How Foreign Students are Shaping K-Tourism: The Launch of the 2025-2026 Chungnam Tourism Promotion Team

Chungnam Province is stepping up efforts to become a K‑tourism hub by putting international and domestic college students front and center in its tourism promotion.

Observers say the initiative matters beyond marketing: it’s a public‑private‑academic partnership that connects young people, universities and local communities in a meaningful way.
 

On April 8, Chungnam announced the launch of the second university student tourism promotion team in preparation for the 2025–2026 “Year to Visit Chungnam.” The plan: boost the province’s tourism edge by creating content that reflects younger generations’ tastes and sensibilities.
 

Three universities—Namseoul University, Sunmoon University and Hoseo University—are participating. The program notably builds a global promotional network centered on international students and tailors activities to each school’s strengths.
 

Namseoul University will lead an international promotion team focused on its foreign students, headed by Professor Seong‑hwa Bae. The team will produce content in students’ native languages, capturing local cultures and emotions to deliver more relatable and persuasive tourism messages to overseas audiences. Content reimagined through international students’ perspectives could become a key asset for generating global interest in Chungnam.
 

Sunmoon University will serve as a global ambassador, leveraging an infrastructure of more than 3,000 international students. Under Professor Moon‑kyung Kim’s leadership, the university will link its aviation service curriculum with the promotion team’s work to create content geared to foreign visitors while training practical, globally minded tourism professionals.
 

Hoseo University, led by Professor Byung‑chul Kim of the Convergence Department, is joining for a second consecutive year, ensuring continuity and deeper expertise. With prior experience, the university aims to deliver more systematic promotional efforts.
 

Through year‑end, the teams will produce and share short‑form videos and social media content focused on major tourist sites and local festivals, tailored to Gen Z and millennial audiences. Chungnam Province hopes these campaigns will boost brand awareness and drive more international visitors.
 

Jo Il‑gyo, director of the provincial Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, said, “Including international students in this promotion team gives us a powerful tool to introduce Chungnam tourism to global markets. By combining university creativity with young people’s instincts, we’ll raise Chungnam into a K‑tourism destination people from around the world want to visit.”
 

Meanwhile, Chungnam has been accelerating public‑private‑academic collaboration—most recently signing a memorandum of understanding with Sunmoon University’s RISE Center on April 1—to build a cooperative system that helps universities and the region grow together.