33 influencers from 13 countries to promote K-local food worldwide

The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) has joined forces with global influencers to promote Korea's local cuisine and tourist destinations, while also seeking to attract more foreign visitors.
In June, KTO invited 33 influencers active in 13 countries and regions, including Greater China, Japan, Southeast Asia and the Americas, to carry out the 'K-Local Food Hunters 33' project.
Over five days and four nights, they traveled across three regions — Gangwon State, Jeolla region and Gyeongsang region — experiencing local dishes and major tourist attractions. They then produced about 900 related posts and videos on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. The cumulative view count topped 10 million.
To turn interest in food tourism into actual visits to Korea, KTO will also run a global online event using project content on its integrated tourism platform, VISITKOREA. The campaign will feature highlight videos, region-specific content and a selection of 33 K-local food items in four languages, including English, Japanese and Chinese.
Among the project content, a video on hanwoo munti-gi introduced by a Vietnamese influencer drew the most views at 447,000. Content showing a French influencer trying unusual foods such as beondegi and sundae also attracted strong interest from overseas viewers.
Min Byeong-seon, head of KTO's Tourism Industry Division, said, "This project confirmed the global competitiveness of K-food content." He added, "We will step up promotion so that interest in K-food leads to actual tourism visits to Korea."
[email protected] Jeong Sun-min Reporter