View of N Seoul Tower from Urban Island inside the Shilla Seoul, shared by Arielle Pukanecz on Wednesday. (Instagram)
Ten teams of content creators are touring Seoul and sharing their experiences on social media to take part in the city government’s efforts and advertise the South Korean capital as a destination for international tourists once the COVID-19 pandemic ends.
Five teams of foreign residents and five local ones were selected in August to go on a five-day tour around the city from Sept. 13 to Friday. The initiative, named “Viewtiful Seoul,” is to help content creators discover new travel spots within Seoul other than those that are already well known.
Each team of up to two was given a 500,000 won ($430) stipend to find a place with a good view and two shops offering tasty treats each day and share their experiences on Instagram. The teams were also required to create a video on their travel to be submitted to the city government for promotional purposes.
The videos will be shared on YouTube for the public to view.
View of Gwangnaru Hangang Park in Gangdong-gu, eastern Seoul, shared by Azouz Chanez on Wednesday. (Instagram)
The Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Tourism Organization collaborated with five hotels in different areas of the city for the 10 teams to use as their base camps and start their mission with nearby neighborhoods.
Participating hotels were the Grand Walkerhill Seoul, Shilla Seoul, Signiel Seoul, Four Seasons Hotel Seoul and InterContinental Seoul Coex.
Arielle Pukanecz, one of the content creators selected for the event, has been traveling with her husband and their child near Namsan Mountain since Monday, visiting a traditional market, Dongdaemun Design Plaza and unique restaurants and cafes in the area.
The 33-year-old English teacher from Pennsylvania told The Korea Herald by phone Wednesday that she feels lucky and excited to be selected for the quest, as she and her husband had always fondly thought of Seoul while living in the city for the past 10 years.
“I think Seoul is a really beautiful city with a lot of exciting things to do, and I am happy that I can encourage people to come with this opportunity as a content creator,” Pukanecz said.
“So far it has been amazing, and every day in the area was fun. We are just trying to share what we found out on social media and tell people about neighborhoods that people don’t know too much about.”
Based on the content created by the 10 teams, the Seoul Tourism Organization plans to collaborate with hotels that participated in the event to run a cooperative marketing campaign targeting foreign tourists. The event could also attract younger people interested in international travel after the pandemic is over, the organization said.
