UNSRC Korean Cultural Society

Event

Korea Herald

An MOU between the nation’s tourism authority and Michelin was signed yesterday, sealing the deal to publish the Korean edition of the French tiremaker’s travel guides next year.

Korea Tourism Organization President Lee Charm presided over the signing with chief of Michelin Japan Bernard Delmas at the KTO headquarters in central Seoul on Tuesday.

The KTO hopes it will attract further inbound tourism from areas outside of the Asian region through this agreement to publish the Korean edition of the popular travel guide.

“Last year we had about 1 million more visitors than the previous year,” Lee told Delmas.

“But of the total 7.8 million visitors, only 61,000 came from France and I hope the publishing of the green guide will attract more French visitors here.”

Last year, Korea posted a record number of visitors with almost 8 million, but a large chunk of that figure was made up of tourists from China and Japan.

Combined, travelers from the two neighboring countries took up more than 57 percent of the tourism pie.

“Along with Lonely Planet, the Green Guide is one of the most trusted guides for travelers all over,” Lee said.

“Korea is definitely getting on the map and not just the Michelin map but on the world map and people are more and more becoming interested in Korea — not just our products but our culture and history as well as food culture, which is gaining more attention around the world.”

Michelin has covered 52 countries and cities for its guides that are published annually.

The guides rate lodging, restaurants and key sites of the country it features through its popular three-star barometer made popular by its more famous cousin, the Red Guide.

Though the green edition isn’t as stringent in its ratings as its red counterpart the KTO hopes the publication of the green edition will be the initial step in its push to also establish a red one.

The two sides have been mulling that possibility since the talk of creating a Green Guide began early this year.

“Through this signing of the MOU for the Green Guide, we will try to establish an agreement for the Red Guide later this year,” Lee said.

Korea’s first Michelin Green Guide will be available in both English and French, and is set to hit the bookshelves in March 2011 through joint cooperation between the two organizations.

“Korea has always been very important for Michelin in terms of business. The purpose of our guides is basically to facilitate mobility for professionals and travelers in general for them to find a place to stay, eat, and etc,” said Delmas.

“We hope that this guide will enhance the image of Korea all over the world.”

송웅기(kws@heraldm.com)

News Clippings

KOREA TIMES
04-20-2010 17:09

Jung Sung-ha, a 13-year-old fingerstyle guitarist, is preparing to release his debut album and hold performances in Korea and abroad in the next few months. / Korea Times File

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter

At first glance, Jung Sung-ha looks like any ordinary middle school student in jeans and sneakers, on a Saturday afternoon, at a shopping mall in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul.

But when the lanky 13-year-old boy climbed on stage in the middle of the mall, Jung transformed into a guitar prodigy ― his lean fingers flying all over the guitar strings, creating music that captivated the crowd.

“Playing the guitar makes me happy. I can express whatever I’m feeling when I’m playing the guitar,” a slightly bashful Jung told The Korea Times, after his performance.

Jung is a certified YouTube star _ videos of him playing acoustic versions of songs by U2, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, The Eagles and Extreme have been viewed more than 110 million times.

As proof of his popularity, the precocious fingerstyle guitarist has already performed in Thailand, Germany, Finland and the United States, where he toured five cities with fellow fingerstyle guitarist Trace Bundy.

As proof of his popularity, the precocious fingerstyle guitarist has already performed in Thailand, Germany, Finland and the United States, where he toured five cities with fellow fingerstyle guitarist Trace Bundy.

Last week, Jung performed at a high-profile charity concert, alongside Brian McKnight and Patti LaBelle, at the historic Warner Theater in Washington, D.C. Famous producer David Foster, who has produced songs for Celine Dion and Barbra Streisand, personally invited him to perform at the event, which will be broadcast on national TV.

“This was my first time to meet such big names in the music industry. The whole thing was pretty exciting. It was a huge experience… David Foster gave me some advice: get a good education and a musical education, improve my English and develop my personality so I can express myself more on stage. But he said I was on the right track,” Jung said.

In early 2006, at nine years old, Jung started playing the guitar, after watching his father play. His talent became apparent when Jung would watch videos online and be able to play the music without the original tabs. He adopted the fingerstyle technique, wherein the guitar strings are plucked directly with the fingertips or picks attached to the fingers.

“I’ve only been playing for four years. I watched my father play for a long time. … I mastered the songs one by one,” Jung said.

His father started uploading videos of his son playing on YouTube, where the number of views skyrocketed, and people were buzzing: Who is this kid?

“It’s been really awesome. It’s been great being able to communicate with many musicians I’ve admired, and for me to be admired by so many people,” Jung said.

Jung, who uses a custom Lakewood guitar (the German acoustic guitar manufacturer has been his sponsor since January 2009), obviously enjoys playing music a lot. He gets advice from his father on what songs to play, which are mostly rock or guitar standards.

Jung still tries to lead the life of a normal boy. During the week, he lives at Cheongshim International Academy, a boarding school in Chungju. He receives private guitar lessons and practices two or three hours a day. On weekends, he tries to spend time with his family and occasionally plays some gigs. And like any teenager, Jung can’t live without his iPod, and admires Big Bang’s G-Dragon.

Next month, he will be releasing his debut album, “Perfect Blue,” featuring 14 songs, including two of his own compositions. The album was recorded in Germany with the help of another famous fingerstyle guitarist, Ulli Boegershausen, earlier this year.

Boegershausen was impressed by Jung’s talent, after seeing the boy play his composition “Tango” on YouTube. Jung cites Boegershausen as a mentor and one of his musical inspirations.

The next few months are shaping up to be busy for Jung. He will be performing at the Asia Society’s second anniversary event on April 29, and the Privy Seoul Event, organized by The XStream Productions, in July.

Next month, Jung will share the stage with legendary Latin musician Sergio Mendes on May 15, as part of Latin Jazz Day at the Seoul Jazz Festival.

Asked about his dream, Jung said: “I want to be a professional guitarist who plays music and tours around the world. I want to meet many musicians and play with them.”

He might only be 13, but he is already getting closer to achieving his dream.

News Clippings