Foreign Tourist Visits to Seoul Decline, While Jeju and Other Regions See Increases

The proportion of foreign tourists visiting Seoul has decreased, while the share of those visiting Jeju and other regional areas has increased. 

According to the Korea Tourism Organization's Korea Tourism Data Lab, 5.73 million foreigners visited South Korea through Incheon Airport, Gimpo Airport, and Incheon Port in the first half of this year, accounting for 74.4% of all foreign visitors. 

This represents an 8.9 percentage point decrease compared to the same period last year.

A Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism official stated, “We aim to actively support regional tourism businesses at every stage, from product planning to promotion, in order to attract more visitors and ultimately invigorate the region.”

Incheon City Offers Woodworking Experience Program for Pet Products

Incheon Metropolitan City’s Incheon Grand Park Office is launching a woodworking experience program, "DIY Pet Wood Products for Your Home," in response to the growing number of pet owners. This program allows citizens to craft their own wooden pet products.

The woodworking experience program will run from September 7 to October 26, every Saturday for eight weeks. It offers an intermediate to advanced level of woodworking experience, allowing participants to create various pet-related items, such as dog houses, cat houses, and pet beds. 

High school students and adults with an interest in woodworking can apply, and applications are available through the Incheon City online reservation website.

Smoking Ban Zones Expand from August 17 Due to Amendments in the National Health Promotion Act

Incheon Metropolitan City has announced that, starting August 17, smoking ban zones around kindergartens, daycare centers, and elementary, middle, and high schools will be expanded due to amendments in the National Health Promotion Act.

Under the new amendments, the smoking ban zone has been extended from within 10 meters of these facilities to within 30 meters. Individuals caught smoking within these expanded zones will face fines of up to 100,000 won, so smokers are advised to exercise extra caution.

An Incheon city official stated, “We hope that this expansion of smoking ban zones will protect children and adolescents, who are the future generations, from the harms of secondhand smoke and allow them to grow up in a cleaner environment.”

The Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education Hosts IUT Summer School for Multicultural STEM Students

The Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education is running the IUT (Inha University in Tashkent) Summer Camp in Uzbekistan from August 10 to 17 (local time) for ten multicultural high school students interested in STEM fields.

The IUT Summer Camp is designed for multicultural students with excellence in STEM to conduct team projects, participate in STEM classes conducted in English at the IUT Summer School, and share their research processes and results with Uzbek students, thereby facilitating cultural exchange.

An official from the Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education stated, 'To enhance global competencies such as diversity, openness, creativity, and self-directed learning, we will continue to actively run the 'Incheon Global Learning Schools,' which offer international experiential learning opportunities for students.'

Sources: https://news.ifm.kr