Foreign Tourist Spending Surges After Kedeheon Release
"Kedeheon Motivates Overseas Fans to Visit Korea"
The number of foreign tourists experiencing K-culture featured in the Netflix animation 'K-Pop Demon Hunters' (Kedeheon) has surged.
A scene of the popular girl group Huntrix from the Netflix animation K-pop Demon Hunters eating ramen. Netflix
On July 31, the leading domestic inbound tourism platform Creatrip (CEO Lim Hyemin) analyzed tourism consumption data for the month following the release of Kedeheon (from June 20 to July 19) and compared it to the same period of the previous month. The analysis showed that both the actual number of bookings and transaction amounts by foreign tourists increased across the board.
Just one episode of Kedeheon... Foreigners try on Hanbok and experience Seshin
This is interpreted as the result of foreign tourists, intrigued by the Korean culture embedded in Kedeheon, actively seeking out hands-on experiences. In Kedeheon, characters are shown wearing traditional Hanbok for performances or visiting public bathhouses to relax.
In fact, transaction amounts for 'Hanbok experience' among foreign tourists using Creatrip increased by 30% compared to the same period of the previous month. Notably, the number of Hanbok experience bookings by Taiwanese tourists soared by 433%, showing the most significant increase.
Seshin, the Korean body scrub culture previously unfamiliar to foreigners, is also gaining attention as a new experiential tourism product. For public bathhouse travel content, transaction amounts by foreign tourists increased by 84% compared to the same period of the previous month.
K-Food also popular... Korean food transactions jump
The number of foreigners seeking out Korean foods featured in Kedeheon, such as gimbap, ramen, sundae, and gukbap, has also increased. Transaction amounts for Korean food among Singaporean tourists rose by 157% compared to the previous month, while American tourists saw a 61% surge. Demand for Korean cuisine stood out not only in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region but also in the Americas.
Transaction amounts for samgyetang among foreign tourists using Creatrip also jumped by 233%, and for jjimdak, by 162%. Soy sauce marinated crab, which has been consistently popular among foreign tourists, also saw an 18% increase. Visits to restaurants representing Korean meat culture, such as butcher shops and galbi specialty restaurants, also rose, with transaction amounts reaching up to four times higher than the previous month.
"Kedeheon acts as a motivator for visiting Korea"
Since Kedeheon is set in a K-pop universe, interest among foreigners in visiting Korea is also high. Creatrip stated, "Kedeheon, based on a K-pop universe, functions as a fandom narrative in itself, stimulating overseas fans' motivation to visit Korea."
Among foreign tourists using Creatrip, transaction amounts for concert shuttle reservations increased by 133% compared to the previous month, and the number of bookings by Taiwanese tourists surged by 1,400% compared to the same period of the previous month. For K-pop dance class bookings, the number of orders from American tourists jumped by 400%, and from Taiwanese tourists by 575%.
Lim Hyemin, CEO of Creatrip, said, "The fact that Korean elements featured in Kedeheon are leading to actual travel product bookings shows that foreign tourists' interest is expanding to encompass everyday aspects of Korean culture. We plan to continue enriching foreigners' experiences of Korean culture by planning travel content based on K-culture."
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