Visit Korea Committee Activities

Information Session for the 2016 Korea Sale FESTA
Information Session for the 2016 Korea Sale FESTA On August 12, an information session took place for the 2016 Korea Sale FESTA! At this session event, company managers of related fields willing to participate in this festival were informed of the festival and shared their opinions for the success of the festival. We immediately rushed to the event to make a vivid coverage of the site after hearing that it will be spectacular. We arrived at the event place a bit early! Soon these seats will be full of attendees, right? As it was almost 4 pm, the starting time of the session, people started showing up one by one. In front of the entry, some event staff were registering the attendees to figure out who participated in this session. Guides were moving around busily ~ ^^ There was an announcement that the session would be starting soon (heart beating), followed by Secretary-General Katie Han of the Korea Visit Committee delivering a welcoming address. “We would like to welcome everyone at this information session for the 2016 Korea Sale FESTA.” The next part was an explanation of the projects that will be implemented for the 2016 Korea Sale FESTA. Seeing every attendee listening carefully to the session made us feel that even a shutter sound of taking pictures one by one was too loud. Lastly, it was a Q&A period. We could feel how many people had great interest and affection toward the 2016 Korea Sale FESTA! There were a lot of people staying for a long time after the official Q&A period to ask their individual questions. Also, many other attendees were exchanging their opinions. (Perhaps it would be a rare opportunity to see attendees showing such an attitude, right? ^^) Today’s session was attended by 159 people from 93 companies. As the 2016 Korea Sale FESTA is taking place this October, it is still a month away but we are already highly looking forward to what benefits and enjoyments there will be for foreigners visiting Korea.
Date : 2016/08/29 | Views : 4902
Activities of the 14th University Students’ National Smile Team
Activities of the 14th University Students’ National Smile Team <Everybody Joins in the K-Smile Campaign> On July 29, the more than 70 energetic members of the 14th University Students’ National Smile Team all gathered to hold an event titled “Everybody Joins in the K-Smile Campaign!” A variety of programs were conducted to publicize the 2016–2018 Visit Korea Year and K-Smile campaign to local and foreign passersby around Hongik University (Hongdae streets). They included a world greetings quiz, an emblem puzzle game, and making a Pledge of Kindness. Now, let’s go see the Hongdae streets echoed with enthusiasm for the K-Smile campaign! Even before the event began, our student members were busy preparing for various programs. They are putting some stuff on each other’s face quite earnestly! We took a closer look, and, yes, the things on their faces were tattoo stickers of the K-Smile and Visit Korea Year emblems At first, we were worried because it rained all morning, but it gradually became a bright, sunny day! Maybe the weather also was supporting for our students on the day. 🙂 Now is the time to go around the booths where programs are being operated. Countless people came out to participate. You see the emblems of the 2016–2018 Visit Korea Year and the K-Smile campaign. For the K-Smile emblem, a puzzle game was played where the players made the two smiling cute, roundish faces “Hello!” “Ni hao!” This booth offered a game where the participants answered questions on different greetings around the world. Foreign tourists also seemed to be very interested in the event! (Our student members looked great when we saw them talking with foreigners fluently with a pretty smile.) Visitors posted their Pledges of Kindness on this Post-it wall. We were so touched by a warm-hearted promise shown in each and every page of the pledges Pororo, the mascot of the 2016–2018 Visit Korea Year, is one of the main characters we should never miss! As you know, his popularity among kids is unmatchable! (We all give thanks to the guy who had to sweat a lot behind the Pororo mask on such a hot summer day for his great job!) All of our members posed for a photo after everything ended perfectly. It is all thanks to the active participation of a great many visitors!! We expect this event has served as a trigger for the Hongdae streets to newly emerge as a famous tourist place where foreign tourists feel the true Korean culture of kindness!
Date : 2016/08/09 | Views : 5305
K-Smile Campaign’s Food-Themed Street Relay
<K-Smile Campaign’s Food-Themed Street Relay> The K-Smile campaign has finished events on the five food-themed streets of Korea: Anjirang Gopchang Street in Daegu, Memil Street in Bongpyeong, Pyeongchang, Yeongdeok Crab Street in Yeongdeok, Guryong-po Gwamegi Mulhoi Street in Pohang, and Namhansan Fortress Baeksuk Street in Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province! The committee staff and members of the University Students’ National Smile Team paraded down all the food-themed streets, asking for restaurant workers’ practice of kindly service and food hygiene. Even neither rain nor severe heat could quench the passion of the K-Smile campaign’s Food-Themed Street Relay! Let’s go see such great moments! Anjirang Gopchang (small intestines) Street, Daegu, on Jul 1 <K-Smile campaign - On the Anjirang Gopchang Street, Daegu> <K-Smile campaign together with the members of the University Students’ National Smile Team!> Memil (buckwheat) Street, Bongpyeong, Pyeongchang, on Jul 7 <Here is the Memil Food Street running through Lee Hyo-seok Culture Village!> Yeongdeok Crab Street in Yeongdeok, Northern Gyeongsang, on Jul 15 <Here is the Yeongdeok Crab Street, Northern Gyeongsang!> Guryong-po Gwamegi Mulhoi Street on Jul 21 <Here is the Guryong-po Gwamegi Mulhoi Street!> <Members of the University Students’ National Smile Team distributing K-Smile souvenirs - Please give South Korea a pretty smile that makes people want to visit again!> Namhansan Fortress Baeksuk Street in Gwangju, Geonggi, on Jul 28 <Here is the Baeksuk Street at Namhansan Fortress where friendly smiles and safe foods wait for your visits!> <The University Students’ National Smile Team participating in the K-Smile campaign on the Baeksuk Street!> Food-themed streets of Korea! As tradespeople have promised to render a tourist destination of kindness and cleanliness, it is highly expected that visitors to here want to come again as a heart of the tourist attraction for eating!
Date : 2016/08/08 | Views : 4699
Commissioning Ceremony for the 2016 Workers’ National Smile Team Members
Commissioning Ceremony for the 2016 Workers’ National Smile Team Members The Visit Korea Committee hosted a ceremony on Thursday, July 28 at the Nine Tree Convention Center in Gwanghwamun to commission the members of the 2016 Workers’ National Smile Team. You would already be familiar with the University Students’ and Youth’s National Smile Teams, but whom does the members of the Workers’ National Smile Team refer to? These members are top tourism professionals with a true mindset for hospitality. They represent South Korea’s tourism industry at many different points of contact with visitors, including in transportation, restaurants, shopping, accommodation, ports of entry/exit, and sharing of tourist information. They are commissioned to their positions following recommendations from local public organizations and government agencies and a VERY STRICT evaluation process by members of the Evaluation Committee. These special tourism representatives have been brought here today to show off their hospitality business expertise and contribution to creating and spreading a higher level of hospitality at the places in South Korea where foreign visitors can be found. Some attending today came a long way, pulling their luggage along with them to the event hall. (Activities before the Meal) Having arrived at the event hall, I discovered people wearing some really familiar blue jackets! I was so familiar with the outfits that I felt like I already knew them. I wanted to say hello! It seemed that the members of the University Students’ National Smile Team were smiling even more than usual today; could it be because it is summer vacation? I wish I had vacation too... (boo-hoo) But I held back my tears (so sad...) and took a look at what the members of the Workers’ National Smile Team were busy writing. They were writing out by hand a “Pledge of Kindness.” A Pledge of Kindness is where one promises to smile when meeting foreign visitors so that those visitors see so much of our country’s friendliness and smiling that they want to visit South Korea again. 🙂 Gee, that looks really cool. But please, don’t envy them. You have a chance to try it yourself!! It’s pretty surprising to know that if you go to the K-Smile website (http://www.k-smile.org), you can also participate in the Pledge of Kindness yourself. Though you can’t hand-write your pledge there, the website is a very convenient way to be a part of the action!!! Already, more than 15,000 people have participated in this campaign. There’s nothing to lose. Go online to make your Pledge of Kindness. Over on the other side, I found more people busy writing something else. And I wanted to find out what it was so I could satisfy the curiosity of my readers. I very carefully went up to take a look (Actually, I was really curious myself, too). They were taking these carefully written magnetic message puzzle pieces and attaching them to the message wall to complete the K-Smile logo. A lot of people wrote of their determination to work hard in the future as members of the Worker’s National Smile Team! Having completing these activities before the official start of the ceremony, the members of the Worker’s National Smile Team (because the name is so long, I wish I could just call them WNST members for short 🙂 ) joined in the warm atmosphere within the hall. In this photo, the WNST members who work at different points of contact with tourists are sitting around a table talking. There was a paper on each table introducing the events to be held each month for the WNST members. Special events are being held all the time on the official website and the Facebook page of the Visit Korea Year at http://www.facebook.com/smilekorea. Hey everybody, be sure not to miss them! In fact, I heard a rumor that there was even a “flash event” on Facebook today! (The Commissioning Ceremony) The event started right on time at 11 o’clock. We heard first about K-Smile campaign efforts and a detailed explanation about the WNST. Between 2010 and 2015, a total of 416 WNST members have been commissioned (clapping!). I hope that even more people will be selected for the 12th WNST Commissioning Ceremony next time! Today, chairman of the Visit Korea Year Committee graced us with his presence. (Having seen him in photos but now in person, I felt as if I was meeting a celebrity...!) The chairman said that the “2016–2018 Visit Korea Year” and the “2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics” would be important events in South Korea’s transformation into an advanced global tourist destination and he emphasized the role of the WNST members, who are the face of South Korea that gives visitors their first impression of the country. Next, a ceremony was held to give commissioning plaques to the new WNST members. These were given to representatives working in nine areas of contact with foreigners, including ports of entry/exit and customs, transportation, accommodation/food, shopping, tour guiding, and the tourist police. On such a joyous occasion, you can’t leave out the taking of commemorative photos. Even bathed in camera flashes, the never-ending smiles of these leaders stayed with them! 🙂 If there were ever a Smile Olympics, South Korea would sweep the gold, silver and bronze medals without fail. Afterwards, a short three-minute video was shown to introduce WNST members. The audience was able to see more about these people who show such friendliness to foreigners at every point of contact in the tourism experience, and it was good to also learn some cool tips for making South Korea a place that people want to visit again! Next, VIPs worked together to match the remaining pieces of the message wall puzzle. The empty sections of the K-Smile logo on the message wall were completed by Commander Jang Jin-yeong of the Seoul Tourism Police Force, Chairman Min Hyang-sik of the Korea Culture and Tour Guide Central Committee, Chairman Park Sam-koo of the Visit Korea Year Committee, Chairman Kim Hong-joo of the Korea Tourism Association’s Central Committee, Secretary-General Katie Han of the Visit Korea Year Committee, and the WNST members! Here they are showing off their bright smiles with finger-hearts like sesame seeds! 🙂 The highlight of the day! We’re already at the end of the event. Individual profile photos were taken of all the WNST members at the event. I took a peek from behind the camera and the photos were coming out so well that I wished I could have gotten my photo taken, too! 🙂 And so the 11th Commissioning Ceremony of the 2016 WNST members concluded as a big success. I hope that in the future we can develop South Korea into a place that people want to visit again thanks to the bright smiles and friendliness of those working on the front lines with tourists!
Date : 2016/08/05 | Views : 5238
K-Travel Bus FAM Tour with foreign correspondents
<K-Travel Bus FAM Tour with foreign correspondents> The Visit Korea Committee invited 10 correspondents from China, Japan, France, and Germany, and other countries to have an overnight FAM tour (familiarization tour) by K-Travel Bus between July 8–9. During this tour, the committee introduced them to a variety of programs planned during the “2016-2018 Visit Korea Year.” The tour was aimed to ensure the invited correspondents convey more vivid information to foreign tourists after they themselves experience the K-Travel Bus. Out of the six courses of the K-Travel Bus, Northern Gyeongsang Province was selected for this FAM tour. This course includes famous tourist attractions in Yeongju, Yecheon, and Mungyeong, such as Sosusuhwon Confucian Academy, Buseoksa Temple, and Museom Village. During visits to various sites the invitees enjoyed many hands-on programs that include brewing makgeolli (rice wine), playing archery, and riding a rail bike. We hope that the K-Travel bus serves as an opportunity to make widely known South Korea’s beautiful provincial tourist destinations. <Brewing makgeolli at the hands-on fermentation workshop “Ddi-um”> <A Korean classical music concert at Confucianist Village, Yeongju> <A group photo taken at Sosusuhwon Confucian Academy, Yeongju> <Yecheon’s hands-on archery program is being covered> <A group photo taken at Jinho International Archery Field, Yecheon> <Director Seo Won of the Culture, Tourism, and Sports Bureau at the Gyeongbuk Provincial Government is delivering a welcoming address on the first day of the FAM tour>
Date : 2016/07/29 | Views : 5404