Seoul government public relations met on Monday to discuss how they will go about promoting Seoul as a safe destination for foreign travels, despite the situation in North Korea.
In light of The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, (Pyongyang, also known as North Korea)'s, rapidly escalating threats of thermonuclear war on the Korean Peninsula, South Korean officials fear this will lead to severe drops in both short term and long term tourism.
PR representatives gathered amidst reports of further Pyongyang threats: North Korea warned all foreigners to evacuate the Republic of Korea, (South Korea), claiming they "do not wish harm on foreigners...should there be a war," on Tuesday.
"So, how can we promote Seoul as a safe destination in the foreign media?" officials asked each other, according to a report by CNN.
"It's a very important question, but the problem is that the foreign media believes North Korea's threats when they should not," said North Korea expert and professor at Seoul's Kookmin University Andrei Lankov said.
Lankov wagers that Democratic People's Republic of Korea leader Kim Jong Un is living too sweet of a life for him to risk it all by warring with South Korea.
"He is therefore the one person South Korea can truly depend on to not go to war," he said in the meeting conducted in his office.
Lankov went on to suggest that the Seoul government send out online blasts of imagery depicting South Koreans leading their normal lives, unaffected by the threats of their Northern neighbors.
He insists the North Korean government is banking upon compromised South Korean tourism and morale. Some travelers are already wary-even The Embassy has given a non-official recommendation that US citizens steer clear of visits to South Korea.
Korean American risk manager Annie Kim says two of her colleagues in New York City changed business trip plans because of the issues in the North.
Still, South Korea's tourism rates are better than they have been in the past: this month alone, the Republic of Korea experienced an 11.9 percent increase of inbound international tourists.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
