‘Visit Korea Years’ Campaign Begins Countdown

Opening ceremony takes place 50 days prior to the start of Visit Korea Years 2010-2012 Campaign

A ceremony took place at the Cheonggyecheon stream in downtown Seoul on Nov. 11 to celebrate the countdown of the opening of the “Visit Korea Years 2010-2012” campaign.
Among those on hand at the opening ceremony 50 days prior to the start of the Visit Korea Years campaign were First Lady and concurrent Honorary Chairperson of the Visit Korea Year Committee Kim Yoon-ok; Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon; Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon; Shin Dong-bin, chairman of the Lotte Business Group and concurrent chairman of the Visit Korea Year Committee; and other dignitaries, including parliamentary representatives and diplomatic corps members in Korea as well as committee members.
The Visit Korea Year Committee said it aims at attracting 10 million foreign visitors yearly during the 2010-2012 campaign. Korea recorded 6.8 million foreign tourists in 2008.
The event commenced with speeches by Visit Korea Year Committee Chairman Shin, Seoul Mayor Oh, First Lady Kim, MOCST Minister Yu and Hallyu (Korean Wave) superstar Lee Byung-hyon on the charms and beauty of Korean cuisine and recommended tourist attractions. It coincided with the lighting ceremony of the Seoul Lantern Festival with supporters of the campaign, stewardesses, taxi drivers, hotel bellboys and tour guides, who cater to foreign tourists, participating.
Committee Chairman Shin said in his opening speech, “The campaign will be pushed the way foreign tourists can be attracted with creative ideas, as tourism circles take the initiative.” He urged the general public to aggressively participate in the campaign in order to make the drive a nationwide one while he delivered a message to welcome people from around the world in a whole-hearted manner.
The highlight of the opening ceremony was the commemorative “Talk Show” in which First Lady Kim, Minister Yu and actor Lee participated and pledged their determination to make the campaign a success.
First Lady Kim, who concurrently serves as the honorary chairman of the Visit Korea Year Committee and chairman of the Committee for Globalizing Korean Cuisine, said “I expect the campaign to serve as a good opportunity to publicize to people from around the world Korea’s natural charms as well as Korean cuisine, hanbok (the Korean traditional costume) and old palaces. She appealed for the participants to extend more interest in the campaign.
She recommended as one of her impressive tourist attractions the “olleh” promenade paths on Jeju Island on which she walked together with foreign students studying in Korea this past June, saying that she felt a home-away-from-home coziness rather than like she was traveling in an unfamiliar place, and she expect visitors to “taste foods as mothers cook food for us ― with all their hearts.”
Following the first lady’s visit to the promenade paths on Jeju, the tourist attractions saw a 1.5-fold jump in visitors, and such trekking courses in Mt. Jiri and other places are under development.
Minister Yu said, “Tourism may be a new growth engine under the low-carbon, green growth paradigm, and it can be a channel for publicizing Korea to the world and for us to communicate with people around the globe.” He expressed the hope the campaign would be an opportunity to make Korea’s beauty and warmth known around the world.
Actor Lee Byung-hyon appeared in a film designed to publicize Korea’s charms along with Japanese actress Chiaki Kurayama. Lee is expected to serve as a publicity ambassador for Korean tourism. nw

(top right, sclockwise) Shin Dong-bin, chairman of the Visit Korea Year Committee, delivers a speech at a ceremony to celebrate the 50-day countdown to the opening of the “Visit Korea Years 2010-2012 “campaign.; First Lady Kim Yoon-ok, flanked by Minister of Culture,
Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon and Hallyu superstar Lee Byung-hyun, speaks on the stage,; and a general view of the ceremony.

Spectators along Cheonggye Stream get a glimpse of diverse and colorful lanterns hailing from countries around the world during the Seoul Lantern Festival.