[NE Coffee Chat] From Tourism to the Fandom Business... The Future Envisioned by 'Pavement'

Pavement, Creator of the Docent-Based Tourism Service 'Seletrip'
Pursuing OSMU Strategy with Voice IP and Building an IP-Based Business Portfolio
An Era of Expanding Individual Influence... New App Launch Planned for Next Year

Pavement, an intellectual property (IP)-based content company, originated from 'Seletrip,' a Korean Wave tourism platform established in March 2023. Recently, the company transitioned to a corporation, changed its name to 'Pavement,' and restructured Seletrip as a subsidiary service. While the business had previously focused on a tourism-specialized model, Pavement now plans to gradually expand its lineup of new services to build an IP-based business portfolio. The name change marks the starting point of this expansion strategy.

On the 27th, CEO Han Ji-eun stated, "The essence of Pavement lies in creating services that reflect the desires of 'fandoms,' groups that consume their interests most deeply." She added, "The company name combines 'Fave,' meaning what fans love, and 'Movement,' representing emotional shifts." She further explained, "The English word 'pavement' also means 'roadway,' symbolizing both the flow of fans' emotions leading to travel and the company's commitment to pioneering new paths."

Han Ji-eun, CEO of Pavement, is presenting at the "2025 Seoul Tourism Startup Demo Day" held by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Foundation on the 6th. Seoul Tourism Foundation

The company's flagship service, Seletrip, is a mobile-based platform where users can visit locations frequented by celebrities, such as BTS and Cha Eunwoo, as well as other K-pop singers and actors, and listen to audio guides (docents) in the voices of those celebrities. The primary users are foreign tourists drawn to K-content who visit Korea. Initially, the service was operated in foreign languages targeting international tourists, but due to increasing demand from domestic users, a Korean version was released.

The rapid growth of Seletrip is attributed to its precise identification of the information gap experienced by overseas fans visiting Korea. Existing travel platforms lacked details about locations visited by Korean Wave stars, forcing fans to search for this information themselves. Seletrip addressed this by systematizing such information using GPS, reducing the burden of exploration. The addition of the docent feature further enhanced emotional engagement and immersive experiences. Unlike conventional entertainment services that were unilaterally provided from the supplier's perspective, Seletrip's focus on the fan experience as the consumer proved highly effective.

Mobile service 'Seletrip' guide image. Pavement

The voice-based IP is also highly regarded for its scalability into goods and fan experience programs. In April, Pavement was selected as one of the five '2025 Seoul Tourism Startup' companies by the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Tourism Foundation. The company is also steadily attracting external investment. CEO Han said, "We are working on a subscription service and enhancing functionalities, and in December, we plan to launch a voice tutorial in collaboration with actor Yoon Jongseok to lower the entry barrier for new users."

CEO Han emphasized that this expansion ultimately represents a move beyond 'tourism' into the larger 'fandom' industry. She noted, "Celebrities are not limited to entertainers. We are in an era where individual influence is greatly expanding." She continued, "As the scope of fandom has broadened to include influencers, we plan to launch a new service targeting individual fandoms as a separate app in the first half of next year." Additionally, the company aims to expand its business portfolio beyond tourism services centered on celebrity-visited locations to various IP-based models. CEO Han expressed her ambition, stating, "In the long term, we hope to take on Hollywood IP and expand our business into the North American market."