S. Korea: Foreign tourist arrivals rise to 8.8 million in 2010

The Culture ministry said Thursday that it made a notable achievement in the fields of culture, sports and tourism during the first three years of the Lee Myung-bak administration, with foreign tourist arrivals rising to 8.8 million in 2010.

The tourism industry has grown, posting 8.8 million foreign visitors last year, up from 6.89 million three years earlier, the ministry said.

During the Lee administration, a growing number of underprivileged local people have also enjoyed cultural events under the ministry’s “culture voucher” program, which gives them chances to see concerts, movies and plays, it said. The number of recipients in the program increased to 470,000 last year from 220,000 in 2008.

In a report to mark the third anniversary of Lee’s inauguration, the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sports said it has focused on protecting intellectual properties and cracking down on pirated products.

As a result, South Korea was removed from the piracy watch list of the United States Trade Representative for two consecutive years, said the ministry.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com