According to one statistic, 80.3% of foreign tourists who travel to Korea visit Seoul. That means, eight out of ten people only stay in Seoul. However, Seoul is not all there is to Korea. Many places located only one or two hours away from Seoul offer unique travel experiences. Travelers just need to invest half a day or a day for a trip. In Korea, this type of short travel is referred to as ¡°quick-turn travel.¡± Now, let¡¯s go on a quick-turn travel journey to learn more about a broader Korea.
NOVEMBER 2024
While in Korea
Writer.
Choi Yeonu
Illustrator.
RYUGOON
Places Gaining Attention for Quick-turn Travel
Daejeon and Chuncheon have recently been gaining attention as quick-turn travel destinations that are close in distance to Seoul but offer a wide variety of experiences. Sungsimdang, a local bakery in Daejeon (only one hour from Seoul when traveling by the high-speed train KTX) is considered a major reason for the city¡¯s popularity nationwide. According to the 2023 Factual Survey on Daejeon Tourists published by the Daejeon Tourism Organization, 60.3% of Daejeon tourists chose Sungsimdang as a place they wanted to visit, and 84.5% visited the bakery on their same day of travel.
As previously mentioned, Sungsimdang has gained attention as a quick-turn travel destination in Daejeon because it offers tasty, cost-effective treats that can only be found in Daejeon. The bakery¡¯s bread, as well as the fruit cakes such as mango cake and tangerine cake, have become so popular that they have been featured in the news. The response to the bakery has been explosive, and people from various regions flock to the shop to be there when it opens. Tourists who visit Sungsimdang have also had a positive effect on boosting the economy of Daejeon itself as they also stop by other places in the city to enjoy a short but considerable break.
Chuncheon, Gangwon-do Province, located one to two hours from Seoul, is traditionally known for its beautiful lakes and recreational forests. However, Chuncheon has recently received a great deal of attention from people for having the largest liquor market in Korea. The World Liquor Market, which opened in April 2019, is 400 pyeong (about 14,233 square feet) in size and offers a variety of liquors from around the world as well as cheese and groceries that pair well with them. The market is even more popular because it carries rare kinds of whiskey. Just like in Daejeon, tourists help boost the local economy as they visit other parts of the city, enjoy the food such as dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken), and explore famous attractions.
There are also many quick-turn travel experiences that focus on short trips rather than consumption. Quick-turn travel can be completely enjoyed in a short period of time without any special preparation, making it a great option for those who are hesitant to travel due to the amount of energy it can require.
Experience a More Diverse Korea
The most important thing when spending half a day or a day traveling is transportation. The best way to experience a more diverse Korea is by traveling quickly and comfortably. This is one of the reasons the KTX, Korea¡¯s high-speed train, has become more popular recently. Travelers from Seoul can reach Daegu in two hours and Busan in two and a half hours by taking the KTX. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Railroad Corporation (KORAIL) announced that 2.32 million foreign tourists, or 25% of those who visited Korea from January to July of this year, used trains, a 50.2% increase from the same period last year.
In particular, Chinese tourists have increasingly used various platforms that allow them to make advance reservations. This is the result of the government continuously strengthening the convenience of purchasing train tickets by partnering with various global travel platforms. Reservation services have been provided on the Chinese platform WeChat since Dec. 2021 and the Alipay app since Jan. of last year, making it easier for Chinese tourists who prefer simple payment via mobile. KONEST, a platform exclusively made for Japanese people, also started offering reservation services in May of this year. In addition, KORAIL will be partnering with inbound travel agencies in major regions across the world, such as Southeast Asia, Europe and the U.S., through the Korea Association of Travel Agents (KATA) to develop and sell domestic railway travel packages beginning in Oct.
According to KORAIL, foreign tourists who use trains mainly visit other regions of the country via Seoul. To further promote this trend, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to expand convenient transportation services in cooperation with KORAIL and local governments to help foreigners visit more diverse regions of Korea.
There is more to Korea than just Seoul. Let¡¯s travel out of Seoul to experience the unique characteristics of each region and enjoy the beautiful natural environment, including the sea, mountains and valleys on all three sides of the Korean Peninsula. Tourists can see a more colorful and exciting Korea by traveling for a day or even just half a day.
