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UN E-Government Survey in the News  
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Seoul Mayor Courts Mainland Tourists
Source: Global Times, by Yang Lan, http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/891048.shtml
Source Date: Monday, November 10, 2014
Focus: ICT for MDGs
Country: Republic of Korea
Created: Nov 10, 2014

To further deepen cooperation between Seoul and several major Chinese cities and provinces, Park Won-soon, the Mayor of Seoul, South Korea, visited Shanghai on November 4 as part of a six-day trip to China.

Promoting Chinese tourism to Seoul was one of Park's major goals for the trip, which also included visits to Sichuan and Shandong provinces. According to the data from Shinhan Card and the Korea Culture Information Service Agency, Chinese tourists accounted for over 50 percent of all the credit card charges that tourists made in South Korea in the first half of 2014, more than the amounts charged by both American and Japanese tourists.

"More than 10 million tourists visited Seoul last year," Park told the Global Times. "This year we hope the number will reach 12 million. Most of the tourists are Chinese. The number of Chinese tourists is still growing. Their visits have a great influence on Seoul's economy. We hope to attract more Chinese tourists to Seoul by making their trips more convenient and worthwhile."

Most Chinese people go to South Korea in tour groups and only visit Seoul's major tourist attractions. They also like to shop. Park said the government is developing "tourism products" and cultural activities to give Chinese tourists a more satisfying experience.

Television studio tours are one such example. "Many Chinese people love the television show You Who Came from the Stars," Park said. "Now when Chinese tourists come to Seoul, they can visit the studio where the show was shot. If some people are interested in South Korean industries, we can arrange trips to Seoul's industrial parks."

On this trip, Park touted the "One Asia Pass" system to the mayors of the cities he visited. The system gives tourists from one member city access to coupons that offer discounts of up to 50 percent on transportation and admission to tourist attractions in another member city.

Furthermore, Seoul will establish more museums and build better infrastructure for conferences and exhibitions, Park said.

On Thursday, Park and the delegation from Seoul hosted a tourism promotion seminar in Chengdu. He pitched Seoul as a tourist destination to more than 100 representatives from local travel agencies, government institutions and members of the media. He also signed a memorandum of cooperation with Wei Hong, the Governor of Sichuan Province.

Cooperation between Seoul and major Chinese cities extends to other areas such as air pollution control, urban safety, investment and e-government.

South Korea topped the rankings of the 2014 United Nations E-Government Survey for the third time in a row because of Seoul's e-government systems. The third General Assembly of the World e-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments (WeGO) was held in Chengdu from Monday to Thursday. As the representative of the host city of the WeGO, Park attended the assembly and shared Seoul's experience in e-government with 300 representatives of more than 80 cities.

Seoul's government has started working with the governments of Shanghai and Shandong on investment and green technologies. Park signed memorandums of cooperation with Yang Xiong, the Mayor of Shanghai, and Guo Shuqing, the Governor of Shandong Province.

Park hopes these agreements will benefit the residents of China and Seoul.

"Both South Korea and China achieved urbanization through industrialization," he said. "After industrialization, the population of Seoul reached 10 million. China's urbanization is fast, and we will face similar urban problems in housing, publication, infrastructure and employment. Although the situation varies from city to city, we can solve many similar problems through exchange and cooperation. China is dealing with severe air pollution. Seoul has been through a similar situation. And we have put a lot of effort into environmental governance. There is a lot that we can work together on in this area."

Park Won-soon, the Mayor of Seoul. Photo: Courtesy of the Seoul Metropolitan Government
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