Posted by pjms_gina54,688 pts Wednesday, December 29, 2021
BTS's Jimin is once again acknowledged by multiple media outlets and government organizations for his impact in promoting South Korea's culture and tourism
Jimin has earned the title of being a 'Front-man for Korea' as accorded by Korean media for his tremendous impact on promoting the culture and economy of the country. Not only are Korean products gaining increasing popularity among foreigners, but different locations in South Korea have become top tourist destinations among fans, and there is an increasing number of international fans learning the Korean language.
On December 29, JTBC News featured a segment on the increased global interest in learning the Korean language. Jimin's footage from the recently held LA concerts was used in the piece, demonstrating his influence on this topic, owing to his immense global popularity.
Additionally, over the years, the media has termed him as a leading figure behind the increasing popularity of Korean foods in foreign markets, with different media outlets consistently detailing his impact on the growing popularity for tteokbokki sweet and spicy rice cakes and spicy chicken stir-fried instant noodles, which he has been seen eating in his online videos. These foods' popularity has skyrocketed in countries such as China, Japan, the US, and in the regions of Europe and South America, with tteokbokki exports recording a whopping 56.7% increase between 2019 and early 2021, as reported by KBS News. With such results, his power and influence are not to be undermined.
Jimin's impact on the economy of South Korea is also acknowledged in the Tourism sector. Recently, reports came out that Jimin had visited Jeju Island as he and the rest of the BTS members are now on vacation. He posted some pictures that he took while on the Island, where he visited different spots such as the Jeju Snoopy Gardens and Nuwemaru Street in Jeju City.
On doing so, on December 24th, the Korea Tourism Organization also posted a picture of the same location that Jimin had posted, the Jeju Snoopy Gardens, and tagged him in the post. It is evident that the organization understood that Jimin's visit to the Island would attract tourists to the area as well.
Just as expected, emerging reports have indicated that Jimin's visit to Jeju Island indeed caused an influx of visitors in the area. On December 29th, the Jeju Tourism Organization reported an increasing number of visitors taking photos on Nuwemaru Street. Especially as noticed on Christmas Day. The organization also states its expectations that Jimin's footsteps will be instrumental in boosting cultural exchanges and the local economy, as the Island has now drawn attention as a travel destination, thanks to Jimin.
Different media outlets have reported on the positive impact that Jimin's visit to Jeju has brought about on local tourism, such as Korea Odyssey and Jeju JIBS News. Mainly, it is reported that there are intentions to extend the operation of the photo zone in consultation with the Nuwemaru Merchants Association.
Here is a full transcript of the report by the Jeju Tourism Organization.
Aside from this instance of the Korea Tourism Organization promoting tourism in Jeju by using Jimin, other official government organizations have previously used Jimin to promote local tourism on many occasions. In fact, Korean media has previously reported on Jimin representing Korea as one of the faces of the Korean tourism industry. He has been used to promote tourism in Busan and Seoul as well.
For instance, Jimin was used as the representative face of the HYBE music museum 'HYBE INSIGHT' as the Korea Tourism Organization introduced it on its official Twitter account. The organization used Jimin's picture to represent the artist museum.
What is more, since the opening of HYBE INSIGHT, multitudes of fans have been visiting Jimin's solo art video exhibition to get a glimpse of exclusive dance practices like that of his 'I Need You' solo stage performed at the 2019 Melon Music Awards, for which he received an ocean of praises and is still talked about till this day.
In fact, the MMAs ended up incorporating that performance in its video highlight of the show's history in anticipation for the 2020 MMAs show, having been one of the performances placed on the wall of historical performances on the show alongside his 2018 'IDOL' performance and others. Read more here. It is no doubt that Jimin is always the point of attraction in anything he undertakes, and especially in dance, where is among the best not just in the K-pop industry but in the world.
Notably, Jimin was also named as 'special docent' in the recently held Futura x BTS art exhibition, the first-ever in the country as reported by South Korean media, where he was specially selected as the only one to give the audio commentary for the exhibition, and visitors will be able to listen to his voice through a mobile app as reported here. Jimin has also served as an inspiration for various famous artists who made art pieces from his stage performances and put them up for national exhibitions, drawing lots of attention to the artworks as documented here.
In the case of Busan, the Busan Tourism Organization previously introduced attractions points in Busan as recommended by BTS ARMY, by emphasizing that it was Jimin's hometown in the title of these recommendations.
In addition, Jimin's hometown Geumjeong-gu won the Best Booth Award at the 22nd Busan International Tourism Exhibition, being credited for reviving the region with their innovative ideas related to Jimin.
Jimin also previously landed on the cover of a magazine from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism with his image from his 2018 MMAs solo IDOL performance that went viral across the globe as reported here, in an article about the hanbok designer who made Jimin's outfit for the performance, yet again serving as the face of Korea's culture. This performance also won the 'Legendary Performance' award at the 2021 MMAs.
Through his unrivaled talent and skill and vocals and dance, as well as his admirable personality, Jimin has become immensely popular not just locally but on a global scale as well, which has turned out to be a factor of significant value for his country's prosperity through the promotion of the country's culture, tourism, and domestic products, both to domestic and foreign markets. Jimin has indeed rightfully earned the titles of the face of Korea's tourism industry and Korea's front-man.
K-Culture, K-Tourism & K-Language Evangelist Park Jimin. Proud of you, Jimin 👑😘