South Korea is seeing a surge in foreign tourism driven by the global popularity of K-pop and Korean culture, but tourism focused on its modern history remains underdeveloped. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism said on Friday that there is a significant gap in foreign visitor numbers between dark tourism sites and other attractions. Dark tourism, also known as black tourism or grief tourism, involves visiting sites linked to tragic events such as wars, massacres and disasters. Notable
Dark tourism involves visiting sites associated with tragic events, such as wars, disasters, and massacres.
Despite a surge in general tourism driven by K-pop, dark tourism sites have not seen similar foreign visitor numbers.
K-pop's global popularity has significantly increased foreign interest in South Korea, boosting general tourism but not dark tourism.