Fun-filled 'Visit Korean Heritage Campaign' begins

The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation started this year’s campaign to attract local and international tourists to Korean cultural heritage sites with a kick-off ceremony Tuesday ...

Choi Eung-chon, left, the chief of Cultural Heritage Administration and Apple TV’s hit series “Pachinko” star Kim Min-ha pose for a photograph after she was appointed as this year's PR Ambassador of the "Visit Korean Heritage Campaign" on Tuesday at the Westin Josun Hotel in central Seoul. [CHA]

The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) and the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation started this year’s campaign to attract local and international tourists to Korean cultural heritage sites with a kick-off ceremony Tuesday morning in front of Hwangudan, a historic octagonal-shaped alter in the garden of the Westin Josun Hotel, central Seoul.

Though the year-long "Visit Korean Heritage Campaign" has been ongoing since 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic kept travelers at home. This year, with the pandemic no longer an issue, the CHA said an array of programs and promotional activities will really showcase what the campaign is all about.

The campaign includes 10 tour courses that make stops at 76 cultural heritage sites across Korea. Organizers have printed new "special passports" so travelers can collect stamps as they stop by the 76 cultural heritage sites selected this year.

“There’s an unprecedented level of interest in Korean culture all across the globe. This K-culture boom, or the wave of Korean culture known as Hallyu, is not a phenomenon that happened overnight. It is recognized as a product rooted in multiple layers of cultural heritage, which has steadily been developed throughout history,” said Choi Eung-chon, the chief of the CHA, during a press conference held Tuesday at the Westin Josun Hotel.

“We believe it is important, especially in such a time, to discover and actively promote to the world Korea’s cultural heritage sites, which are like the country's hidden jewels, and make sure we continue to narrow the gap between people and this beautiful cultural heritage.”

One of the tour courses, “The Royalty Route,” introduces heritage sites in and near Seoul, like Namhansanseong Fortress and Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon, as well as dolmen sites and Jeondeungsa, a temple in Ganghwa.

Another course, the “Gaya Culture Route,” brings travelers further afield to towns in southern Korea such as Haman, Gimhae, Namwon and Changnyeong to introduce them to the rich history and cultural legacy of the ancient federation of Gaya.

Lasting from first to sixth centuries, Gaya was a federation of several smaller states that produced abundant amounts of iron crafts and developed vibrant land and maritime trade routes with China, Japan and other polities on the Korean Peninsula.

Iron production and dissemination of iron products in ancient societies drove social change and development, and tombs and other heritage sites prove Gaya's cultural and social sophistication.

Apple TV’s hit series “Pachinko” star Kim Min-ha has been chosen once again as this year’s PR ambassador. Kim, who was last year's PR ambassador as well, said she’s just arrived in Korea to begin filming the second season of “Pachinko” after ending overseas location shootings.

The second season of "Pachinko" is scheduled to be released early next year.

“This year, I’ll also be filming in different locations in Korea, and I think it’s really meaningful that I can also promote different cultural heritage sites that belong there,” Kim said.

This year, she’ll again work with director Kim Tae-yong, who is married to actor Tang Wei, to film a promotional video for this year’s campaign on one of the 10 tour courses, the “Folk Music Route.”

This route introduces Korea’s namdo sori, of the folk music of the country's deep south.

Namdo sori is a major pillar of traditional Korean music. It includes vocal music such as epic chants known as pansori, folk songs known as minyo and farmers’ songs known as nodongyo.

The route makes stops at Gochang Pansori Museum, the National Intangible Heritage Center, Gwanghalluwon Garden in Namwon, the Training Center for Imsil Pilbong Nongak and other sites.

A scene from last year's promotional video taken in Haein Temple in Hapcheon features Kim drinking tea. [CHA]

Last year, the promotional video was taken in Haein Temple in Hapcheon, home of the Tripitaka Koreana.

Travelers interested in particular sites can individually travel to areas using a detailed guidebook prepared by the co-organizers.

“To help foreign travelers who may find it hard to navigate in rural areas of Korea, we are also working with travel agencies to create a program that includes accommodation and transportation. It may be ready this coming fall, the most beautiful season to travel to different cultural heritage sites in Korea,” an official from the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation said.

Information of the tour courses and more “Visit Korean Heritage Campaign” programs are available at https://chf.or.kr/cms/content/view/1369.

BY YIM SEUNG-HYE [yim.seunghye@joongang.co.kr]