THE Seoul government plans to invite more Filipino students and teachers to South Korea as part of promoting that country’s culture and arts to the Filipinos, especially those belonging to the so-called millennial generation.
Sangyong Zhu, director of the Manila office of Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), said South Korea, led by KTO, plans to organize study tours and class-exchange programs with Philippine educational institutions. Right now, he said, KTO is talking with some local schools on how the two countries can conduct exchange visits.
“The study-group program is fast growing. We expect more than 1,100 students from the Philippines to visit South Korea next year, in effect doubling the 550 students who went there last year,” said Sangyon in an interview at the sidelines of the Korea Study Tour seminar held recently in a hotel in Makati City.
“We are very surprised with the growth. The young generation’s deep appreciation of the Hallyu [Korean wave] has contributed to the awareness and huge fascination of young Filipinos to Korean culture,” he said.
Korean pop, also known as K-pop, is part of the Hallyu. Among the K-pop with global followings are Rain and Psy.
Rain made history when he became the first K-pop music artist to perform at the Tokyo Dome before 40,000 fans.
Psy’s “Gangnam Style” was the first music video on YouTube to hit 1 billion views.
He said many South Koreans are very interested in the Philippines because it has shown impressive economic growth rates under the leadership of President Aquino.
“We’re watching the Philippines closely. Philippine economy is vibrant and strong,” he said. “With the Philippine economy continuing to grow, more and more Filipinos will be traveling within and outside the country,” he said.
He said KTO will be coordinating with the various travel agencies to serve the middle-age and senior market as these groups prefer tour packages.
“Meanwhile, the younger generation who are mostly students will have a more active lifestyle and will opt to get bookings through the Internet,” he said. Sangyon said KTO is also going to observe the individual travelers who have higher-spending power than their younger counterparts.
At the end of the seminar, he said KTO received a lot of positive responses from Philippine colleges and universities.
He said KTO plans to organize another seminar in Cebu to enable students and faculty members to get information on the program.