logo
S. Korea to launch welcome week for foreign tourists during peak travel season

S. Korea to launch welcome week for foreign tourists during peak travel season

Korea Herald22-04-2025
South Korea will host a series of welcoming events for international tourists beginning this week, the culture ministry said Monday.
The 2025 Korea Welcome Week will run from April 25 to May 16, coinciding with major holiday periods, such as Japan's Golden Week and China's Labor Day, and the senior officials' meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit on South Korea's resort island of Jeju -- all peak times for foreign arrivals.
The Welcome Week event is aimed at enhancing travel convenience and providing a positive experience for visitors, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Visit Korea Committee.
Welcome booths will be set up in stages at Incheon, Gimpo and Jeju international airports, as well as the Busan Port International Passenger Terminal. The booths will feature displays of traditional Korean crafts and be staffed with multilingual guides offering travel information and assistance.
A digital tourism guide map, created using Naver's multilingual map platform, will be made available at the booths and on the official Visit Korea website. The map includes locations for craft experiences, tourist sites by region, currency exchange offices, shopping centers and convenience facilities.
In partnership with 26 companies under "the K-Tourism partnership program," the committee will offer discounts, vouchers and souvenirs to foreign tourists who visit the welcome booths.
The Visit Korea Committee has hosted similar welcome events during peak tourist seasons since 2023. A second round of welcoming activities is planned for the fall, to coincide with the APEC Summit in Gyeongju from October to November. (Yonhap)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Poshmark names Naver investment chief as new CEO
Poshmark names Naver investment chief as new CEO

Korea Herald

time2 days ago

  • Korea Herald

Poshmark names Naver investment chief as new CEO

Poshmark, a US-based fashion resale marketplace, said Monday that co-founder and CEO Manish Chandra will step down, with Naver's investment chief Kim Nam-sun set to succeed him on Oct. 1. Kim, president of investments at Naver, has overseen the Korean internet giant's global strategic and venture capital investments. He previously served as Naver's chief financial officer before becoming executive board chairman of Poshmark in April this year. Naver acquired Poshmark in January 2023 in a $1.2 billion deal. Since then, Kim has provided the US firm with strategic guidance to improve operational efficiency and achieve business goals. Chandra led the Silicon Valley startup from its beginnings in a garage to becoming a Nasdaq-listed company with a vibrant community of over 150 million users and more than $10 billion in gross merchandise value. 'It has been the honor of a lifetime leading Team Posh,' Chandra said, expressing confidence in Kim's ability to guide the company's next chapter. Kim said he was 'honored and excited' to take on the role, adding, 'I'm committed to building upon Manish's legacy, continuing to innovate, and delivering exceptional value to the Poshmark community.'

S. Korea to expand APEC cooperation amid global trade shifts: trade minister
S. Korea to expand APEC cooperation amid global trade shifts: trade minister

Korea Herald

time2 days ago

  • Korea Herald

S. Korea to expand APEC cooperation amid global trade shifts: trade minister

South Korea is set to expand cooperation with countries in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation region to navigate recent changes in the global trade environment driven by the rise of trade protectionism, the trade minister said Tuesday. "Considering South Korea's heavy dependence on trade and the manufacturing industry, the recent changes in the global trade environment are expected to have a bigger impact on our economy," Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo said during his special address to a general assembly of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council held in Seoul. The PECC is an official policy think tank for APEC that played a key role in its establishment in 1989. "The global trade environment is undergoing a structural transition," Yeo said, citing the security-driven approach to economic issues, the weaponization of trade interdependence, and innovation in artificial intelligence and digital technologies as main reasons for the change. To respond to these challenges, Yeo said his country plans to expand cooperation with the Global South, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and India. The goal is to diversify its supply chains and export destinations, while devising integrated policy on trade, industry and security issues. Seoul also aims to take the lead in global efforts to shape new trade norms in areas such as climate change, supply chains and AI, he explained. "We are now at a turning point where the traditional framework of trade, which has enabled global economic growth, is undergoing a fundamental shift," Yeo said, noting "the creative and practical cooperation of APEC member economies is more necessary than ever." The PECC meeting brought together some 200 officials from the governments, companies and academia of the APEC member economies to discuss changes in global trade, the development of AI and demographic shifts, according to Seoul's industry ministry. The ministry said it is preparing a series of international business events, such as the Invest Korea Summit and the CEO Summit to be hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to be held before the upcoming APEC summit in Gyeongju, about 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in October. (Yonhap)

[Editorial] Shifting trade rules
[Editorial] Shifting trade rules

Korea Herald

time3 days ago

  • Korea Herald

[Editorial] Shifting trade rules

Decline of WTO ushers in bilateral leverage, challenging Korea's export-driven economy A quiet yet drastic shift is underway: After three decades of World Trade Organization-led multilateralism, the United States has openly declared the system unsustainable. Writing in the New York Times on Thursday, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer portrayed the WTO as a faltering institution that compromised American industry while enabling China's state-driven economic model to thrive. This is why the world is now witnessing the so-called 'Trump Round,' a new global trade order built not on consensus but on tariffs and bilateral leverage. In Washington's narrative, the multilateral model was naive: It presumed all members would abide by rules they helped to write. Instead, a system meant to bind China into fair competition allowed it to expand market share through subsidies, export controls and opaque regulation. Years of dispute-settlement paralysis left the WTO without a functioning appellate mechanism, further eroding credibility. What has replaced it is a model of direct bargaining, with tariffs deployed both as penalty and negotiating instrument. This has significant implications for South Korea. Its post-1995 export success was built on WTO access guarantees and predictable dispute resolution. Now the playing field is tilting toward power-based negotiation. Under the emerging bilateral terms with the US, Korean exports face a 15 percent tariff, offset partly by market-access pledges in other sectors and by Korean commitments to invest in US infrastructure and advanced industries. This is not a symmetrical arrangement. Washington controls the main 'carrot' — access to the largest consumer market in the world — and the principal 'stick' of targeted tariffs. The absence of binding multilateral enforcement means concessions will depend less on legal rulings and more on political calculation in both capitals. South Korea's first task in this environment is strategic clarity. It cannot treat US market access as a permanent right; it is now a conditional privilege. Securing continued access will require not only diplomacy in Washington but a clear sense of the trade-offs that domestic industry can accept. The second task is diversification. WTO's decline removes the institutional ballast that once made trade with China, the EU and Southeast Asia relatively predictable. Seoul must deepen ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the EU, accelerate talks for joining a major Asia-Pacific free trade agreement known as the CPTPP, and pursue sector-specific agreements that spread risk. The aim is not to decouple from the US but to avoid being trapped in a single-track export dependence. Third, Korea must adapt its industrial strategy. Semiconductors remain its core export, but the risk profile has changed. In a rules-light order, sectors less exposed to punitive tariffs — such as green technologies, biotechnology and digital services — will be vital hedges. Industrial policy should now focus as much on resilience as on speed of growth. Lastly, Seoul should not surrender the principle of rules altogether. Even in a fragmented system, there is room for 'mini-lateral' or regional frameworks that preserve predictable norms. CPTPP accession, deeper engagement with the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and targeted high-standards pacts could help anchor at least part of South Korea's trade in enforceable obligations. The end of the WTO era is not the end of trade. It is the end of a certain kind of trade — one where a medium-sized economy like South Korea could rely on codified rules and impartial arbitration to protect market access. The new model prizes leverage, and those without it must find substitutes in alliances, diversification and innovation. The quiet demise of the WTO should be seen not as a collapse but as a strategic pivot. South Korea's track record of adaptation — from rapid industrialization to digital innovation — demonstrates its resilience amid profound change. The critical question now is whether it can convert this loss of certainty into a competitive edge before others seize the opportunity to define the new rules unilaterally.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store