“Korean Style · Weifang Charm, A Meeting Between Mountains and Sea” Shandong Weifang Inbound Tourism Promotion Event Successfully Held in Seoul
According to Li Hao (李好)，the Korean representative of the China–Korea Sister City Exchange Program under CRI Shandong Channel, the Weifang (潍坊) Inbound Tourism Promotion Event (Seoul), themed “Korean Style · Weifang Charm（韩风潍韵）, A Meeting Between Mountains and Sea（山海相邀）,” was successfully held on November 24 at the Pullman Ambassador Hotel in Seoul. Hosted by the Weifang Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, this event marked Weifang’s first comprehensive city-branding campaign in South Korea. It aims to deepen cultural and tourism exchanges between China and South Korea, enhance the visibility and influence of Weifang—known as the “World Capital of Kites（世界风筝之都）”—in the Korean market, and inject fresh momentum into bilateral cooperation in culture and tourism. The promotion event was attended by a delegation led by Gao Qiang (高强), Director of the Weifang Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism. The delegation comprised heads of cultural and tourism institutions, key cultural-tourism enterprises, intangible cultural heritage inheritors, and representatives from major travel agencies. More than one hundred guests participated, including representatives from the Seoul Metropolitan Council, the Seoul Tourism and Sports Bureau, other local government and cultural-tourism organizations, as well as major Korean travel agencies, airlines, cultural groups, and media outlets. Their presence made this event one of the largest and most prominent in-person exchanges in the China–Korea cultural and tourism sector this year. In his remarks, the representative of the Weifang Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism noted that South Korea has long been one of Weifang’s most important international source markets and friendly partners. He emphasized that Weifang is not only world-renowned for its kites, but also a modern city with a long history, rich cultural heritage, and an exceptional living and business environment. Weifang boasts abundant intangible cultural heritage, beautiful natural landscapes, distinctive Qilu traditions (齐鲁风情), and enjoys national recognition as both the “Land of Melons and Fruits (瓜果之乡)” and the “Land of Longevity (长寿之乡).” He extended a sincere invitation to Korean friends to visit Weifang and experience firsthand the city’s diverse charm—where mountains and sea beckon—and the cultural resonance embodied in the theme “Korean Style · Weifang Charm.” Cultural Resonance Takes Center Stage as Intangible Heritage Builds a Bridge of Friendship This promotion event placed special emphasis on immersive cultural experiences and emotional resonance. One particularly memorable moment was a cross-border musical dialogue: Ma Rongsheng (马荣盛), an inheritor of the Chinese guqin (古琴) intangible cultural heritage, performed on stage alongside Cho Cheol-hyeon, a Korean daegeum artist. Their joint rendition of classic pieces blended the graceful melodies of traditional Chinese and Korean instruments, earning repeated applause from the audience. In addition, Weifang’s signature indoor kite performance (室内风筝表演) brought the vitality and creativity of the “Kite Capital (鸢都)” to the venue, offering onsite guests a unique and visually captivating artistic experience. Outside the venue, the carefully arranged Weifang Intangible Cultural Heritage Market (潍坊非遗市集) also drew significant attention. Interactive demonstration areas, including kite-making and woodblock New Year print stamping (木板年画拓印), allowed attendees to experience Weifang’s exquisite traditional craftsmanship up close, while beautifully crafted cultural and creative products were highly favored. Many Korean travel operators stopped to engage and exchange ideas, noting that such tangible, hands-on cultural displays provide valuable inspiration for designing future in-depth cultural tourism itineraries. Pragmatic Cooperation Drives the Market, Jointly Shaping a New Chapter in Cultural and Tourism Development During the promotion session, the organizers highlighted Weifang’s tourism routes, which integrate cultural experiences, ecological wellness (生态康养), kite culture, and rural leisure travel(乡村旅居), and introduced targeted tourism products for the Korean market, showcasing Weifang’s diverse appeal beyond its famous kites. To ensure practical cooperation, a signing ceremony was held on-site. Several Weifang cultural and tourism enterprises signed a series of cooperation agreements with Korean partners, covering areas such as mutual tourist flow, itinerary development, and market promotion. Both sides agreed to use this as a new starting point to integrate high-quality resources and jointly expand the market, a move expected to effectively attract more Korean tourists to visit Weifang for sightseeing and leisure. In particular, Li Hao introduced Director Gao Qiang to several representative cases of sister-city exchanges between Shandong Province and South Korea this year. He noted that there has been extensive cooperation with Kangwon National University in Gangwon Province, South Korea, and that Chuncheon City—where the university’s main campus is located—is a sister city of Weifang. He suggested holding another cultural and tourism promotion event in Chuncheon, targeting Gangwon Province, to leverage the sister-city relationship to further deepen exchanges between the two sides, such as establishing sister-university partnerships between Weifang and Chuncheon and organizing mutual goodwill visits by delegations. Representatives from the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (China–Japan–South Korea), the Cultural Section of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Korea, the China National Tourist Office in Seoul, and the Shandong Provincial Representative Office in South Korea, among other relevant institutions, attended the event. 정현식 기자mountains promotion tourism promotion korean style korean market
2025.12.14. 20:28
