23 October 2015 - Autumn has descended upon Seoul, with its light breezes, gold- or rust-colored foliage, chillier temperatures and shorter daylight hours. Along one popular street in Seoul, however, the tropical sun continues to shine as if to show that, indeed, it’s more fun in the Philippines.
The Philippine Embassy has festooned its chancery, which is located on hip Kyungridan Street in Itaewon, a foreigner-friendly neighborhood in Yongsan-gu district of Seoul, with posters, measuring an average of 4 meters by 3 meters, of emerging tourism destinations of Albay, Vigan, Palawan and Bohol as part of its 2016 Visit the Philippines Again tourism campaign.
“We are happy and proud to decorate the building of our diplomatic mission here in South Korea, which happens to be located in one of the hippest destinations for young people in Seoul, with colorful photos of the best and newest destinations the Philippines can offer,” said Philippine Ambassador to South Korea Raul S. Hernandez.
“I hope Seoulites, especially those who flock to Kyungridan Street on the weekends, will like our modest contribution to making this street even more popular,” Ambassador Hernandez added.
The tourism ads were put up with the support of the Tourism Promotion Board (TPB), an attached agency of the Philippine Department of Tourism (PDOT), headed by TPB Chief Operating Officer Domingo Ramon C. Enerio III.
PDOT-Korea Director Maricon B. Ebron said even Koreans, who universally know about Cebu and Boracay as the Philippines’ top tourist attractions, will be excited to renew their acquaintance with the Southeast Asian archipelagic country, the second biggest in the world, through the new destinations being marketed for next year.
She added that each of the four destinations represents a unique aspect of the multifaceted country: Mt. Mayon of Albay, known all over the world for its once-perfect cone shape; the bahay-na-bato structures of Vigan, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, dating back to the Spanish colonial heritage of the country; the Underground River of Puerto Princesa, Palawan, one of the new Seven Wonders of Nature, together with Jeju Island in the Republic of Korea; and the iconic “chocolate hills” of Bohol, which is also of the most diverse ecosystems in the country.
In addition, the Embassy’s entrance hallway has also been decorated with framed posters depicting Manila, Boracay, Davao, Philippine festivals, as well as a wall-to-wall photo of the Banaue Rice Terraces, 2,000-year-old rice fields that were carved into the mountains of Ifugao in the Philippines by ancestors of the indigenous people.
The large tourism promotional photos joins similar ads put up by the Department of Tourism around the world, such as on iconic London double decker buses and black checker cabs, Shinkansen bullet trains in Japan and inside the Gangnam subway station in the district that shot to fame thanks to the song “Gangnam Style” by Korean singer Psy. END