The aerial view of Naejangsan Mountain in South Korea's Jeonbuk Province in autumn. Photo courtesy of Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) Vietnam

HÀ NỘI South Korea and Việt Nam have committed to jointly promote and build tourism products in South Korea's Jeonbuk Province in the near future, according to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to cooperate with Vietnamese travel agents signed by the Jeonbuk Government.

The signing of the MoU, which took place during a conference promoting Jeollabuk-do (Jeonbuk) tourism by the Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) Vietnam on Tuesday, showed Jeonbuk Government’s interest in the Vietnamese market and its determination to attract Vietnamese tourists in the future.

Addressing the conference, Lee Jae Hoon, Director of KTO Vietnam, said Việt Nam is considered one of the five fastest-recovering markets of South Korean tourism.

In 2022, 185,000 Vietnamese tourists chose South Korea after the country restarted international tourism. This is an extremely positive number showing the potential of the Vietnamese market to reach the same number of visitors as before the pandemic period, he added.

Realising that great potential, Jeonbuk Province targets to attract more Vietnamese tourists in 2023 by organising the province's tourism introduction seminars to provide a more specific and attractive perspective for travel companies as well as approaching more Vietnamese tourists.

Mireuksa Pagoda in Jeonbuk Province. Photo courtesy of Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) Vietnam

Jeonbuk is famous for its traditional sites such as Jeonju Ancient Village with Hanok houses that are over 700 years old; traditional cuisine with bold identity with dishes such as Bibimbap, grilled meat, Makgeolli rice wine, and especially the Korean traditional dining table Hanjeongsik.

The province is also the cradle of Taekwondo martial arts, home to the largest Taekwondo Stadium in the world. The locality is endowed with beautiful natural scenery such as the cherry blossoms of Mai Mountain in spring, the majestic Jirisan Mountain with a cool waterfall in the summer, the splendid Naejangsan Mountain with golden leaves in the fall, and the magnificent Deokyoo Mountain covered with white snow in winter.

“This tourism conference in Việt Nam is a valuable opportunity for us to get closer to Vietnamese travel agencies and tourists to introduce the hidden beauty of Jeollabuk-do.

"This year, Jeollabuk-do will host the Asia Pacific Masters Games 2023 and Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree 2023. Through these great events, I hope that travel companies and tourists in Việt Nam will know more about Jeonbuk and choose Jeonbuk as a destination for their upcoming travel schedule," said Kim Kwan-Young, Governor of Jeollabuk-do Province.

Hà Văn Siêu, Deputy Director of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT), said Việt Nam is a market that Jeonbuk is targeting, because the province's tourism promotion website has a Vietnamese version, which is very user-friendly for Vietnamese users.

“I believe that the Jeonbuk Tourism Conference will be an opportunity to connect tourism businesses of the two countries, help promote and widely share the image and potential of Jeonbuk tourism to the business community, enhance tourism cooperation and contribute to the further development of the Việt Nam-RoK strategic partnership,” said Siêu.

In recent years, the partnership and exchanges between Việt Nam and South Korea have been improved in all levels and sectors, recording many good achievements. 

In the field of tourism, in December 2022, the VNAT and the South Korea National Administration of Tourism signed an MoU on cooperation in tourism for the 2023-2024 period.

“South Korea is one of the most popular countries for Vietnamese tourists, especially young ones. Jeonbuk Province with its historical values, unique culture, beautiful nature and especially recognised by UNESCO as a Creative Culinary City will certainly be a potential destination for the Vietnamese market in the near future,” the Deputy Director said.

With joint efforts in restarting tourism cooperation activities, the results of visitor exchange between the two nations after the pandemic have made good progress.

In 2022, Việt Nam welcomed about 965,000 South Korean tourists, accounting for about 26 per cent of total international arrivals and holding the leading position in the international tourism market. Meanwhile, South Korea has welcomed 185,000 tourists from Việt Nam. VNS