The Korean War and tourism: legacy of the war on the development of the tourism industry in South Korea

Although the development of tourism has been dominantly viewed and conceptualised in relation to the economic development of a region or a nation, some studies have argued that tourism fosters world peace. This argument, however, is not without some doubt for at the opposite end of the spectrum is that tourism might have a possible relationship with ‘war’; the focus of this paper. This study, using qualitative research methods, traces the causes of the Korean War and its subsequent impacts upon the development of the tourism industry in South Korea. Findings indicate that the war had a significant impact upon the notion of tourism as a ‘good’ industry for society, which would bring benefits in the post‐conflict era. Further, it created some ideas in society that purely consumptive travel is ‘unpatriotic’ and people should think about the interests of the nation when they travel. This paper concludes with a suggestion that future research should look into the ways in which tourism and tourists have developed where ‘accumulation of capitalism’ and changes in legislative moves, such as ‘paid holidays’ were not the initiating elements for a country's tourism development.