Korea collaborates with manga artist to attract Japanese tourists

Korea's tourism ministry collaborates with manga artist Masayuki Kusumi to attract Japanese tourists through video clips introducing Korean restaurants.

Korean cartoonist Huh Young-man, left, and Japanese manga artist Masayuki Kusumi meet to discuss ways to revitalize bilateral cultural tourism exchanges through food, at a restaurant in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Wednesday. [MINISTRY OF CULTURE, SPORTS AND TOURISM]

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism is looking to attract more Japanese tourists to Korea through a collaboration with manga artist Masayuki Kusumi, according to its press release Wednesday.

Masayuki is currently visiting Korea and will be introducing lesser-known Korean restaurants that “appeal to Japanese people,” through video clips. They will be filmed as a parody of the Japanese long-running drama “The Solitary Gourmet” (2012-2021), whose original material is a manga by the same title that Masayuki wrote from 1994 to 1996.

The culture ministry identified Masayuki as a figure who would be effective in attracting Japanese men to Korea, citing that 70 percent of the Japanese food drama's viewership was Japanese men.

It also said that the tourism market for Japanese men remains untapped in Korea. According to its press release, 43 percent of Japanese tourists to Korea after Covid-19 were in their 20s and 30s, and 66 percent were women.

“As Japanese men of all age groups have a higher willingness to travel abroad, the overseas travel market for Japanese men will have a significant growth potential in the future,” it said.

Masayuki also spoke with Korean cartoonist Huh Young-man on Wednesday to share ideas for revitalizing bilateral cultural tourism exchanges.

“I was surprised when President Yoon Seok Yeol mentioned the drama ‘The Solitary Gourmet’ at the Korea-Japan summit,” Masayuki told Huh. “I felt proud that my work contributed to the expansion of exchanges and cooperation between Korea and Japan.”

“In Tokyo's Koreatown, there is a long line of young people enjoying Korean hotteok, or honey-filled Korean fritters, and hotdogs. Young Japanese people who enjoy Korean food take trips to Korea. In this way, food is what makes people come to Korea.”

Two out of three Japanese tourists said that they are most looking forward to eating Korean food when they visit, according to the ministry’s survey of tourists in Korea in 2022.

Many Japanese people are also satisfied with their trips to Korea. The Korea Culture and Tourism Institute found in 2019 that 73.7 percent of Japanese tourists to Korea visited Korea at least twice.

Masayuki is best known as a manga artist who incorporates food into his works, such as "The Solitary Gourmet" and "Ms. Hana's Simple Cooking" (translated).

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]