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They put sound before scenery
When you think of a Korean tourism promo video, you probably picture Gyeongbokgung’s rooftops, the Han River at night, or cherry blossom lanes. But the one released on July 15, 2026—’Begin to Hear Korea with Park Bo Gum’—takes a different approach. It doesn’t ditch the scenery entirely, but it leads with the sounds you can hear in those places and the stories of the people there, rather than visual landmarks.
This is a 2026 overseas tourism promo video produced by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), starring actor Park Bo-gum. The KTO calls it their first-ever film-style global campaign video. Instead of a quick-cut ad showing tourist spots one after another, it’s closer to a short film that follows the flow of a person, music, and the journey itself. Compared to past tourism promos that zipped through landmarks, this sound-centered setup feels like an attempt to tap into what you actually sense when you’re in a place—beyond just visual info.
Park Bo-gum served as Korea’s honorary tourism ambassador for two years straight, from 2025 to 2026.
A music director collecting sounds
In the video, Park plays a Korean music director who travels around Korea with Danish musician Ki. Together, they collect sounds from various spots and piece them into one song. The setup—two people from different countries gathering sounds together—stands out. The unfamiliar Korean sounds to a foreign musician’s ears end up acting as a more relatable guide for overseas viewers.
The main materials? Subway announcement tones, the buzz of traditional markets, and the wind chimes hanging from hanok eaves. Instead of listing off tourist spot names, the video uses everyday Korean sounds as travel ingredients. By choosing sounds from subways, markets, and alleys over flashy landmarks, this campaign targets not a quick-hit landmark visit, but the kind of experience you’d only catch after staying in the city for a few days.
The KTO explains this as a reflection of the ‘Dailycation’ travel trend—wanting to experience locals’ ordinary routines. The teaser dropped on July 10, and the full video on July 15, on the KTO’s official YouTube channel VISITKOREA. Plans include expanding distribution to OTT platforms, smart TV channels, and in-flight entertainment.
YouTube comments on the video include reactions like, “It’s refreshing how the sounds of Korea I used to pass by without thinking come back as music.” But note, these aren’t official survey results—just personal responses from viewers.
Why sound?
The campaign’s core, as stated by the KTO, is expanding the sensory experience of tourism from ‘seeing Korea’ to ‘hearing and experiencing Korea.’ KTO President Park Sung-hyuk said they planned it so that the desire to hear the sounds in the video would lead to actual travel to Korea. The difference between ‘seeing tourism’ and ‘hearing tourism’ isn’t about information volume—it’s about how you immerse yourself. Sound can recreate the vibe of a place far more directly than a few photos ever could.
Sounds aren’t exclusive to famous tourist spots. Places where people live—subway stations, markets, hanok alleys—each have their own sounds. In that sense, the video sends a message that not just iconic landmarks, but Korea’s everyday life can be travel content too.
That said, it’s still too early to tell how much this sound-focused approach will impact actual inbound tourism demand. For those already interested in Korean culture, it might help them rediscover familiar routines. But for viewers who don’t know much about Korea, we’ll need campaign performance data to see how it lands.
Offline events are set for October
This campaign doesn’t stop at an online video. The KTO plans to hold a ‘Korea Sound Journey’ in October 2026 for about 100 foreign participants.
The program includes a ‘Sound Walk’—walking around Seoul while focusing on surrounding sounds—and a ‘Sound Talk & Share’ where Park Bo-gum chats about his travels in Korea. It’s worth noting that this extends to an offline event. It’s not just a campaign you watch and forget; there’s an actual chance for people who visit Korea to walk around and check out those sounds themselves.
Participants will be selected through a lottery among those who answer the ‘Park Bo-gum’s Sound Quiz’ on the VISITKOREA YouTube channel, which runs alongside the video release. So, the event and Park’s talk program weren’t already held back in July when the video came out—they’re planned for October.
A Sound Walk means walking while focusing on environmental sounds. Depending on the setup, you might get a guide’s explanation or use earphones and an audio guide, but there’s no fixed route or recorded commentary you have to follow.
You can try it yourself in Seoul
If you want to experience Seoul in a similar way, just turn on your phone’s voice recorder and start collecting everyday sounds. Focus on things you usually tune out—subway chimes, convenience store door alerts, market vendor calls, café buzzer rings. Like the characters in the video, instead of sticking to a set tourist course, pause and listen to the sounds around you. That alone can make the same streets feel different.
Traditional markets like Gwangjang or Mangwon are full of overlapping sounds. If you prefer a quieter setting, take a slow stroll through Seochon or hanok alleys. But remember, both markets and residential areas are places where people actually work and live.
Recording the general ambient noise of a space is one thing; capturing identifiable conversations or images of specific people and sharing them is another. If you want to record or film vendors or visitors up close and post it online, it’s safer and more polite to ask for consent first. In crowded markets, don’t block foot traffic, and in residential spots like Bukchon or Seochon, keep the noise down.
You can watch the full video right now on the VISITKOREA official YouTube channel. Watch it before you leave, then come to Korea and try hunting down similar sounds yourself. It’ll let you experience the city in a way that’s a little different from photo-focused tourism.
Sources: VISITKOREA ‘Begin to Hear Korea with Park Bo Gum’ official film (YouTube); NewsPim ‘KTO unveils first film-style global campaign video with Park Bo-gum’, July 14, 2026; Kyunghyang Shinmun ‘Park Bo-gum transforms into a music director… Korean sounds collected from a ‘travel like a movie scene”, July 14, 2026; The Travel News ‘Park Bo-gum’s Korea tourism film released… Begin to Hear Korea through sound’, July 2026; KTO press release ‘First film-style global campaign Begin to Hear Korea unveiled’.
