Klook, Jindo-gun open foreign-only specialty goods pickup center at Seoul Station

A global travel platform and a local government have joined forces to set up a direct pickup point for agricultural and marine products timed to foreign tourists' departure routes. The initiative goes beyond simple travel product brokerage, aiming to connect visitors directly with regional specialty goods as part of a co-prosperity model designed to expand the inbound tourism ecosystem.

Klook, a worldwide platform for accommodation, transportation and activity bookings, said it officially opened the Global Digital K-Food Hub — a specialty goods pickup center — at Airport Railroad Seoul Station on Monday, in partnership with Jindo-gun. Klook currently sells Jindo Eats, a line of Jindo specialty products, to foreign tourists visiting South Korea.

The opening ceremony, held at the pickup center on the second below-ground floor of Airport Railroad Seoul Station, was attended by Klook Korea Country Manager Lee Jun-ho, Jindo-gun County Chief Lee Jae-gak, Airport Railroad CEO Park Dae-su, Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development President Jo Ju-hyeon, and Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport public-private partnership regional co-prosperity project manager for Jindo-gun Seol Chang-wook.

The specialty goods sales initiative is part of a Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport public-private partnership regional co-prosperity project being pursued by Klook and Jindo-gun. It was designed to expand overseas sales channels for local agricultural and marine products while introducing foreign tourists to regional food, with the goal of driving actual visits and spending.

Jindo Eats is a specialty brand built around Jindo's agricultural and marine products. It currently offers six items: soy sauce-marinated crab, soy sauce-marinated abalone, rice, a perilla oil and sesame oil set, flower-shaped seaweed and curly dried laver. Foreign tourists can purchase items in advance through Klook and collect vacuum-packed products directly at the Seoul Station pickup center, eliminating the hassle of carrying purchases throughout their trip.

To mark the opening, Klook is running a promotion selling 100 packs of soy sauce-marinated crab to foreign visitors at $1 per pack, with a limit of two packs per person.

Klook plans to leverage its network of about 70 million monthly visitors to promote regional specialty products to international travelers and, by linking them with transportation and activity offerings, help revitalize tourism outside major cities.

"As foreign tourists' interest has been expanding beyond Seoul and a handful of popular destinations to diverse regions across the country, it is important to create an environment where they can more easily discover and experience what each region has to offer," Klook Korea Country Manager Lee Jun-ho said. "We will use Klook's global user base to introduce not only travel products but also distinctive local foods to travelers worldwide, and contribute to boosting foreign tourists' visits and spending in the regions."