K-tourism Roadshow in New York showcases Korean culture overseas

The K-tourism Roadshow event in New York, which showcases Korea’s traditional and contemporary culture, successfully wrapped up over the weekend, Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Monday. Hosted and organized by the...

People try out hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) at a booth at the K-tourism Roadshow in New York City last week. [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

The K-tourism Roadshow event in New York, which showcases Korea’s traditional and contemporary culture, successfully wrapped up over the weekend, Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced Monday.

Hosted and organized by the Culture Ministry and the Korea Tourism Organization, the event took place at Rockefeller Center and Times Square from Wednesday to Saturday.

It was one of many events planned for Visit Korea Year 2023-2024, a two-year project launched by the Korean government in an attempt to bring more international tourists to the country. It also commemorates the 70th anniversary of the Korea-U.S. alliance.

A man tries Korean chicken at a booth at the K-tourism Roadshow in New York City last week. [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

The ministry said New York is one of its core interests because the United States is the largest outbound tourist market, according to expenditure data from last year. It ranked third this year, in terms of countries' tourists to Korea, following Japan and China. As of May 2023, some 390,000 Americans visited the country that month; recovering 97.4 percent of its visitors from before the pandemic, in May 2019.

The K-tourism Roadshow aimed to attract 1 million American visitors to the country, and it did so by curating booths based on popular K-content themes. They included an information booth on traveling in Korea, a K-pop music video hanbok (traditional Korean clothes) try-on booth and a Korean fried chicken booth. There was also a Blue House photo op spot, as the former presidential office has now been turned into a popular tourist attraction.

A dance group performs at the K-tourism Roadshow in New York City last week. [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

“The K-tourism Roadshow event in New York this year saw over 100,000 visitors,” Park Jong-taek, director-general of the Tourism Policy Bureau at the Culture Ministry, said. “It proves just how much of a hot issue Korea is in the United States right now. Not only is the growing trend in the scale of American tourists worth noting, but we’re looking forward to continuing the K-tourism Roadshow event set for Los Angeles in August.”

BY SHIN MIN-HEE [shin.minhee@joongang.co.kr]