asked about which hallyu star they would like to travel with in Korea, K-pop group Super Junior was first among 30 hallyu stars, followed by Big Bang and JYJ.

The boy band received votes not only from fans in China and other Asian countries, but also from those in Europe, KTO said.

"Reflecting a growing popularity of K-pop in France and other European countries in recent days, 2,158 people from 35 European nations took part in the survey", a KTO official said.

Still, Asia is the largest fan base for Korean singers and other hallyu stars as Asians accounted for 77 percent of the survey respondents, the official said, adding that 9,253 people from 32 Asian countries took the survey. Nearly 90 percent of the respondents were women, while 84 percent were in their teens, 20s and 30s.

Hallyu fans in China, Southeast Asia and Europe favored K-pop over other genres.

But among Japanese fans, Korean drama and movies were more popular than K-pop. Bae-yong-joon, better known to the Japanese as "Yon-Sama", was picked as the most-favored travel companion among Japanese survey takers.

Many respondents said if they came to Korea, they would like to tour popular tourism destinations, engage in various cultural activities and attend hallyu stars' concerts.

"It is quite significant that hallyu has gone beyond Asia and reached Europe and other parts of the world. I think the popularity of K-pop and Korea's other cultural contents will help the nation attract more foreign visitors", the KTO official said.

Over the weekend, S.M. Entertainment organized two sold-out concerts in Paris for K-pop fans in Europe. They featured Girls' Generation, Super Junior, TVXQ, SHINee and f(x), all of them popular girl groups or boy bands who have enjoyed a recent surge in international fame.

"슈퍼주니어와 한국여행 하고 싶어요"

한국관광공사는 13일 웹사이트 Visitkorea의 전세계 외국인 회원을 대상으로 실시한 설문조사 결과를 발표했다.

5월 11일부터 31일 동안 진행한 이번 설문조사에는 총 102개국 12,085명이 참가했다. 공사가 운영중인 페이스북과 트위터를 통한 사전 설문조사 및 각 언어권별 대표 포털 사이트의 상위 검색어 분석을 통하여 한류스타 후보 30명을 선정하고 '한국을 함께 여행하고 싶은 한류스타', '관심한류 분야', '한류스타와 함께하고 싶은 체험' 등 7개 문항을 조사했다.

1위를 차지한 슈퍼주니어는 중국, 대만, 동남아시아 등 아시아권을 넘어 프랑스 등 유럽지역에서도 많은 지지를 얻었다. 빅뱅과 JYJ가 그 뒤를 이었다.

제상원 해외스마트관광팀장은 "전세계 한류팬들을 대상으로 실시한 최초의 설문조사라는 의미가 크다"면서 "결과를 바탕으로 보다 다양한 한류마케팅을 적극 전개해 더 많은 외국인이 한국을 찾도록 노력할 것"이라고 밝혔다.

한편 전체 응답자의 77%(32개국, 9,253명)는 전통적 한류 인기지역인 아시아였다. 응답자의 90%는 여성이었으며, 10-30대 응답자가 84%(10대 17%, 20대 49%, 30대 18%)에 달해 한류 붐의 주축은 아시아의 젊은 여성들임을 알 수 있었다. 유럽 35개국 2,158명이 설문에 참여해 최근 프랑스에서의 K-POP 열기를 반영했다.