A book introducing trips to Seoul, which was originally published in Korean by a domestic publisher, has been translated into Chinese to be published in Taiwan at the end of this month in a project run by the Korea Tourism Organization to support the overseas publication of Korean travel guidebooks. / Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization



By Jun Ji-hye



The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) has launched a project to support the overseas publication of travel guidebooks published by domestic publishing companies in a bid to help the firms find larger markets abroad and attract more foreign tourists, the organization said Friday.



The KTO has so far created travel brochures, maps and pictorials in multiple languages on its own to promote the attractiveness of travel to Korea. Those materials have been distributed for free to consumers through travel fairs around the world.



But the organization has faced difficulties because it has lacked sufficient budget and personnel to carry out more effective publicity activities.



In an effort to resolve such difficulties, the KTO has joined hands with private publishing companies to support overseas publication of their products.



As the first step, the KTO will publish two travel guidebooks published by Random House Korea in Taiwan at the end of this month in cooperation with one of Taiwan's leading publishers, Atombooks & Creation.



The two books introduce trips to Seoul and walking tours of Seoul's Jongno District, respectively.



The KTO has translated the books, originally published in Korean, into Chinese and adjusted some content to make them more suitable for foreign tourists.



Beginning with Taiwan, the books will be published in Macao and Hong Kong afterwards.



A KTO official said the state-run organization will carry out more diverse plan to boost the overseas publication of Korean books.



The plans include holding a contest within the first half of the year, during which time it will select high-quality travel guidebooks that will be published in a number of different countries.



The KTO will buy the publication rights and data of the books selected, and will support the translation, editorial supervision, editing and printing so the books can reach as many consumers around the world as possible.



The organization will also work to encourage foreign publishers to publish books related to trips to Korea in their countries.



"We will make an effort to offer more diverse content to meet needs of foreign tourists and actively distribute books to large bookstores or online stores around the world," said Je Sang-won who is in charge of overseas digital marketing at the KTO. "The project is expected to improve information accessibility for foreign tourists."

