A North Gyeongsang Province delegation led by Governor Lee Cheol-woo visited India, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia from May 21 to 30.
In India, Governor Lee spoke in English at Delhi University and Subharti University under the theme of “Korean Dream, More Opportunities and Better Environment.”
He also visited the Department of Korean at Nehru University to discuss ways to support Korean language education at the university.
North Gyeongsang Province plans to support the signing of an agreement between Nehru University of India and Kyungpook National University of Korea so the two universities will be able to promote Korean language education and student exchanges.
Lee also signed an agreement with the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, which has a population of 250 million, to support local Korean language education, bring talented local workers to Korea and support the holding of a North Gyeongsang Province product exhibition in Noida of India every two years.
Lee held a joint North Gyeongsang Province-India cultural performance, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Korea and India in New Delhi.
In Sri Lanka, the delegation met with government officials to discuss mutual cooperation and visited Walpola Saemaul Village, which has more than tripled its income through the Saemaul movement which originated in Korea.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the delegation promoted North Gyeongsang Province-style Korean tourism and Korean food with Gyeongsangbuk-Do Culture and Tourism Organization (GCTO) and Gyeongbuk Corporation (GBC).
“Substantial progress has been made in attracting talented Asian students and workers to North Gyeongsang Province’s colleges and universities and industrial sites as the province has been suffering from a declining population,” Governor Lee said.
“We have seen Indian people’s high interest in North Gyeongsang Province’s culture and products, so we will quickly take follow-up action to produce positive results.”
North Gyeongsang Province Tourism Products Linked to Korean Wave and UNESCO Sites
North Gyeongsang Province and the GCTO invited overseas travel agencies to hold a two-day field trip to develop tourist attraction programs about Gyeongju and Pohang of North Gyeongsang Province on June 19 and 20.
The field trip was organized to promote the branding of North Gyeongsang Province by intensively marketing the Korean cultural wave and UNESCO tourist destinations in the province and to launch North Gyeongsang Province-themed tourism products aimed at the inbound market.
Participants tried bell ringing and rice cake making programs at Seokguram Grotto, a hermitage and part of the Bulguksa Temple complex and Yangdong Village in Gyeongju, which are UNESCO tourist destinations representing North Gyeongsang Province.
They discussed a marketing plan by visiting Guryongpo Japanese House Street and Sabang Memorial Park in Pohang which are Korean cultural wave-linked tourist destinations.
“We will promote North Gyeongsang Province-themed tourism products utilizing the Korean cultural wave and the UNESCO to overseas markets so that North Gyeongsang Province can be branded as one of cities that can represent the Korean cultural wave and a city with UNESCO heritages,” GCTO CEO Kim Seong-jo said.
GCTO’s Participation in TTE in Taiwan
The GCTO announced that it participated in the 2023 Taipei Tourism Expo (TTE) held in Taipei, Taiwan, from May 26 to 29 to promote North Gyeongsang Province’s tourism resources.
They also conducted marketing activities to attract Taiwanese tourists to North Gyeongsang Province.
In response, the GCTO promoted North Gyeongsang Province’s Korean cultural wave-linked tourist destinations, festivals, and unique tourism products to individual tourists through the operation of a PR booth that utilized the unique features of the province's UNESCO World Heritage sites and Korean content.
In particular, the GCTO held a North Gyeongsang Province tourism briefing session for 30 local travel agencies in Taiwan, providing a wide array of information on UNESCO World Heritage sites, wellness tourism, filming locations of Korean films and TV shows and Korean festivals in North Gyeongsang Province and received a lot of attention from the travel agencies.
The GCTO also participated in B2B events to promote tourism product development and expanded its network in the Taiwanese tourism market at the TTE.
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