Byeon Chu-Suk,
the Rescuer of Korean Tourism
Byeon Chu-suk, the former CEO of
Korean Tourism Organization (KTO), who just retired a week ago, had devoted a
lot to the significant growth in the number of tourists who visited Korea in
2014. He presented some impressive programs that were very effective for luring
the foreign tourists during his year in the office. Firstly, he put a lot of
effort on K-pop market development. Last year, Byeon projected a huge K-pop
show called The Dream Concert, which took place in Seoul in June, 2014. Unlike
other previous K-pop shows where usually most of the audiences were Koreans,
many K-pop fans from different countries visited Seoul to see The Dream Concert.
The show was very successful and Byeon was highly praised for his work.
Secondly, Byeon persistently persuaded the government to establish a zone for
duty free shops in Myeong-dong, a famous shopping area in Seoul. He strongly
believed that the establishment of the zone would definitely attract many
foreign tourists. After the government had finally approved the establishment,
a tremendous number of Chinese tourists started to visit Korea to shop in that
zone in Myeong-dong, as Byeon expected. Thanks to these Byeon Chu-suk’s
projects, Korea could achieve more than 10% of increase in the number of
tourists last year. Although Byeon has left us now, tourism in Korea will not
forget his unbelievable works forever.
Reference
Maynard1987. (2014). kyungkug_244655_1350851. Retrieved from http://blog.naver.com/maynard1987/220060252483 on April 18, 2015.
