SEOUL: South Korea has appointed the popular K-pop girl group NewJeans as “honorary ambassadors” to promote tourism, continuing the trend of leveraging celebrity influence to attract visitors.
This initiative comes as tourism figures rebound to nearly pre-pandemic levels, with around a third of tourists citing K-pop and K-dramas as significant motivators for their trips to the country.
Culture Minister Yu In-chon noted that tourist arrivals have reached about 90% of pre-pandemic figures, expressing optimism that NewJeans will further enhance South Korea’s appeal to global travelers. “With NewJeans as tourism ambassadors, I expect even more people from all over the world to visit Korea,” he said.
The group will serve in this ambassadorial role for a year, following in the footsteps of previous representatives such as “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae and K-pop legends BTS. Members of NewJeans shared personal travel tips for visitors, recommending local delicacies like “gimbap dipped in tteokbokki sauce” and encouraging tourists to embrace the “unspoken rule” of taking a photo a day.
Last year, over 11 million tourists visited South Korea, a significant 245% increase from 2022 when pandemic restrictions were still in place. The majority of visitors hailed from China and Japan.
NewJeans recently made headlines with their debut concert at the Tokyo Dome, achieving the fastest sell-out for a foreign artist in history. Their latest single “Supernatural” has also topped charts, selling over a million copies, marking their fifth million-seller. The combination of their rising fame and South Korea’s rich cultural offerings promises to keep the momentum of tourism growth alive.
