Osan City Receives Cultural Tourism Award at Korea Wave Awards

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Osan City has received the Korea Wave Awards.

The city was awarded the "Cultural Tourism Award" in the local government category at the "2019 Korea Wave Awards" held on the 13th at Sejong Hall in Sejong Culture Center in Seoul.

The "Korea Wave Awards," hosted by the Chair of the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee and organized by the Korea Wave Culture Industry Forum, is an event that honors recipients who have contributed to the development of the Korean Wave through outstanding activities in various fields including Korean Wave culture, Korean Wave tourism, and Korean Wave industry throughout the year. This was the ninth time the awards were held.

The Korea Wave Awards selected a total of 30 organizations and honorees across seven categories: traditional culture, cultural tourism, cultural industry, international exchange, pure culture, popular culture, and special awards.

In the local government category, the city was the sole recipient of the award. The city attracted the "Arthdal Chronicles" drama set to a shared site in Naesanmi-dong and established and implemented mid- to long-term plans for the creation of a Korean Wave culture complex. The city was also recognized for its contributions to Korean Wave growth through the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding with Chinese companies on Korean Wave tourism and publicity of Korean Wave cultural tourism projects both domestically and internationally.

Mayor Kwak Sang-wook of Osan City, who attended the awards ceremony, said, "In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, Korean Wave tourism is an important growth engine for regional development," and added, "We will continue to promote the commercialization of the 'Arthdal Chronicles' drama set as a tourism resource and develop attractive local tourism attractions and build infrastructure. Osan will contribute to the development of the Korean Wave as a key hub of Korean Wave culture in the southern Gyeonggi region."