Taiwanese Tourists Visit Daegu for Tteokbokki and Gimbap

Foreign participants at the Daegu Tteokbokki Festival held in 2025 (provided by Daegu Metropolitan City) A total of 145 Taiwanese tourists will visit the Daegu and North Gyeongsang regions to experience Korea’s signature bunsik culture. The Korea Tourism Organization said on Oct. 21 that it will work with Buk-gu District in Daegu and the cities of Gimcheon and Gumi in North Gyeongsang to pursue overseas marketing aimed at fostering local bunsik festivals into global tourism content and encouraging visits by foreign travelers. The project was devised based on the fact that Taiwanese tourists account for the largest share of foreign visitors entering through Daegu and Gimhae International Airports. In particular, analysis showing strong local preferences in Taiwan for Korean food and high demand for culinary travel served as the key basis for product development. Since last September, the Korea Tourism Organization’s Taipei branch has partnered with major local travel agencies to launch Korea travel packages linked to bunsik festivals. The Taiwanese tourists arriving through the package products will visit the sites of the Daegu Tteokbokki Festival and the Gimcheon Gimbap Festival for two days starting on Oct. 23. They are expected to experience Korea’s distinctive bunsik culture firsthand and enjoy local flavors at the events. The Korea Tourism Organization said the visit is expected to serve as an opportunity to confirm the commercialization potential of regional tourism resources. Promotional channels will also be diversified. Overseas influencers will be invited not only to the festivals in Daegu and Gimcheon but also to the Gumi Ramyeon Festival to be held next month. The strategy is to spread the appeal of Korean bunsik around the world through social media and raise awareness. Min Byeong-seon, head of the Tourism Industry Division at the Korea Tourism Organization, said, "It is highly meaningful in that accessibility was improved in connection with regional airports and regional tourism resources were commercialized under the single theme of bunsik." Starting with the Taiwan market, the Korea Tourism Organization plans to gauge the overseas marketability of bunsik content and expand related product lines.