South Korea is planning a visa that targets the individuals who wish to train like K-pop singers with an increased target to revive the country’s tourism to pre-COVID-19 levels. Named as the “K-Culture Training Visa,” this is designed for those who seek experience in K-pop dancing, choreography, and even modeling as stated by the finance ministry.
It will still prove difficult for applicants to audition or receive callback from a talent agency at the beginning; nonetheless, more details are set to be unveiled later in the year at present. This decision has been necessitated by the rising trend in the international popularity of Korea and its culture, which has created numerous enthusiasts who make a trip to South Korea and go an extra mile of having to learn the Korean language.
Seoul believes it can ride the wave of pop-culture craze to entice in more tourists; most notably seeking to facilitate the entry of tourists from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN. By the year 2023, South Korea has become an attractive destination for travelers from the Southeast Asian nations similar to Thailand and the Philippines where travel visa is very rigidly controlled.
Hallyu wave, which can be described as the period in which Korean cultural products have experienced global success since the beginning of the 1990s have been rapidly growing in the past decade. K-pop bands like BTS and Blackpink have risen in fame and have secured their place in the international market and Asian dramas are no longer limited to Asian countries and regions but are now being aired in other parts of the world.
The most frequent mentioned motivation for traveling to South Korea is K-pop; receiving attention from several areas such as South East Asia, European countries and United States of America. It is definitely apparent that various forms of promotions such as travel ads, is filled with appearances from Korean celebrities; some examples include the safety video of Korean Air that involved SuperM.
That has kept South Korea’s tourism industry – which had a hugely diverse mix of visitors – from fully rebounding to 2019 levels. As per the international tourism, the country estimated to have approximately 11,000,000 international tourists in 2023 which is comparatively higher than the tourists in the year 2022 but lower than the desired seventeen. 5 million in 2019. Tourism revenue also ended the year well below the expectations having recorded 15. Notably, the report has shown that the Chinese tourists’ spending is set to increase from $20 billion in 2019 to $1 billion in 2023, revealing that spending on cultural events instead of shopping is to blame.
