SOCCER COACH PARK AND REGIONAL TOURISM

[Anchor Lead]

Coach Park Hang-seo of the Vietnamese national football team visited his hometown of Sancheong. His popularity in Vietnam has led to a spike in the number of Vietnamese tourists to this quiet town in southern Korea, boosting expectations for the growth in regional tourism.

[Pkg]

The Vietnamese national football team won the Southeast Asian Games for the first time in 60 years. Coach Park Hang-seo, who famously lead the Vietnamese football team to the legendary victory, has visited his childhood home in Sancheong-gun County.

[Soundbite] PARK HANG-SEO(COACH, VIETNAMESE NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM) : "This is where I was born and where I grew up. It is where my memories remain. It's as if I return to my childhood whenever I come back."

Driven by Coach Park's raging popularity, the number of Vietnamese tourists coming to Sancheong has spiked recently. Around 70 Vietnamese tourists visited Sancheong last year, but the number exploded by more than ten folds to some 800 this year.

[Soundbite] (VIETNAMESE TOURIST) : "Thanks to Coach Park, Vietnamese football has improved tremendously and has won many games. I am so grateful to him."

Capitalizing on his celebrity, the county government of Sancheong designed a tour package that combines a visit to Coach Park's birthplace with Korean traditional medicine experiences. The county also plans to build a Park Hang-seo museum in the village where he was born. Also, four billion won will be invested to build a Vietnamese village near his hometown two years later. The
Vietnamese-friendly community will house Vietnamese restaurants and murals dedicated to the culture.

[Soundbite] PARK CHUN-SEO(LOCAL RESIDENT AND PARK'S RELATIVE) : "The locals hope that Coach Park's achievements would help the region grow."

Coach Park Hang-seo's great achievements in Vietnam are stirring up hopes of change in his hometown as well.