Foreign visitors on April 3 stand in line to try Korean desserts at "Korea Express Road," an exhibition on the fifth floor of HiKR Ground in Seoul's Jung-gu District.
By Cao Thi Ha
Seoul is hosting an interactive event highlighting Korean cultural content like K-pop and K-dramas at one venue to mark Visit Korea Year 2023-24.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) on April 2 began hosting the exhibition "Korea Express Road," which ends on May 12, at HiKR Ground around Cheonggyecheon Stream in Seoul.
The event reflects rising global interest not only in K-pop and K-dramas but also daily life and traditional culture in Korea. The first to the fifth floors at HiKR Ground are filled with thematic content.
Passing through the outdoor yard leads to the installation figures of Hani and Kughi, the mascots of Visit Korea Year, and a three-dimensional video awaits on the first floor of HiKR Wall.
The second floor has an exhibition of contemporary Hanbok outfits under the "Hanbok Wave" project by the Korea Craft and Design Foundation. Visitors can try on Hanbok worn by K-pop idols at their concerts or music videos and take snaps at the self-photo booth Don't Look Up.
The third floor houses an exhibition marking the 20th anniversary of art toy artist Coolrain, while the fourth is an interactive exhibition space.
The fifth has a dessert store for sampling traditional snacks such as nurungji (crispy scorched rice) and yakgwa (deep-fried honey cookies) as well as facilities for hearing music.
Lee Hak-ju, executive vice president of the KTO's International Tourism Division, said, "To create new demand for visiting our country, the KTO will push the 'Invite You' project to invite people from abroad with special ties with Korea and continue a hospitable atmosphere for foreign tourists through events like the large-scale Hallyu Tourism Festival for Hallyu (Korean Wave) fans."
This is the official poster for the pop-up exhibition "Korea Express Road." (Korea Tourism Organization)
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