Tourism Organization Launches Tourism Marketing Targeting Japan's MZ Generation

Group Tomorrow X Together is seen hosting a Korean tourism talk show. (Photo by Korea Tourism Organization)

[Asia Economy Reporter Donghyun Choi] The Korea Tourism Organization has launched an active tourism marketing campaign targeting the Japanese MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) who have a strong interest in Korean culture.

The Tourism Organization announced on the 31st that it held a launching event over two days, from the 28th to the 29th, to mark the start of the Korea inbound tourism promotion campaign ‘Korea Fair 2021 #Dakarakorea.’ ‘#Dakarakorea’ is a campaign jointly conducted by the Korea Tourism Organization and Japanese online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Rakuten Travel and HIS, aimed at the post-COVID-19 period. Customized Korean culture experience classes and hybrid tourism products, as well as early bird sales of inbound tourism hotel packages, are expected to be actively promoted.

‘Dakara’ means ‘therefore’ and serves as the campaign slogan to explain the various reasons for choosing Korean tourism according to individual preferences. The weekend launching event was broadcast live on ‘Niconico Live,’ a representative live streaming platform in Japan.

On the 28th, Tomorrow X Together, an idol group under HYBE, appeared and introduced the charms of key Korean tourism cities (Busan, Jeonju, Gangneung, Andong, Mokpo) through a speed quiz, engaging with fans. Additionally, Hallyu star Lee Ga-eun participated in a virtual tour featuring Korean food making and idol makeup experiences, while Pentagon members Wooseok, Yuto, and Kino conducted a mother-of-pearl craft experience.

On the 29th, the fourth-generation hot icon group ENHYPEN enjoyed exploring the attractions of Korean tourist destinations. They selected places like Gangneung as their preferred post-pandemic travel spots to visit with fans, introducing various activities such as the coffee street, surfing, and ziplining in Gangneung. Other content included K-pop dance classes and a Mangwon-dong virtual tour, providing diverse experiences to satisfy the desire for Korean travel.

The event, held over two days, attracted up to approximately 45,000 simultaneous viewers. The cumulative number of views is about 100,000. Furthermore, around 2,000 applicants registered within two days for the online panel recruitment, which selected 200 participants per session, demonstrating strong interest in Korea.

Kim Yong-jae, head of the Northeast Asia team at the Korea Tourism Organization, stated, "The Japanese MZ generation, who have naturally been exposed to Korean culture from a young age, have considerable influence regarding their interest in Korea. We have a roadmap strategy to leverage this interest as a foundation for early recovery of inbound tourism and will actively carry out marketing efforts."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.