Seoul's Emergence as a Major Tourist Destination

Seoul has transformed into a major tourist city, attracting foreigners with trendy spots and sophisticated experiences, reflecting a shift in global tourism preferences.

### Seoul's Emergence as a Major Tourist Destination
* 🏙️  Seoul has transformed into a major tourist destination, with **various neighborhoods attracting both local and foreign visitors**.
* 📸  Influencers play a significant role in promoting trendy spots, leading to **increased popularity among Southeast Asian tourists**.
* 🍽️  The city's food scene is a major draw for tourists, with many **Instagram-worthy restaurants** and **unique culinary experiences**.
* 🗺️  Foreign tourists often rely on **different review platforms than locals**, creating challenges in **identifying popular spots**.
* 🌐  Seoul's appeal is expanding beyond traditional tourist areas, with **new neighborhoods becoming popular destinations**.
* 🎭  The city's pop culture, including **K-pop and dramas**, has a strong influence on tourism, especially from **Asian countries**.
* 🌍  As Asia's middle class grows, Seoul is poised to benefit from **increased tourism**, with potential for **further market expansion**.
* 🛤️  Seoul's success as a tourist destination reflects changing preferences, with **safety, cleanliness, and curated experiences** becoming more important than adventure.

Oh, I feel like I'm in Bali right now. When you came here, it reminded me of the old days. Do you remember Castle Praha next to Hongdae? Oh, you remember! Before 1989, South Korea didn't have the freedom to travel abroad, and as a country where people of similar ethnicity gather, the history of creating opportunities to indirectly experience foreign cultures seems quite long. But back then, if it felt a bit kitschy, now after about 30 to 40 years of effort, it feels like it truly belongs there. It seems like there are many more sophisticated things now. These days, Seoul is even better than actually going there. With many things like this, there is a trend where foreign tourists come to Seoul as a place where they can experience various Asian cultures in one place. Have you ever had the experience of really feeling that Seoul has become a major tourist destination these days?

I have two neighborhoods where I feel that a lot. In Seoul, there is one around the Han River, you know, that neighborhood where there are shops with foreigners lining up. We don't know, but there are many trendy shops for foreign tourists. An influencer who is very famous in Southeast Asia introduced that place. So now, when Vietnamese friends come to Seoul, they must go there. It becomes a place like that. However, Korean people may not know how powerful that brand is worldwide. But because we are adults, we may not know. The second one is in Sinsa-dong, there is a cosmetics store called Temblinds, and my photo is displayed prominently there. But in front of it, there are always foreign tourists lining up to take pictures. In the past, when tourists came to Korea, they would go to places like Bukchon or palaces.

I felt like it was similar to traditional Hanbok, but these days, one of the significant changes is that many foreign tourists are visiting hot spots in Seoul. Recently, I went for a walk with my dog on Nodeul Island. On the way to Nodeul Island, there is the Hive headquarters building. In front of it, there were a huge number of people in their late teens and early twenties from various nationalities gathered closely together. I saw them waiting to take photos there, as they had come to Seoul on the day of their favorite idol's concert and were heading to work in the evening. Five days ago, my wife and I went on a date to Myeongdong after a long time. I couldn't hear Korean at all now, and I also felt a bit of pride as a Korean. For example, in France, the neighborhood of Marais, where Jewish bagel shops used to be gathered in the past, has now turned into a shopping center for tourists.

In the past, the neighborhood known for its artists, the Montmartre district, has now become a neighborhood with mostly stores for tourists. No matter how much the French adults talk about how much these streets were cherished by the Parisians in the past, as long as it becomes a tourist spot and attracts many people, it's considered a success, right? That's what I thought as an outsider. But now, even in Korea, there are neighborhoods that have become what we commonly call tourist traps. I realized that Seoul has become a major tourist city to the extent that I can now understand the sentiment of the people in cities like Paris. In Korea now, there are many dessert places where even foreigners line up. When I recently went to New York, I stood in line at a bagel shop from the perspective of a tourist.

There is one difference that I noticed while sitting. The trendy places I visited in New York were not good for taking pictures. They were messy, like trash cans, not organized. Those places in New York have the most history and tradition. So, when I see these somewhat messy popular restaurants in New York, and then I see the popular restaurants in Korea where tourists line up, they have that Instagram-worthy vibe, you know, that kind of sentiment. Talking about this sentiment, it's like moss. Just this, just this, this kind of thing, this kind of thing, don't post that kind of thing. My French friend came to Korea and happened to come here. Then they will post it on Instagram. Koreans, with our traditional macarons, know what they did. They put fried food instead of cream in the middle. But that went viral, right? So, when things like this come out, there are reasons, right? Carelessly.

I have taken all the pictures without touching anything, I need to check to be able to eat, right? It tastes good. When I think about it, from the perspective of foreigners, there is a unique combination that can only be tasted in Korea. Originally, in Korea, when foreign foods come in, they keep adjusting the taste to suit the Korean palate. So, when you look at this, there's salmon toast, membo shot, and a little bit of mozzarella. But it's delicious. They fry the bread and seem to be good at making the taste more mainstream. I asked the labor representative what the secret of popularity is, and he said it's delicious but not too sweet. It seems that whether you do Instagram or not, it makes a big difference when tourists go to a country to find good restaurants. The U.S. seems to focus mainly on ordinary places when tourists look for good restaurants. First of all, many Americans use.

Google Maps, as well as apps like Elp and Lera, are widely used. Because services like Google Maps are used by many people in various countries, even when foreign tourists go to the United States, they can see the same platform where Americans rate places, so I can find a house to visit. We call this diss. So, when I try to find a house through a certain route, this is what I mean. On the other hand, platforms that many Koreans use are local Korean language platforms like Naver. So, I compared the ratings of some famous dessert shops in Seoul on Naver Maps and Google Maps, and found that there are about seven to eight times more ratings on Naver. This means that when foreign tourists come to Korea, it is not easy to identify which place is popular based on the platform used by Koreans.

Some places seem to excel in marketing by utilizing the fact that it is difficult for foreigners to access reviews and ratings left by people. When I went to work in Gahoe-dong, I visited a cafe. It's not a super famous cafe in Korea, but the line was incredibly long. Interestingly, everyone in line was a foreigner. Strangely, there were stickers on the door that we usually see in Europe. There was a Tripadvisor rating of 4.9 and a huge number of Google reviews, around 4.8. However, if you look on Naver, there are no reviews. So, it seems like the owner of this cafe, located in the Gahoe-dong Hanok Village where many foreigners visit, made a decision to turn this place into a must-visit cafe for Koreans. It seems like they are putting a lot of effort into managing their Tripadvisor and Google ratings.

It's strategic. So, what I've been watching these days are fashion brands and perfume brands in Korea that utilize Seoul's image in the world to attract a lot of online orders from overseas without marketing to Koreans. Many people use this strategy. However, considering that Korea is facing a population decline crisis, I thought that from now on, those who run their own businesses should benchmark this. It seems like a tremendous insight strategy. If you do business in Korea, pay a lot of attention to the rating platforms used by foreigners. This could be even more significant. If an influencer from that country comes and says, If you go to Seoul, you must visit this place, it will attract more foreign visitors.

It seems like Maps, but then the ratings go up again, so when people see that, more foreign people come, and then a positive cycle seems to happen. As a result, many tourists gather in places with emotions, sophistication, trendiness, and good photo spots. In countries like Europe or the United States, the history of popular publications is longer than in Korea. The best experts spread information, there are intermediate experts who interpret that, and the general public accesses information through various media, so information has been filtered from top to bottom for a long time. But in Korea, there has always been a need for educational information. So, people ask local experts for horizontal information sharing, like asking a neighbor who has experienced something before me, in a similar level or environment.

It seemed strong, and because of that, we also talked before about what we should eat in Florence. So, the three famous tiramisu restaurants mentioned on the blog were familiar to us from the start. Rather than simply giving a score in a centralized food platform, there are things like celebrities liking it, and believing in their taste, going there to try it out. From that point on, we have had experiences, and marketing has already evolved accordingly. When you go to a good restaurant, there are all five senses involved. In this atmosphere, there are certain feelings that can be felt, such as the texture when touching the food, the aroma, and the taste. Ultimately, computers rely on visual media through monitors, so sensations like touch, smell, and taste are all...

Sometimes only the visuals remain, and it's a bit sad that there are many houses where the discrepancy between the visuals, the facade, and the taste is quite significant. Therefore, those places that have become famous based on ratings seem to have more information on what to order and how to eat when you go there. When you look at Instagram uploads, they are so beautiful. The plating is so beautiful, and there are many things like that, or they provide some kind of performance. Yes, yes, I thought about how tourists can determine how attractive a country is. Oh, if you go to a certain country, you must eat this. For example, if you go to Italy, you must eat pasta, if you go to Japan, you must eat ramen, if you go to India, you must eat curry. But if you take it one step further, when you go to a country, you should eat which brand. Looking back on my college days, when I visited the United States,

I should have gone to a place called Starbucks and had a caramel frappuccino before Starbucks came to Korea. Also, I should have gone to Tower Records to listen to music. Ah, the memories. But in a country where they say, Please consume this brand when you come to this country, there aren't many countries like the U.S. that do that. However, these days in Korea, brands popular among foreigners like Noted Donuts, London Bagel Museum, and Timbrelin's are increasing, showing that Korea's tourism industry has also improved in a certain aspect. But it's interesting that there aren't many Korean food brands that foreigners seek when they come to Korea. Lately, Yangnyeom and Nongshim, CJ processed foods, export a lot. So now, the export value of Korean ramen has exceeded $100 million per month.

Even if it costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, even 1 billion dollars a month, there are Korean restaurants that are very popular among foreigners, especially those that have received Michelin stars. I recently went to a traditional Korean restaurant, and more than half of the customers were foreigners. So, I thought about why there are no popular brands in high-end cities. Probably because there are so many Korean restaurants in Korea, there may not be a need to turn that into a brand. In the early 20s when we were backpacking overseas, there weren't many proper pizzas, hamburgers, or Japanese-style ramen in Korea. That's right. So, we go to those countries to experience the authentic taste and bring it back. This was very important. However, the culture shock I experienced was when I went to Berlin, I think I was born in '89.

When I asked what to eat in Berlin, there is a very famous handmade burger place. When we think with our generation's mindset, if we go to Berlin, we should eat schnitzel, bratwurst, or currywurst. Why would we go there and eat handmade burgers? But if you ask what has changed in the meantime, with the globalization of cuisine, you can find foods from every country everywhere. When we were young, some people insisted on having Korean food even when they went abroad, saying, I don't want to eat something so old-fashioned like McDonald's. They would say it's old-fashioned and that they only eat local food. They would come back after eating to their heart's content that day, saying, I know how to travel. But now, just because you went to a certain country, it doesn't mean you have to eat only traditional food from that country, right? When I went to New York this time, do you know what I ate and came back? I had budae jjigae, it was delicious. But why.

I think you might have thought about having army stew in New York, but now, going to New York and having army stew has become a different experience. What really surprised me was that it was in Korea Town in New York. I thought most of the customers would be Korean, but about 80% were just New Yorkers. It was a very surprising experience. Comparing it to Seoul, a newly emerging tourist city, and Paris, where I lived as a traditional stronghold for a few years, there seems to be a difference in the type of people who mainly enjoy each city. To truly enjoy Paris, you need to know a bit about French poets, appreciate art, and have a fantasy about ballet symphonies. Paris looks more beautiful and stylish in every corner, so mainly middle-aged Americans who have studied European humanities liked it the most.

It seems like they had the most powerful purchasing power in the world traditionally, so they sold luxury goods, high-end restaurants, and sucked up all the profits from global tourism. It seems like there is such a history, but in Korea, there is a saying oppa budae, showing that Korea's pop culture is led by teenagers, women in their 20s, and young consumers. In my actual experience, when French siblings came to Korea, the younger brother, who is a few years younger than me, wanted to go to Bukchon Village to eat Korean barbecue and stay in a hanok in Jeonju, just as his older brother mentioned. On the other hand, the younger sister wanted to go to the street in front of Hongdae where they sell affordable fashion and jewelry for students. When she went in, she didn't come out. Originally, these kids in Korea

It was the culture that dragged us out, for us. It was so good. That's why I looked for the data. I thought it would come out. Now, when will the data come out? I'm waiting. Which country's people come to Korea the most in terms of tourism? Japan is first with over 2 million people, followed by China. The U.S., Taiwan, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia follow. But as I mentioned earlier, it's connected to that stylish culture on Instagram. Because people in this region especially like K-pop, dramas, and appreciate Korea's sophistication a lot. They are more attracted to Korea to seek sophistication. But now, it is said that the center of consumption is shifting more towards Asia. This is because the economic growth rate in Asia, especially in India and Southeast Asia, is higher compared to other regions.

According to a McKinsey report, it is said that by 2030, more than half of the global middle class will be living in Asia. If we consider these people as potential tourists and customers who could visit Korea in the future, then looking at the total addressable market of our business, we may wonder how large the target is. In that case, we could think that the market in Korea is very large. In the case of Paris, it was a place that dominated print media. Therefore, countries like the UK and the USA, where the middle class was formed during the era of print media, came to idealize Paris. Similarly, in our country, which is dominating media in the digital age, we are now capturing the younger generation growing up in the digital media era. I think we have now caught this middle class of the digital media era. When I looked at the data, what did I hear? Of course, teenagers in Europe.

Young people may like such sophisticated culture, but I had such thoughts. When I think about Europe, I wonder what they think when they see Paris Baguette here and London Bagel Museum there. I was curious. I recently interviewed Professor Land, one of the top authorities on studying generational differences in the United States. We, older people, tend to call younger people mz as a group. But Dr. Zen Twinge said that the M generation and the Z generation in the United States are completely opposite at least. However, in Korea, we also adapt a little. Millennials are a generation of great positivity. If we think about it in Korea, living for a month is like YOLO. This is now the sentiment of millennials. My generation grew up experiencing things like the Russia-Ukraine war and the coronavirus.

I wanted safety with me, so it was a moment when the emotions were completely turned 180 degrees. That was the process of m's Z. So, in reality, now there is a graph. Would you do activities that could be risky to your body but very fun? The highest generation that answered yes was the millennial generation, not the Z generation. Absolutely not, I would not do it. The highest generation was the Z generation. Oh, it's fun. But looking at this, one thing I thought about the reason why Seoul is emerging as a tourist destination. What I thought was, in the past, our country had a very low adventure score, right? Yes, it was very low in terms of sexiness. With this, we've made a lot of progress. But what my generation pursues is safety and cleanliness. So, although adventure scores have risen worldwide, the country that provides the best experience guaranteed with safety, cleanliness, and curation is which country? Our country, Dubai, Singapore, and countries like these. These countries nowadays.

I think this is the context of attracting a huge number of tourists, so even when I was in my 20s, I used to think that Korea could never become a tourist destination like Rome, seeing the know-how of preserving cultural relics in places like Rome and adventures in Southeast Asian countries. Our generation, on the other hand, rather than changing ourselves, as the generation changes, younger generations who prefer clean, safe, and predictable experiences are emerging as the main consumers. So, seeing Seoul rising, I realize that no one knows how the market will change. There is a saying Never say never, right? Instead of saying I should do that if something is doing well, it's more like if I work hard on what I am specialized in, the day will come when I shine. Showing this kind of attitude is also the appearance of Seoul shining, isn't it? [MUSIC] Yes, today we are talking about tourism in Korea.

I talked about Korea. If there is a place where foreign tourists line up a lot in the neighborhood where you live, please leave a comment, and we will go there too. Our uncles also want to go to trendy places. If you're not telling us because you're worried we might come, then we will find more interesting spots in various ways next time. Thank you, goodbye.

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The Transformation of Seoul into a Major Tourist Destination

Seoul has evolved into a major tourist destination, offering diverse cultural experiences for foreign visitors.

Trendy neighborhoods around the Han River and Sinsa-dong have become hotspots for tourists, attracting people from all over the world.

The city's transformation is evident in the increasing number of foreign tourists visiting popular areas like Myeongdong, reflecting Seoul's growing prominence on the global tourism map.

Varied Approaches to Restaurant Popularity in New York and Korea

Popular restaurants in New York are messy but full of history, while those in Korea have an Instagram-worthy vibe.

Korean restaurants often adjust foreign foods to suit the local palate, attracting both locals and tourists.

The use of different review platforms, such as Google Maps in the U.

and Naver in Korea, affects how restaurants are perceived by foreign visitors and locals.

Leveraging Seoul's Image for Global Business

Many fashion and perfume brands in Korea are targeting overseas customers by using Seoul's image, neglecting the local market.

With Korea facing a population decline, businesses are advised to focus on foreign rating platforms and influencer recommendations to attract more international visitors.

Famous restaurants and brands are now promoted based on sensory experiences and visual appeal, leveraging social media to enhance their global attractiveness.

The popularity of foreign food brands is increasing in Korea, with a growing export value of Korean ramen.

The globalization of cuisine has led to a wide availability of foods from every country, allowing people to experience different authentic tastes locally.

The type of people who mainly enjoy each city, such as Seoul, Paris, and New York, varies based on their cultural interests and preferences.

The Influence of Korean Pop Culture on Global Tourism

Korean pop culture, including K-pop and dramas, has a significant influence on tourism to Korea, especially from Japan, China, the US, and Southeast Asia.

The growth of the middle class in Asia is expected to drive even more tourism to Korea in the future.

The country's dominance in digital media is helping to capture the younger generation, with Korean pop culture being a major draw for sophisticated culture enthusiasts.

The Changing Face of Tourism: Why Seoul is Becoming a Hotspot

Seoul is becoming a popular tourist destination due to its focus on safety, cleanliness, and curated experiences, appealing especially to the younger generations.

The city's shift towards providing predictable and secure experiences has contributed to its rise in tourism.

The changing consumer preferences, with a growing desire for safety and predictability, have played a significant role in shaping the tourism market in Seoul.