Park Bo-gum stars in Korea Tourism Organization's new global campaign built around sound

Actor Park Bo-gum is set to star in a cinematic global tourism campaign centered on the everyday sounds of Korea. The campaign moves away from visually driven promotions, incorporating auditory elements to attract more international tourists.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization will release the 2026 Korea tourism overseas promotional video featuring Park Bo-gum on Wednesday.

Park stars in the campaign, titled "Begin to Hear Korea," serving as honorary ambassador for Korean tourism for the second consecutive year. Having showcased the joy of discovering Korea last year, Park takes on the role of music director this year, traveling across the country with Danish musician Ki to collect sounds and shape them into a single piece of music.

This year's campaign was designed to draw viewers into an auditory experience that goes beyond the visual. Reflecting the "dailycation" travel trend — in which tourists seek out ordinary, everyday life in a destination — the video captures a range of sounds: subway announcements, the bustle of traditional markets, and wind chimes hanging from the eaves of hanok, traditional Korean wooden houses.

The full video will premiere Wednesday on the Korea Tourism Organization's YouTube channel, VISITKOREA. A teaser released Friday introduced the main characters. The organization plans to expand distribution to over-the-top streaming services, smart TV channels and in-flight entertainment systems.

Offline events are also planned to turn the film's emotional impact into actual visits to Korea. As part of the campaign, the Korea Tourism Organization has organized interactive events for international audiences.

The Korea Tourism Organization will hold a "Korea Sound Journey" event in October alongside the honorary tourism ambassador. Open to about 100 international participants, the event will feature a sound walk through Seoul — encouraging attendees to tune in to the city's ambient sounds — as well as a sound talk where guests can share their Korea travel stories with Park. Participants will be selected by lottery from those who answer correctly in a "Park Bo-gum Sound Quiz Event" held on the VISITKOREA YouTube channel.

The Korea Tourism Organization said it hopes the campaign will move beyond passive viewing and inspire people to actually visit Korea.

Korea Tourism Organization President Park Seong-hyeok said the campaign represents "a new attempt to expand travel in Korea from something you see to something you experience through sound." He added that the organization designed it so that watching a film and experiencing the everyday life and sensibility of Korea through sound — feeling the urge to hear those sounds in person or visit those places — would translate into an actual trip to Korea.