French hallyu fans pose with Korean traditional hand fans and calligraphy in front of K-Style Hub in Seoul, Tuesday. A total of 88 French came to Korea on a tour program, PackHallyu, organized by the Korea Tourism Organization. / Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization



Foreign tourists looking beyond just K-pop



By Kang Seung-woo



Ophelie Cambay, an 18-year-old French tourist, looked absolutely thrilled as her long-cherished dream of attending a K-pop concert in Korea was about to come true.



The girl, from Aix-en-Provence, southern France, is one of 88 French K-pop fans who came to Korea, Monday, on a tour program, PackHallyu, organized by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO).



The tour will take them to K-pop concerts and K-drama studios, as well as allow them to experience Korean traditional culture, during their three-week stay.



"Going to Korea among K-pop fans is really like a dream come true," Cambay told The Korea Times during their visit to K-Style Hub in Seoul, a hallyu-themed promotion center, Tuesday.



"We always watch K-pop on the screen like YouTube, so to watch in person will be really different," she added.



Taking into account the growing number of French people interested in hallyu, the KTO launched the tour program in 2012, attracting more and more visitors from the European country annually.



In addition, the program is now drawing extra attention as the nation's tourism industry is seeking to diversify its customer base beyond China and Japan, to Europe and America.





The participants are ready to have bibimbap, rice mixed with vegetables, for lunch, Tuesday, at K-Style Hub, a hallyu-themed promotion center. / Courtesy of Korea Tourism Organization



According to the state-run tourism promotion agency, the number of French tourists visiting Korea has been steadily increasing for the 10th straight year, with last year's figure surpassing 100,000. In addition, they tend to stay much longer than those from neighboring countries.



To participate in this year's tour program, each had to pay about 1,095 euros (1.49 million won), which excluded flight tickets. But for them, most of whom are high school and university students, how much it cost did not seem to be an issue at all.



"We can make a visit to many concerts here. In France, we don't have a lot of K-pop concerts and here are opportunities to make a trip," said Lohanne Alvarado, another participant from the city of Tours.



Elodie Boye, a 22-year-old Parisian, said, "I think a lot of French K-pop fans want to come to Korea more than before."



K-pop not lone selling point



As its name suggests, most of the PackHallyu participants came here to enjoy K-pop concerts and related entertainment, headlined by K-pop sensation BTS, but they are also looking forward to experiencing other elements of Korea, indicating that non-K-pop content such as food and culture can appeal to foreign tourists as well.



"I think most of French come here for K-pop and hallyu," Alvarado said.



However, Anais Chauveau, who was an exchange student with Alvarado in Korea three years ago, said, "K-pop is also in the Korean culture, but it is not everything of the Korean culture, so we want to see everything."



Cambay echoed Chauveau's view.



"We are not just K-pop fans and we want to experience other cultures. So a lot of people want to come to Korea and also go to see other things," she said.



To welcome them, the KTO held an event at K-Style Hub, during which the French tourists could cook Korean food and try on hanbok, the traditional clothing of Korea.



In particular, "japchae," a stir-fried noodle dish, drew rave reviews from the participants.



"I liked it and want to try it after returning home," Jenny Rousseau said.





French tourists try on traditional hanbok at K-Style Hub, Tuesday. / Yonhap