From Airports to K-pop, K-Content Driving Korea’s Aspiration to Become a Tourism Powerhouse

K-pop and Hallyu content are emerging as key drivers behind the growth of South Korea’s tourism industry. From infrastructure to international stages, K-pop culture is being utilized to propel the country toward becoming a major tourist destination. Last year, Korea Airport Corporation introduced a “sensory satisfaction service” that combines music and scents; building on this, it has decided to expand this initiative starting March 10 at 13 airports across the nation, implementing AI-driven music playback and scent marketing. This system uses AI-based music curation technology to analyze space characteristics and music data in order to select customized playlists for each airport. At five airports—including Gimpo, Gimhae, Jeju, Cheongju, and Daegu—scent marketing featuring local specialties will be offered in security screening waiting areas and arrival halls. At Gimhae Airport this spring, a warm floral scent reminiscent of cherry blossoms will be used, while Jeju Airport will feature a citrus scent associated with the local Hanra pomelo fruit, and Daegu Airport will offer a fragrance inspired by the magnolia flowers native to the region.

K-pop also plays a significant role in Korea’s cultural diplomacy on the international stage. At the world’s largest telecommunications exhibition, “MWC 2025,” KT set up a K-pop stage. Using Genie Music’s K-pop tracks as background, the stage featured AI-generated dancers performing alongside real viewers, creating an immersive experience that captivated global tourists with K-pop dance performances. K-content, including K-pop, is transforming Korea into an attractive destination filled with various exotic elements for foreign tourists. By adding unique K-content attractions such as K-pop, K-dramas, and K-beauty to traditional tourism offerings like cuisine, cultural heritage, and shopping, Korea has strengthened its competitiveness. As of 2022, 67.6% of inbound tourists cited Korea’s food culture as the main attraction for visiting the country, and tourism products linked to K-pop are also attracting a large number of foreign visitors. There is growing recognition that K-content is absolutely essential for Korea to transform into a global tourism powerhouse in order to overcome population decline due to low birth rates and the threat of regional depopulation.

However, there are still challenges that need to be addressed to further develop Korea’s tourism industry. Despite being a leader in ICT, the country faces issues where essential applications like Google Maps do not function properly due to domestic “IT regulations.” The Spatial Information Management Act restricts key functions such as 3D maps, driving routes, and walking paths, whereas neighboring countries like Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines can use global platform services freely. Additionally, domestic mapping apps lack sufficient language support. While Google Maps supports 39 languages and Uber supports 44, KakaoMap only offers services in Korean and English. The director of Yanolja Research Institute emphasized, “As global tourism continues to expand, it is important to improve these conditions to ensure convenience for international tourists.” With the increasing utilization of K-content in the tourism industry, efforts by both the Korean government and private sectors to build a foundation for a major tourism nation are accelerating.