by STEVE HAN
South Korean capital Seoul’s Gangnam District, which was popularized globally by K-pop megastar Psy’s viral hit “Gangnam Style” in 2012, is developing strategic plans to lure 10 million foreign tourists by 2018, according to the head of the district.
In 2012, prior to Psy’s release of “Gangnam Style,” more than 850,000 foreigners believed to have visited Seoul’s affluent southern district. In the following year, that number soared to 5.11 million. Shin Yeon-hee, the head of the Gangnam District, said she and her team will set the groundwork to attract even more tourists by hosting global events, including festivals and concerts.
“The target is to attract 20 million foreign travelers by 2017,” Shin told the Korea Times. “If that goal is attained, bringing 10 million to Gangnam will also be possible. We already have good facilities for tourism … What we need to develop further is cultural content.”
A big part of the district’s effort to make itself more tourist-friendly is the annual Gangnam Festival, a four-day event which began today on Yeongdong Street near the COEX building, an area considered as Seoul’s equivalent of New York’s Times Square. Although smaller-scale festivals have existed for years in Gangnam, the district combined them in 2007 to leverage its brand.
The festival is said to include a fashion festival, a marathon, a global food festival, and a two-hour K-pop concert by JYJ.
“The festival has huge economic effect, with the visitors spending 6.1 billion won last year in Gangnam,” said Shin. “We also hope the festival will have other positive effects, such as revitalizing Korea’s fashion industry and boosting international awareness of Gangnam.”
Aside from festival activities, the district also has plans to remodel the World Taekwondo Headquarters building into a taekwondo-related cultural park by 2016.
Featured photo courtesy of Daum
