Vice Minister Jang Miran Invites Chinese Tourists: "I Will Open Weightlifting Classes"

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Holds 'K-Tourism Roadshow' in Beijing
Aiming to Attract 2 Million Chinese Tourists This Year

Jang Mi-ran, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, attended a Korea-China travel industry marketing event held in Beijing, China on the 13th, promoting Korean tourism sales. Prior to this, she met with senior officials from Chinese cultural and tourism authorities to discuss strengthening cooperation and encouraged visits to Korea.

On the same day, Vice Minister Jang attended the 'K-Tourism Roadshow' held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beijing. In a separate meeting with Beijing correspondents, she said, "Various tourism programs such as sports tourism, K-culture, and K-food are prepared so that visitors can have diverse experiences in Korea," adding, "We will focus on the qualitative growth of Korean tourism." The Beijing K-Tourism Roadshow was held ahead of China's National Day holiday (October 1) as an event where the tourism and duty-free industries conduct marketing activities.

Jang Mi-ran, the 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, attended the 'K-Tourism Roadshow' held in Beijing, China, on the 13th, and answered reporters' questions during a separate meeting with Beijing correspondents. (Photo by Kim Hyun-jung)

The trip to China to attend the K-Tourism Roadshow was also Vice Minister Jang's first overseas business trip since her appointment. She expressed her thoughts on the visit, saying, "Beijing was where I achieved valuable results during my athlete days," and added, "It feels new to come not as an athlete but as a vice minister, and not for sports but for tourism." She also introduced her future plans as vice minister, stating, "We are planning and preparing to fully upgrade the Chinese tourist market to focus on premium tourism, as well as wellness and high value-added medical tourism."

Prior to this, Vice Minister Jang also met with Lao Quan, Deputy Director of the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which is equivalent to Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Regarding the bilateral meeting, Vice Minister Jang said, "I asked Deputy Director Lao to visit Korea, and when I told him that in the morning we would do K-Climbing and in the afternoon a weightlifting class, he smiled." She added, "High-level exchanges are expanding, which is encouraging for tourism exchanges between the two countries," and explained, "I also requested that Chinese authorities ensure Korean tourists can travel safely when they visit China."

With 540,000 Chinese tourists visiting Korea in the first half of this year, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has set a goal of attracting 1.5 million Chinese tourists in the second half. Vice Minister Jang expressed optimism about the annual target of 2 million tourists, saying, "I am optimistic about achieving the goal."

Regarding the lingering negative sentiment toward Korea in China, which has continued to affect the tourism market since the announcement of the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in Korea in 2016, she responded, "After coming here, it seems that the feelings of Chinese people toward Korea are not as strong as what is reported in the media," and added, "I hope various exchanges will gradually recover."

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism plans to continue the K-Tourism Roadshow and consumer marketing events in Shanghai from the 15th to the 17th.

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