South Korea promotes regional snack food festivals to global tourists

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) is launching international marketing campaigns to promote regional snack food festivals in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk areas. The initiative aims to diversify tourism demand away from the Seoul metropolitan area by leveraging local culinary assets such as tteokbokki, gimbap, and ramen.

Key upcoming events include the Daegu Tteokbokki Festival, the Gimcheon Gimbap Festival, and the Gumi Ramen Festival. To attract international visitors, particularly from Taiwan where interest in Korean cuisine is high, the KTO has collaborated with local travel agencies to create themed tourism packages. The organization also plans to utilize social media influencers to increase global awareness of these festivals.

The Gimcheon Gimbap Festival, which previously ranked first in a national festival evaluation, will feature approximately 60 varieties of gimbap and has introduced a mobile pre-ordering system to manage large crowds. The Gumi Ramen Festival, which has seen significant growth in attendance, will showcase ramen from 13 different countries.