2005 Korea-Japan Visit Year to Boost Bilateral Tourism By Kim Rahn Staff Reporter The Korea National Tourism Organization (KNTO) held a welcoming ceremony on Saturday at Incheon International Airport for some 500 Japanese visitors, the first to arrive in Korea in 2005, the Korea-Japan Visit Year. The first Japanese tourists visiting Korea this year wave with the cast of Korean soap opera "The Great Changkum" after receiving flowers and presents at the welcoming celebration of the 2005 Korea-Japan Visit Year at Incheon International Airport, Saturday. In July last year, Korea and Japan chose 2005 to be the year for both to jointly boost tourism as well as promote mutual exchanges. The Korea-Japan Visit Year will bring a range of cultural and academic events for Korea-Japan Festa 2005, which will mark the 40th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic ties between the two countries. The two nations plan to double the number of tourists from overseas by developing joint travel programs. Korea attracted 5.3 million foreign tourists during the first 11 months of 2004, but aims to achieve 10 million visitors annually by 2008. The number of tourists from Korea and Japan visiting the other has also greatly increased. The number of Japanese tourists to Korea last year was some 2.4 million, up more than 30 percent from the 1.8 million of 2003, mainly due to Hallyu, or ``Korean Wave,’’ which refers to the boom in Korean pop culture in Asian countries. The number of passengers on ferries between Pusan and Japanese cities for last year also hit a record 1 million in December. More Korean tourists are also visiting Japan as ``tokkaebi trips,’’ or short-term tour programs over a weekend, become popular following the introduction of the five-day workweek. The two nations plan to hold several festivals to promote cultural exchange and friendship. These include events to meet with Korean entertainers and performances by a Japanese troupe, the Takarazuka Revue. ``We’ll develop more tour programs to achieve the goal of attracting 3 million Japanese visitors this year. We can take advantage of Hallyu, as well as the bullet train, for which the number of passengers reached 20 million on Sunday,’’ a KNTO official said. rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr Photo Caption & Credit: The first Japanese tourists visiting Korea this year wave with the cast of Korean soap opera "The Great Changkum" after receiving flowers and presents at the welcoming celebration of the 2005 Korea-Japan Visit Year at Incheon International Airport, Saturday. Yonhap