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| August 6th, 2024 Korea Wellness News |
Welcome to our latest blog post, where we explore the exciting developments in Korea Wellness as of August 6th, 2024.
Renowned for its innovation and holistic approach, Korea Wellness continues to set the pace in the global wellness industry.
In this post, we delve into the nation's newest AI-driven health monitoring systems, offering real-time insights that empower individuals to take charge of their well-being.
We also highlight the booming Korea Wellness tourism sector, attracting global visitors eager to experience traditional Korean practices like Hanbang and modern wellness retreats.
Furthermore, we discuss the government's increased funding for mental health services, emphasizing a comprehensive approach to wellness that includes mental, physical, and emotional health.
Join us as we uncover how Korea Wellness is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life, setting a global standard.
Whether you're a wellness enthusiast, a healthcare professional, or simply curious about innovative health practices, this post provides valuable insights into the future of Korea Wellness.
Read on to discover how Korea Wellness is shaping the world of wellness today.
**Tidesquare launches Tourvis Select, where wellness and luxury hotels meet**.
Tidesquare has officially launched Tourvis Select, a new luxury hotel booking service, in July 2024. The service will offer a curated selection of the finest hotels and resorts in the country and abroad, targeting customers who value safety, privacy and wellness in the post-COVID-19 era.
In partnership with global luxury hotel chains such as Aman, Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton, Tourvis Select offers a unique line-up of hotels that are difficult to book through traditional travel agents. Customers will receive personalised booking services through one-on-one consultations with hotel and resort concierges, and can enjoy a range of benefits including complimentary breakfast, room upgrades, F&B credits, and more.
To celebrate the launch, the service will run a three-week 'Spread the Word about Select' promotion from 8 August, with prizes including a five-night stay at the Hyatt Regency Bali and Starbucks gift cards. Tourvis Select is a trusted partner that is officially recognised by global luxury hotel chains, enabling members to enjoy member privileges and earn loyalty points without having to sign up for membership.
For more information, visit the Tourbis Select website.
**In-house start-ups in the food industry leading the way in wellness and innovation
The food industry is innovating to secure future growth through in-house start-ups. In-house venture programmes that reflect the creative ideas of employees are being evaluated as effective in reducing costs and creating performance.
Nongshim has been operating the 'N-Start' programme since 2018 and has promoted various new businesses such as smart farms, health functional foods, and its own mall. Recently, the in-house startup 'Traditional Liquor Commercialisation Promotion Team' launched a new traditional liquor highball product. Nongshim is supporting the growth of in-house startups by introducing pet nutrition and rice wine products.
CJ CheilJedang is launching a plant-based beverage brand, 'Active', in 2022 through its 'inno100' programme, and expanding its dessert lineup, while its food upcycling business has led to the successful commercialisation of 'Excycle Crisps' overseas.
LOTTE WELLFOOD encourages failure and promotes the spirit of challenge through its in-house venture programme. Examples of successful in-house ventures include the mobile game 'Cat Garden' and the brand showroom and café 'Annual Leave'. LOTTE WELLFOOD supports the realisation and refinement of business models and helps internal startups grow.
According to industry insiders, in-house startups have advantages in terms of economic efficiency and utilising existing infrastructure, and this trend is spreading across various industries.
**Wellness meets design, LOTTE Wellfood's plant-based dessert 'Joy' wins Red Dot 2024 Honour Award
LOTTE WELLFOOD has won the 2024 Red Dot Design Award in the 'Brand & Communication Design' category for its plant-based dessert brand 'Joee'. The Red Dot Design Award is one of the world's top three design awards, recognising global design excellence alongside the iF Design Award in Germany and IDEA in the United States.
Joy is a dessert brand that uses 100% plant-based ingredients and emphasises the value of health and wellness under the slogan 'Joy of Green Dessert'. Breaking away from the subdued image of traditional plant-based products, Joy's package design incorporates bright, vibrant colours and illustrations to attract attention. The design conveys a healthy and energetic image and aims to break down the traditional stereotypes of plant-based foods.
To embed its eco-friendly values, Joy used paper packaging and flexo printing to minimise its environmental impact. The award is a global recognition of Joy's health & wellness and eco-friendly design.
"We are pleased that the design that emphasises the health & wellness and eco-friendly values of the Joy brand has been recognised by the Global Design Awards," said a representative from Lotte Well Food. "We will continue to lead industry trends and strengthen design management through designs that make use of the individuality of our products."
Joy currently operates four products, including two snacks and two jellies.
**Harmonising wellness and tourism, Gangjin Wellness Resort project accelerates
Gangjin-gun, Jeollanam-do, is moving ahead with a project to build a wellness resort to promote staycation tourism. The project has been progressing rapidly since the signing of an MOU between Gangjin-gun and Dongseung Park & Resort Co. in September 2022, and is expected to gain momentum with the recent passage of the cultural heritage status change permit review.
The Gangjin Wellness Resort is a large-scale project with a total investment of KRW 120 billion on 4.55 million square metres (approximately 1.38 million pyeong) of land in Daegu-myeon, including a 100-room luxury hotel (Hilton), a nine-hole golf course, and a therapeutic forest path. The resort will reflect the latest leisure trends that emphasise private space, and will provide tourists with a stay-and-play type of facility.
The project is scheduled to begin district-level planning in the second half of this year, with construction expected to begin in late 2025 and be completed in 2027. Gangjin County will actively support the creation of the infrastructure at the county level, and plans to develop it into an attractive tourism complex with a strategy of 'small-scale' and 'high-end'.
"We will spare no effort to ensure that important facilities to counter the disappearance of rural areas are promoted as soon as possible," said Kang Jin-won, the county's military chief, adding, "With the passing of this deliberation, we will accelerate the creation of the resort." "We will expedite the administrative process as the cultural heritage status change permit has been resolved," said Kim Yong-sik, CEO of Dongseung Park & Resort, adding that the company plans to invest in the project with the goal of breaking ground in 2025.
Dongseung Park & Resort is expected to change the tourism map of Gangjin and become a new watershed in the influx of tourists through the Gangjin Wellness Resort project.
**Wellness and sprawl, Jeju's Hanwha Resort development controversy**.
A large-scale resort development project by a Hanwha Group affiliate on Jeju Island is causing controversy. The project, located in the mid-mountainous area of Aewol-eup, Jeju Island, involves a total investment of 1.7 trillion won ($1.251 billion) to build accommodation and various cultural facilities on a 125,479 square metre site. However, the lodging industry and local residents on Jeju Island are strongly opposed to the project.
The Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Rural Bed and Breakfast Association said in a statement on 6 June that it opposes Hanwha's development of a large tourism complex. "Jeju's tourism industry is suffering from a decline in domestic tourists and an oversupply of accommodation, and the emergence of a large-scale resort will create serious competition for small bed and breakfast businesses," the association warned. They fear that large-scale development will further polarise the local economy and exacerbate economic distress for accommodation providers.
Hanhua's tourism park development project is located in a mid-mountainous region at an altitude of more than 300 metres above sea level, and is taking place in an area designated as a special management zone for groundwater resources, raising environmental concerns. The development standards for the project area have also been partially relaxed under the recently released "Standards for Sustainable Urban Management Planning", which is also causing controversy. The guidelines divide development in the mid-mountainous region into two zones, with the second zone allowing tourist recreational facilities without golf courses.
Rural bed and breakfast operators on Jeju Island argue that "large-scale resort development will lead to the decline of the local economy and social conflicts," and emphasise the need to collaborate with wellness tourism that makes use of local characteristics to address the island's disappearance. They are calling for a halt to Hanwha's large-scale development project in consideration of the local economy and environment.
**Gangwon Land's Samcheok, Yeongwol, Taebaek, Jeongseon region tourism revitalisation with wellness
Gangwon Land has begun to revitalise tourism in the Samcheok, Yeongwol, Taebaek and Jeongseon regions of Gangwon Province, which have moved beyond their former mining reputation and are now being revitalised by clean ecology and wellness tourism.
In Jeongseon, there is Byeongbangchi, where you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the Baekdu Bridge, and the fastest zipline in Korea, as well as various attractions such as the Hwamam Cave, Haiwon Sky Road, and Untango, a briquette carrier. Jeongseon's specialities include nostril noodles and gondrebap, and the local market, Jeongseon Oil Market, is also a tourist attraction.
The Taebaek area is famous for the source of the Han River and Nakdong River, the Tongri Tantan Park and Aurora Park where dramas are filmed, and the Paleozoic Natural Heritage Museum. Taebaek's tourist attractions and local food are also very popular.
Yeongwol has various tourist resources such as Cheongryeongpo, Jangneung, Byeolmaro Observatory, Donggang River rafting, and Beopheung Valley, and also offers natural beauty such as Paleozoic geological scenery and Yoseon rock. In addition to this, there is also the Kimsatgat Valley and various museums and art galleries that welcome tourists.
Samcheok has many tourist attractions, including Gangwon Land's Chuchu Park and camping grounds, Chogok Yonggul Coastal Trail, Bamboo Tree, Hwanseongul and Daegeumgul. Mwangbang Beach, a mecca for BTS fans, and marine cable cars such as Yonghwa Port and Jangho Port are also very popular.
In conjunction with the region's tourism resources, Gangwon Land is striving to promote local gourmet food through the 'Jeong-Tae-Young-Sam Bus Tour' and the 'Taste of Korea' project by dispatching chefs. It also operates various wellness programmes such as Sky Trail trekking, Pet Club pet travel, foam roller detox, and sound therapy. In addition, the local food summer speciality buffet consisting of local specialities and the outdoor Sky Garden with a market concept are also popular among visitors.
In recognition of its excellence in wellness and health travel, Hiwon Resort was recently awarded the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) Tourism Excellence Certification by the Korea Management Certification Institute, contributing to the development of sustainable tourism.
**Parkroche's Homemade Slow Food Breakfast with Wellness**.
Parkroche Resort & Wellness is introducing a homemade slow food menu for a healthy breakfast. Since last year, Parkroche has set a new standard in the wellness industry by offering Breakslow, a new concept breakfast that is available after check-out until 1pm. This year, the brand has added a Slow Food menu to its offerings to create a true Slow Wellness experience.
Slow Food emphasises the art of waiting, and is utilised in Parkrosh's Breakslow main menu. The programme included a traditional marinating programme using Jeju's native blue beans, spring water from Jeongsun Gariwangsan Mountain, and sea salt from Seohae. The jang made with the customers' participation is aged for 120 days and is carefully managed by the chefs.
Breakslow menu items utilising these homemade soy sauce and miso include vegetable miso at the bibimbap station, seasoned soy sauce with chodang sundubu, and mapo tofu with miso. Other menu items include Gondre Stone Pot Bibimbap with Jeongseon Soy Sauce, Dduk & Modum Mushroom Bibimbap with Bibim Soy Sauce, Korean Beef Chadol Cold Miso Jjigae, Burdock Mushroom Strong Miso and Assorted Ssambap, Miso Bossam Set Meal, and Grilled Eel with Soy Sauce.
Breaks are served at Park Kitchen from 7am to 1pm, and in the evenings, Korean cuisine prepared with the finest ingredients is available from 5.30pm to 9pm daily. Parkrosh provides an opportunity to experience healthy and hearty meals through wellness and slow food.
**Mayor Kim Bora's vision of 'Anseong as a luxury city' with wellness**.
Anseong City, led by Mayor Kim Bora, is promoting various innovative projects to become a 'luxury city'. The city is focusing on improving the quality of life by expanding public infrastructure, improving transport and culture, and this is attracting attention as an urban development strategy linked to wellness.
Mayor Kim Bora sees improving settlement conditions as key to the city's development. In this regard, public infrastructure such as administrative welfare centres, lifelong learning centres, family centres, empathy centres, and welfare facilities for the disabled have been greatly expanded, and the quality of life of citizens has been improved by improving transportation and creating eco-friendly parks. These efforts are crystallising Anseong's vision of becoming a wellness city.
Anseong City has set a target of 300,000 people by 2040 and is focusing on improving settlement conditions to achieve this goal. Currently, the city lacks administrative, medical, cultural, and sports facilities for children, youth, and the elderly, and relies on buses for transport due to a lack of rail infrastructure. To address these issues, Mayor Kim Bora is promoting a range of policies linked to wellness.
In particular, in areas related to wellness, Anseong City emphasises improving living conditions as a necessary condition for regional development and citizen happiness. This is expected to strengthen the city's competitiveness, attract businesses and create jobs, increase population, and preserve the environment. Under the leadership of Mayor Kim Bora, Anseong continues to pursue its transformation into a wellness city.
**Wellness meets oriental medicine: MOU signed with Daegu Hansa University's Oriental Medicine Experience Town and Jaehyung Kyungbuk Bypass***.
Daegu Han University's Oriental Medicine Experience Town has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Daegu Metropolitan Veterans Association for a wellness cultural experience. The agreement aims to promote mutual development and information exchange between the two organisations, activate internal and external publicity, and expand herbal medical experiences for members and their families.
The Oriental Medicine Experience Town is a complex cultural space created to revitalise the city of Yakryeong in Daegu and promote the excellence of oriental medicine, contributing to the health of citizens and the development of the local economy. It includes an ICT oriental medicine experience centre, an oriental medicine and beauty experience centre, and a foot bath experience centre, and operates various wellness programmes for modern people.
The Experience Town offers education on oriental medicine knowledge for children, acupuncture experience programmes, and mind-healing programmes such as art therapy classes and art book clubs. In addition, various herbal medicine-related programmes such as DIY experiences are held, and through this agreement, members of the Veterans Association will be able to experience these programmes as well.
The signing ceremony was attended by Jeong Hyun-ah, director of the Herbal Medicine Experience Town, and Jang Byung-wook, chairman of the Daegu Veterans Association, and the two organisations plan to further promote a culture of wellness through mutual cooperation. This agreement is expected to contribute to the promotion of community and health through the intersection of wellness and oriental medicine.
**Wellness and Foodtech: VC investments in K-foodtech startups continue to grow***.
Foodtech is at the centre of innovation in the food service industry. Foodtech is the convergence of food and technology, and is a new industry that applies advanced technologies such as bio, AI, IoT, 3D printing, and robotics to the food industry. The recent rapid growth of the domestic food tech market has led to a spate of venture capital (VC) investments in related startups.
The domestic food tech market has been attracting attention, growing 31 per cent from KRW 17 trillion in 2017 to KRW 61 trillion in 2020. The global market also grew to about KRW 665 trillion in 2020. In line with this trend, several food tech startups are actively attracting investment.
Jeju Island-based citrus manufacturer and distributor 'Gulmedal' recently received a Pre-A investment from US venture capital firm Strong Ventures. The company is known for producing zero-sugar juices using unique citrus varieties and providing customised juices to suit customers' tastes. The investment will focus on functional beverage R&D and ingredient development.
Sleep health functional food startup Noctrisearch has received seed investment from Delightroom, the operator of the global wellness app Alami. NoctreeResearch will develop personalised nutraceuticals and collaborate with Delightroom to provide solutions for sleep problems.
In addition, SweetBio, a premium Greek yoghurt manufacturer, raised a ¥200 million Series B bridge investment from Japanese VC Lotte Ventures Japan. Sweetbio is continuing to grow sales through its Greek yoghurt 'Greek Day' made in the traditional Greek way, and is planning to enter the Japanese market and build a production plant in Sejong City.
The active investment and growth of food-tech startups is showing a new growth engine in the wellness industry.
**Customised city tours with wellness, a unique travel option in Gwangyang, Jeonnam
Gwangyang City, Jeollanam-do, is attracting attention for its customised city tours that are tailored to the personalities and tastes of groups. The city offers a variety of courses that travellers can freely choose from through its year-round group tours. The programme reflects the trend of small-scale tourism, allowing groups to freely configure their own itineraries and destinations.
In order to use the group tours, travellers must decide on the course, duration, and number of passengers and complete the application and reservation with the Gwangyang City Tourism Department's tourism marketing team at least one week before the scheduled tour date. Conditions include 15 or more passengers, four or more tourist attractions, at least one meal in Gwangyang, and a total duration of five hours or more. However, dining places are not included as tourist attractions.
The city tour costs 5,000 won for the general public, 4,000 won for military, veterans, and students, and 3,000 won for the disabled and preschoolers, excluding entrance fees, travel insurance, and food. Gwangyang City offers tours to various tourist destinations, including Baekunsan Mountain, Seomjin River, Baekunsan Mountain's four valleys, and Nurangigol Natural Recreation Forest, as well as places rich in food such as Baealdo Island Garden and Mangdeokpo-gu.
Gwangyang City also offers a variety of local and regional courses, including a history healing tour with a cultural tourism guide, a night view tour, and a group tour, as well as the Gwangyang Travel Day, which provides travellers with a rich experience. "Through demand-driven tours, we will allow groups to freely organise their own tourist destinations and courses to strengthen bonds and provide unforgettable memories," said a city official.
**Yeosu Bay Renaissance, a wellness and sustainable maritime city, is in full swing**.
Yeosu City has begun full-scale implementation of the Yeosu Bay Renaissance mid- to long-term comprehensive development plan. The plan is a project to develop the five bays that make up Yeosu in a balanced manner by utilising the characteristics of each bay, and aims to become a future maritime city where islands and the sea coexist.
The Yeosu Bay Renaissance Plan will be developed according to the characteristics of each bay, including sustainable marine and ecological conservation (Yeoju Bay), a marine healing and wellness centre (Jangsu Bay), a marine leisure and cultural centre (Gamak Bay), marine tourism and conventions (Yeosu Hae Bay), and future new green industries (Gwangyang Bay). The plan aims to achieve sustainable development while preserving the natural environment of the region.
On the 1st, Yeosu City held a ceremony to declare the future vision of Yeosu Bay Renaissance at Yeosu Culture Hall, officially declaring Yeosu as a future maritime city where islands and the sea coexist. The event was attended by more than 400 officials and citizens, including the mayor of Yeosu, Jung Myung-myung.
Through a 10-month consultation, Yeosu identified 61 tasks and divided them into short-, medium-, and long-term projects, and began implementing them with the departments in charge. The city plans to check the progress of the tasks every quarter and disclose the progress to citizens.
"Preserving Yeosu's natural environment and achieving sustainable development is the key to the renaissance of Yeosu Bay," said Mayor Jung Jung-myung, "and we will implement it with speed so that citizens can experience it." Yeosu's plan includes wellness-related elements, such as the establishment of a marine wellness centre, to simultaneously improve the local natural environment and the quality of life of its citizens.
**Rise of Wellness and Premium Silver Industry: A New Paradigm for Seniors
Korea is set to become a super-aged society next year, with people aged 65 and over accounting for 20 per cent of the total population. They are emerging as a major consumer group with the financial means and time to spend, and the 'premium silver industry' is actively growing.
Residence startup Jinam has launched a new brand, Go:Yo, to target this senior market. In September last year, the company opened the Go:Yo Wellness Centre, which provides healthcare and wellness services, to cater to active seniors. The centre offers programmes such as strength training and device maintenance for seniors with reduced motor skills, and also features brainwave training programmes aimed at preventing dementia and improving memory.
The wellness centre focuses on health benefits such as detoxification, and 60% of its members are in their 50s and 70s. Jinam plans to expand its silver business based on this demand. In the future, it will launch classes for active seniors and a premium welfare town, Carehouse.
The silver economy market is expected to grow rapidly to 168 trillion won by 2030, and companies offering premium wellness services are racing to capture the market. This reflects a new industry trend that emphasises the health and well-being of the aging population.
**Busan's Senior Industry Develops Alongside Wellness: Building a Cluster for the Elderly and Creating Opportunities***.
As Korea's society becomes a super-aged society, the importance of 'senior industries' targeting the elderly population is growing. In a recently published column, I, the CEO of Kyungsung Ritz, proposed a strategy to develop Busan into an age-friendly city. Busan can shed its negative image of 'old people and the sea' and position itself as a city for active seniors.
Busan is promoting various strategies centred on the wellness and senior industry. First, it will build a healthcare and senior industry cluster tailored to the elderly, supporting residential services, medical management, social engagement, and leisure activities. This will include co-operation with senior industry-related startups.
Second, local universities should strengthen education, research, and start-up support for the senior industry, and the government should play an active role in supporting them. New majors, such as companion animal studies, should be established, and world-class scholars in related fields should be attracted.
Third, it is necessary to create a medical tourism cluster to promote long-stay hotel and hospital tourism. Busan's western district will be designated as a 'Global High Med Hub Special Zone' to attract foreign patients in need of serious treatment and provide wellness tourism services.
Fourth, a senior housing model that allows various generations to coexist is proposed. Alongside the high-end senior housing, youth housing and newlywed housing will be located to encourage intergenerational coexistence and attract foreign investment and immigration. Such housing will contribute to improving health and quality of life through servitization.
Busan is blessed with a natural environment and metropolitan infrastructure, which can be used to develop into a city specialising in the senior industry. Through this strategy, Busan is expected to create new opportunities as an age-friendly city and provide jobs for young people in related industries.
**Wellness and Digital Healthcare: Seizing the Opportunity to Turn the Corner
While the recent spate of sales and bankruptcies of digital healthcare companies has heightened the sense of crisis, the industry is looking forward to a turnaround in the second half of the year. In particular, there is a view that companies that have been focusing on U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals need to shift their focus to actual consumer-facing services.
While the digital healthcare market has been plagued by funding shortages and poor performance, there have been some recent successes in attracting investment. For example, digital medical device developer Allround Doctors has raised a Series A funding of KRW 7 billion. The company is planning clinical trials to improve the quality of life for breast cancer patients.
The industry is emphasising the need for digital health startups to adopt a B2C model and drive revenue through direct consumer contact with wellness-related services. Wellness is defined as a state of physical, mental, and social harmony, and wellness startups have been gaining traction in recent years. For example, Joy, a UK-based wellness startup that tests blood and stool at home to help customers manage their health, recently completed a $15 million investment round.
"We need a two-track strategy to generate cash flow from wellness B2C models in the short term and aim for licensing and prescription through clinical research in the long term," said an insider from the Korean VC industry. This approach is expected to play an important role in overcoming the crisis in the digital healthcare industry and increasing its growth potential.