The ASEAN-Korea Center presents the third series of its Browngbag Seminar with the first lecture slated for Tuesday.
The seminar aims to present a better understanding of tourism in the ASEAN region for the general public. This year’s series will be catered especially to those looking to travel to Southeast Asian countries.
Over the course of ten lectures, embassy and national tourism organization officials from the ten countries will introduce their countries through the “ASEAN Insight: Popular and New Tourist Sites.”
The Tourism Authority of Thailand kicks off the series on Tuesday with an introduction to the popular tourist destination. It will introduce Thailand under the title “Amazing Thailand Always Amazes You,” and will explain the country’s historical background as a trade nation. The country sits at the center of several ASEAN nations and has a rich history of assimilating foreign culture into its own, creating four distinct regions in a single country.
According to the authority, visitors flock from all over the world to experience the unique melange of flavors and culture in the regions neighboring Laos, Malaysia, Cambodia and Myanmar.
Malaysia will also share information on its various areas. The Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board will give an introduction of Malacca, a historical city that has received recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The board will also give a brief explanation as to why Kota Kinabalu is the top tourist destination in the country for Koreans.
In the same vein, the Embassy of Indonesia will introduce the country on July 17. The country and its over 17,000 islands also shares a deep history of trade, receiving cultural influences from European and Islamic countries.
The Embassy of Myanmar will also come out to chart its tourist attractions that offer a blend of both culture and nature.
On top of those already mentioned, officials from Brunei and Vietnam will speak about the tourist attractions in their countries every Tuesday till July 24. Officials from Laos, Philippines, Singapore and Cambodia will hold their lectures from Oct. 26 to Nov. 13. The majority of the lectures will be conducted in English and the seminar will offer Korean interpretation.
The region is the second-largest tourist destination for Koreans as some 3.3 million tourists visit a year.
For further information, visit www.aseankorea.org or contact the center by email at lecture@aseankorea.org or call (02) 2287-1145.
By Robert Lee (
robert@heraldcorp.com)
