[Editorial] Is Global Promotion for the 'Year of Visiting Suwon' Going Well?
Among the three pillars of Suwon City's mid- to long-term administrative vision, unveiled at the 2026 New Year press briefing held on January 6, is that of a ‘world-class cultural tourism city.’ The city announced its plan to promote 2026 and 2027 as the ‘Year of Visiting Suwon.’ It also introduced the Suwon Tourism Grand Transformation Project, which aims to achieve 15 million tourists annually. The strategies presented by Suwon City for the Year of Visiting Suwon include strengthening tourism content capabilities, attracting tourists through mega-projects, holding tailored events, improving tourism reception readiness for visitor convenience, and developing a variety of tourism products.
Suwon City's judgment that the tourism industry is precisely the central pillar for reviving the region's future is correct. However, the plans the city put forward in the early stages were half-baked. There were criticisms that they had been hastily assembled. There were many projects, festivals, and events that had already been underway, and there was nothing distinctive or brilliant to be seen. The only new element was something like the Gyeonggi Indie Music Festival. The global promotion, too, could not help but raise doubts.
However, as time passed, Suwon's underlying strength came into play. The city made multifaceted efforts to boost foreign tourism. On April 19, player Park Ji-sung held an event in which he invited world-class football stars—colleagues who had been active with Manchester United in England's Premier League—to Suwon to tour the city's attractions together. They shot arrows at Yeonmudae, rode the Hwaseong trolley, sightseeing around downtown Suwon, strolled along the ramparts of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, took commemorative photos at the ongseong of Janganmun Gate, and ate Suwon wang-galbi (king rib).
The two YouTube videos capturing these scenes spread across the world, easily surpassing 3 million views. Famous players such as Evra (France), Ferdinand (England), Van der Sar (Netherlands), and Anderson (Brazil) also posted content about their Suwon trip on their personal social media. The effect of the content they posted on social media reportedly appeared immediately. Travelers who saw the players experiencing traditional Korean archery flocked to the Yeonmudae archery range. According to Suwon City, the number of users increased by as much as 33.3% compared to the previous year.
The city is utilizing famous influencers to attract foreign tourists. It has supported foreign influencers—including a Korea-Türkiye international couple and a Korea-Japan international couple—in producing content of their travels to Hwaseong Haenggung Palace, Haengridan-gil, Namsuheon and the Suwon Media Center, Tongdak Street (fried chicken street) and drama filming locations, and Gwanggyo, and it is said that goodwill and comments from foreign subscribers have followed.
In March, the city actively worked with the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization to attract Chinese tourists. Chinese show hosts and influencers broadcast live to China's largest online travel platform from an on-site studio set up at Suwon Starfield, featuring the city's large shopping malls, Talgeori, Tongdak Street, and Haengridan-gil, among other existing tourist attractions. Over two days across four sessions, they recorded a total viewership of more than 16.33 million views. A familiarization tour for a Japanese educational travel group was also held, and this month, filming for a Taiwanese variety program is scheduled.
There is no need to explain the importance of promotion in the tourism industry. In that regard, Suwon City's active global promotion deserves attention. As it introduces Suwon's history, culture, cuisine, and sports resources to the world in earnest, we support Suwon City in its journey toward becoming a “‘global cultural tourism city’ that the world takes notice of.”