Gangnam Hotels Come Together to Attract “Japanese Hanryu Tourists”

Deluxe hotels in the Gangnam area of Seoul are making collaborative marketing efforts to attract Japanese tourists visiting Korea due to the Hanryu wave.

According to an announcement by the hotel industry on October 24, seven deluxe hotels in Gangnam—–JW Marriott, Lotte World, Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance Seoul, InterContinental, Hotel Amiga, Novotel—are planning a “Gangnam Promotion” plan.

According to this plan, the hotels will make a joint tourism package with Korean Air, Asiana, ANA and JAL for sale in Japan, from November 1, 2004, to March 31, 2005. In Japan, the top seven ranking travel agencies such as JTB and Japan Tours, will participate to attract “Hanryu tourists.” The hotels have even made a 39-page booklet titled “Gangnam” that introduces places frequently visited by Korean celebrities, and restaurants and cafes that appear in Korean dramas airing in Japan.

Baek Sang-suk, head of the Japan Department in JW Marriott, located in Seocho-gu, Seoul, explained the background of the “Gangnam Promotion.” saying, “The reason why 80 percent of all Japanese tourists only tour the Gangbuk areas such as Myeong-dong or Namdaemun Market is because Gangnam is not well known to them.”

Baek said, “Since it has been known that most of the locations that appear in popular Hanryu dramas such as ‘Winter Sonata’ or ‘Stairways of Heaven’ are in the Gangnam area, the number of Japanese tourists have increased.”

He mentioned that about 30 percent of all tourists who have recently come to Korea are fans of Bae Yong-joon Won Bin, Jang Dong-gun, and Lee Byung-hyun, the so-called “Four Hanryu stars,” emphasizing the importance of hosting Hanryu tourists.

bonhong@donga.com