[Harumanbo Harucheonja] "4kg Weight Loss and Overcoming Hyperlipidemia... Leading to the Development of Walking Travel Products"

Park Jong-yoon, CEO of eBookers Korea
Overcoming 'Corona Blue' Through Walking Exercise
Authored a Short Thesis on Walking Travel
Developing Walking-Based 'Healing Tourism'

"I lost 4 kg in just a month and a half through walking exercise. I had a physical checkup, and my pre-existing hyperlipidemia disappeared as well."

When asked about the changes after starting walking exercise, Park Jong-yoon, CEO of eBookers Korea, whom we met at his office in Jung-gu, Seoul, answered like this. It means that simply walking once a day consistently helped him maintain both physical and mental health.

eBookers Korea, operated by CEO Park, is a travel agency specializing in wellness tourism and medical tourism. It mainly develops and sells travel products targeting foreign tourists. Park, who entered the travel industry in 1997, established eBookers Korea in 2003 and has been running it for nearly 20 years.

Even Park, who has extensive experience in the travel industry, could not avoid the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19. At the beginning of the pandemic, countries around the world, including South Korea, locked their doors, effectively bringing tourist arrivals to a complete halt. With no work for travel agencies, Park’s office was practically closed. Many nearby travel agencies closed down as they could not withstand COVID-19. Park barely managed to survive with government policy fund loans aimed at small business owners.

Sitting idly in his office with no work, Park suddenly felt the urge to walk. He wanted to refresh his mood and organize his thoughts. At that time, he was mentally struggling to the extent that his self-diagnosis for depression showed a "severe" level. While enjoying walks in Namsan Park near his company, Park heard that the public health center was running a walking instructor training program and immediately applied and started the course. Since the program was mainly for middle-aged and older adults in the area, Park, who was relatively young among the applicants, stood out.

After starting the training, Park fell in love with the joy walking brought. He learned how to walk correctly and walking exercises tailored to different purposes, moving beyond just walking without thinking. He developed a habit of walking instead of taking public transportation even for nearby trips. Becoming a "walking expert," he began working as a walking instructor, walking the Namsan Trail with citizens.

The benefits of walking that Park experienced include taking care of both body and mind. Park, who mostly worked sitting in the office, lost over 4 kg after starting regular walking exercise. His cholesterol levels, which had been in the risk range every year during health checkups, returned to normal. He also overcame symptoms of depression through walking. According to Park, focusing on walking helped him escape distracting thoughts and gave him time to organize his thoughts. Park smiled and said, "A couple I know always takes a lap around a nearby park after a fight to calm down and then reconcile."

Jongyun Park, CEO of eBukkus Korea, is walking through an alley near the office in Gwanghui-dong, Seoul. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

Currently pursuing a doctoral program in graduate school, Park even published a short thesis titled "An Aesthetic Consideration of Walking Experience on Walking Travel Routes." To publish the thesis, he conducted interviews with citizens who enjoy walking exercise, analyzing the connection between the benefits and aesthetics of walking. Through the thesis, Park analyzed, "If walking experience is utilized as an aesthetic experience that changes the human mind, it can enhance the value of walking travel routes," and "Through walking, one can re-examine their life and surroundings, providing opportunities for improving quality of life and emotional cultivation."

Park’s ambition is to turn the "crisis" experienced due to COVID-19 into an "opportunity" through walking. He plans to expand from mainly developing medical tourism products to healing tourism through walking travel. With increased interest in safety and health due to COVID-19, he intends to develop tourism products based on this concept. Currently, he is planning products themed around urban alleys such as the Seoul Fortress Wall Trail and Bukchon Hanok Village. Park said, "We are continuously creating healing tourism and local tour products, including walking travel, for both domestic and foreign tourists."

Park believes walking exercise is the best way for people of all ages and genders to maintain health without much strain.

"People often say, 'If you can't walk, you collapse.' Walking is a low-impact exercise suitable even for seniors. How about experiencing the joy of coming up with your own good thoughts through walking?"