[Public Voices] "Making Seoul an Eco-Friendly Tourist City with K-Alternative Meat"

Encouraging Participation in Eco-Friendly Dining
Attracting Foreign Tourists with Diverse Dietary Preferences

Our tourism industry, which experienced the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the front lines over the past three years, is regaining its vitality. In Myeongdong, Seoul, which had been like a ghost town for a while, tourists are now flocking, and it has become easy to see people lining up to try various foods. Late at night, the streets of Hongdae are bustling with foreign tourists eager to experience Seoul's nightlife.

Kwon Shin-il, CEO of Korail Tourism Development

However, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is not satisfied with this. Led by Mayor Oh Se-hoon, efforts are underway to transform Seoul into the world's top tourist city, aiming for an era of 30 million foreign visitors. As part of this effort, K-food plays a very important role.

According to a survey conducted last year by the Seoul Tourism Foundation targeting those intending to visit Seoul within the next year, 71% of respondents said that the activity they most wanted to do while sightseeing in Seoul was ‘food and gourmet exploration.’ This shows that the abundance of food is one of Seoul’s tourism advantages, and attracting tourists by leveraging this is inevitably very effective. The wide range of options from meals to desserts everywhere is the greatest charm of traveling in Seoul, and now there is a need to widely promote the status of K-alternative foods to invite even more people.

Not only vegetarian menus represented by Bibimbap but also dishes that Koreans usually enjoy but traditionally contain meat, such as Jjajangmyeon and Budae-jjigae, can be fully enjoyed by using plant-based alternative meats, allowing anyone to easily experience Korean food culture. Therefore, for Seoul to be recognized as a tourist destination that embraces diverse tourists and guarantees sustainability, it is necessary to widely publicize that various K-alternative food options are prepared.

Due to the nature of the tourism industry, it cannot be completely free from carbon emissions. About 8% of global carbon emissions come from the tourism industry, and food accounts for 10% of that, making it relatively high in carbon emissions. Accordingly, sustainable travel is a key concern for many tourists today. According to a recent survey by the travel platform Booking.com of 33,000 travelers worldwide, 76% of respondents said they are positive about sustainable travel and try to reduce environmental pollution during their trips. This shows that eco-friendliness and sustainability have become important parts of tourism.

Alternative meat can be cited as a key resource to increase the sustainability of the tourism industry. Alternative meat can significantly reduce carbon emissions generated from meat production, provides protein equivalent to regular meat, and is a healthy alternative food. By promoting our rapidly growing alternative meat industry, Seoul needs to encourage domestic residents to participate in environmental protection through food and establish itself as an eco-friendly tourist city that appeals to tourists worldwide with diverse dietary preferences.

Fortunately, companies such as Shinsegae Food, Pulmuone, and Nongshim are actively opening and operating alternative restaurants. Shinsegae Food operates the plant-based alternative food restaurant ‘You Are What You Eat’ at COEX, offering familiar dishes using plant-based alternative meat and cheese. Notably, foreign tourists account for over 20% of all visitors, receiving positive responses. Pulmuone runs ‘Plantude,’ which offers various plant-based fusion dishes, and Nongshim operates ‘Forest Kitchen,’ providing plant-based fine dining. Several companies are working hard to promote Seoul as a city with sustainable food options.

Going forward, active promotion of K-alternative foods and alternative restaurants should be strengthened to create a tourism environment easily accessible to both citizens and tourists. Consuming alternative meat is an environmental protection activity that anyone can easily participate in as a meal and a choice for sustainable travel. The Seoul Metropolitan Government should take the lead in this effort. If Seoul works together with the alternative meat industry to create a comfortable and welcoming city for everyone, the goal of the ‘30 million tourists era in Seoul’ will be much easier to achieve.

Shinil Kwon, CEO of Korail Tourism Development