Ministry of Culture to Host 18-Day "Welcome Week" for Foreign Tourists, Offering Various Benefits and Conveniences

Operation of "Welcome Booths" at Incheon International Airport and Other Locations

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced that, together with the Korea Visit Committee, it will operate the 2025 second-half "Welcome Week" from October 23 to November 9 at Incheon International Airport, Gyeongju Station, Gimhae Airport, and Busan Port.

Welcome Week is an event to greet foreign tourists visiting Korea, featuring welcome booths at major transportation hubs. It offers various benefits and conveniences for inbound tourists in areas such as shopping, beauty, and transportation.

The event is held once in the first half and once in the second half of the year. In the first half of this year, it was organized from April 25 to May 16 at Incheon International Airport, Gimpo Airport, Jeju Airport, and Busan Port, coinciding with China's Labor Day and Japan's Golden Week holidays.

The second-half Welcome Week is scheduled to coincide with the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit and the peak inbound tourism season. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism stated that it expects the APEC Summit to serve as a springboard for both qualitative and quantitative growth in inbound tourism.

On October 23, Vice Minister Kim Daehyun of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Lee Boojin, Chairperson of the Korea Visit Committee, and Lee Hakjae, President of Incheon International Airport Corporation, will attend the opening ceremony of Welcome Week at Incheon International Airport. They will announce the opening of the welcome booth and warmly greet foreign tourists. Additionally, the a cappella group Maytree will perform an a cappella reinterpretation of a song from "K-Pop Demon Hunters," adding to the welcoming atmosphere of the opening ceremony.

At the welcome booths, which are based on traditional Korean culture, visitors can see and touch traditional items and experience Korean culture by, for example, becoming a character in folk paintings. Multilingual interpretation services will be provided, along with customized travel information on transportation, food, and shopping. Benefits related to shopping, experiences, telecommunications, and payments-prepared in collaboration with relevant industries-will also be offered.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Visit Committee announced that, in conjunction with the 2025 APEC Summit, they have prepared a welcome package containing a "Welcome Card" to introduce the essence of Korean tourism and culture to international visitors. Through the QR code on the Welcome Card, visitors can access a page introducing Korean culture, where they can find content such as an introduction to Korean art history by Yoo Hongjun, Director of the National Museum of Korea, as well as information on Hangeul, Hanbok, and must-visit sites in Gyeongju, which are the foundations of K-content. In addition, the ministry and the committee, in cooperation with Gyeongju City, will conduct the "Smile of Silla" campaign to encourage hospitality toward foreign tourists among workers in the food, tourism, accommodation, and shopping industries, as well as among Gyeongju citizens.

The ministry also stated that the number of inbound tourists last year reached 16.37 million, recovering to 93.5% of the 2019 level before the COVID-19 pandemic, and it expects the number to increase further this year compared to last year.

Vice Minister Kim Daehyun said, "As the inbound tourism market is rapidly revitalizing, we will continue to ensure that international visitors can travel more safely, enjoyably, and comfortably through initiatives such as Welcome Week. In particular, the 2025 APEC Summit, which will be held this year, is a valuable opportunity to widely promote the charm of Korean culture and tourism. We will pay close attention to the readiness of major tourism hubs, such as Gyeongju, to accommodate international visitors."

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