Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young. [Yonhap]
Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young. [Yonhap]

Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Choi Hwi-young has unveiled plans to secure large-scale performance venues in major world cities as permanent hubs for K-culture.

Speaking at a policy lecture during the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry's summer forum in Jeju on Saturday, Choi said the government is pursuing a project tentatively called "K-Culture Center." The initiative aims to obtain operating rights to stadium-sized venues in the hearts of major cities including Los Angeles, New York and Paris and turn them into home bases for K-culture.

The centers would offer more than performances, Choi said, with dedicated spaces for visitors to experience K-food and K-beauty, as well as retail areas selling Korean merchandise.

"In the 20th century, immigrants gathered in major cities around the world and Koreatowns were born," Choi said. "In the 21st century, the concept will be a massive spacecraft loaded with K-culture landing in major metropolises."

Choi also used the lecture to call for a significant increase in foreign tourist arrivals.

He said South Korea and Japan drew roughly equal numbers of foreign visitors until 2014, with South Korea occasionally edging ahead, but that the gap widened sharply after then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made tourism a personal priority. "Last year, we were at only 45 percent of Japan's level," he said.

Choi said the government elevated the National Tourism Strategy Council to a presidential-level body this year and has been pushing hard to boost arrivals. Despite the war in the Middle East, inbound tourism is up 21 percent compared with last year, he said, adding that the final tally could reach 23 million visitors — surpassing the 21 million forecast by public and private sector bodies.

He said the government is now working on measures that could bring forward by one to two years the target of 30 million foreign visitors, which had been set for 2030.

Choi also reaffirmed the government's commitment to balanced regional development as a driver of tourism growth.

"We say 20 million foreign tourists visit Korea each year, but 18 million of them stay in the greater Seoul area," he said. "We cannot reach 30 million or 40 million at this rate." He pointed to Japan's success in reaching 40 million visitors as a product of geographically diverse distribution across the country.

Choi said the gap between the greater Seoul area and the regions is currently too wide. He said he had initially thought the regions needed to be raised quickly from a score of 60 to 80 if Seoul were rated 100, but that the recent announcement of three major mega-projects had shifted his thinking. "If Seoul is 100, the regions should now be aiming for 120," he said.

"I believe the greater Seoul area will become the old world, and the regions will become our future — reborn anew," Choi said. "It is time to change the imagination and thinking behind how we plan. The sweeping gestures, including the mega-projects, are signaling exactly that, and we will work even more boldly for regional development in step with them."


soohan@heraldcorp.com