K-POP FANS FROM EUROPE

[Anchor Lead]

K-pop fans from Europe have emerged as a viable alternative for diversifying Korea's tourism market, which so far has been dominated by Chinese and Japanese tourists. European fans visiting Korea usually stay in the country at least ten days, attending K-pop concerts and traveling in Gangwon-do and Gyeongsang-do regions.

[Pkg]

Tourists don traditional Korean royal attire and pose for cameras while holding fans. They also try their hands at making traditional pouches and taste the popular Korean dish bulgogi.

[Soundbite] "It's delicious!"

Some 80 K-pop fans from France visited the nation to attend K-pop concerts and just to travel.

[Soundbite] (TOURIST FROM FRANCE) : "I learned about Korea through K-pop. That's how I became interested in Korean cuisine and culture. I learned about Korea through YouTube and other online contents."

More and more tourists from Europe and the Americas have been visiting Korea. The number of French tourists stand out, recording an increase each year over the past decade and a half, without dropping even once, and surpassing 100,000 in 2018.

[Soundbite] KIM YOUNG-HEE(KOREA TOURISM ORGANIZATION) : "Japanese and Chinese tourists account for 50 percent of all tourists in Korea. We are stepping up marketing in Europe and America to diversify our tourism sector."

French tourists have to travel far to get to Korea. They stay about three times longer here in the nation, than Japanese visitors. This lady, who stayed in Korea for one month before, decided to extend her trip to more than 50 days this time around.

[Soundbite] (TOURISTS FROM FRANCE) : "Will stay in Korea for one and a half months, travel to Gyeongju, Busan, Daegu, Andong."

The number of Chinese and Japanese tourists dwindled due to Beijing's ban on Korean culture and Tokyo's trade restrictions. It remains to be seen if K-pop fans from Europe could replace them soon.