[Joyongjun's Manri Yeo-dam] K-Mountain, Should Be Developed as a New Tourism Resource Content

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Yong-jun, Travel Specialist]

70% of Foreigners Visiting Seoul Wish to Hike

Famous Mountains in the City, Valuable Tourist Resources

Foretelling a New Korean Wave Following K-Pop and Beauty

Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is rich in mountains. It is rare worldwide for a capital city to have such majestic mountain ranges like Bukhansan, Suraksan, Bugaksan, Dobongsan, and Bulamsan right in the middle of the city. The fact that you can visit all these mountains in a single day adds to their appeal. In major cities like Paris or Berlin, it takes more than five hours by car to reach a mountain. In the United States, it takes even longer.

Last week, I visited the Bukhansan Uidong hiking trail with acquaintances from foreign tourism offices stationed in Korea. Even the tourism officials, who claimed to be well acquainted with Korea’s beautiful spots, said it was their first time hiking in an urban mountain. The entrance to Bukhansan was bustling with hikers dressed in colorful and vibrant outfits. It was a moment that made me realize how much interest in hiking has increased since COVID-19. It also became easy to spot young people from the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z, people in their 20s and 30s) among the middle-aged hikers. The names of hiking clubs have changed from traditional mountain clubs to hiking crews. Among the hikers that day, quite a few foreign tourists were perfectly equipped with hiking clothes and boots. They enjoyed Bukhansan in teams of two or three, chatting with bright expressions. Through an acquaintance, I had a chance to briefly talk with them. The foreigners were amazed that such beautiful mountains were so close to the city. They praised the experience as a new one where they could easily reach the mountains by subway and enjoy both Seoul’s cityscape and nature simultaneously.

Recent surveys on the awareness and willingness of potential travelers from major countries regarding hiking tourism show that 7 out of 10 foreign tourists visiting Seoul wish to hike in places like Bukhansan, Dobongsan, and Bugaksan. The age range varied from people in their 20s to those over 50. Among all respondents, 67.9% knew that Seoul has many mountains within the city. Especially, 82.3% expressed willingness to participate in hiking tourism in Seoul.

This suggests that the mountains in Seoul’s city center could become new tourist attractions, moving beyond the monotonous traditional Seoul tourism courses like palaces or shopping.

However, from the perspective of foreign tourists, having to prepare various hiking equipment before visiting Korea can be quite inconvenient.

Last month, the Seoul Tourism Foundation opened the Seoul Hiking Tourism Center on the Bukhansan Uidong trail. This center allows foreign tourists visiting Korea to easily and comfortably access the mountains just like locals. It is the first step toward revitalizing urban hiking tourism in Seoul.

The center provides hiking tourism information and customized hiking courses in English, Chinese, and Japanese. Not only that, but it also offers free rental of hiking boots and clothes, and has shower facilities for hikers to clean up after their trek, which has received great positive feedback.

Gil Ki-yeon, CEO of the Seoul Tourism Foundation, said, "Seoul has a special charm where you can enjoy hiking using public transportation right from the city center." He added, "By leveraging Seoul’s characteristic of embracing mountains, hiking can be developed into a new tourism content."

This shows that hiking is not merely seen as a way to promote public health but is regarded as a major tourism resource content.

To respond to the increasing demand from global tourists after the end of COVID-19, it is urgent to discover new tourism content that fits current trends. Hiking utilizing the beautiful mountains in the city is expected to be a good alternative.

Alongside K-Pop, K-Beauty, K-Food, and K-Content, we look forward to the birth of K-Mountain, which will captivate foreign tourists with the charm of mountains.