경성관광협회의 관광문화산업과 관광지도의 연구

Abstract

This study is a new attempt to examine the Keijo tour in the 1930s and the marketing aspect of the cultural tourism industry. As tours in this era largely targeted Japanese tourists, Keijo and Chosun were presented as new colonies of the Empire of Japan or as part of Japan. One of the major themes in tourism studies concerns tourists as consumers. This study mainly focuses on the infrastructure of the culture tourism industry that invokes tourist consumption as well as the organization and marketing of the culture tourism industry via the activities of the Keijo Tourism Association. The association set up a Tourist Information Center inside the Keijo station. This center provided a Keijo tour and displayed various promotional materials and souvenirs. In addition, the association provided guidance on attractions and historic sites, offered visits to the General’s home and Ki-seng’s private house, and took tourists on the exclusive Forbidden Garden tour in the Shokei Garden. Moreover, it issued a guidebook, “Keijo Sentiment,” that differed from ordinary promotional materials and provided information on the night life and entertainment culture of Keijo. The guidebook also contained diverse information on cafes, bars, houses, silent movie theatres, and movie theatres in the streets of Keijo to enrich individuals’ touristic experiences. Also, glowing neon signs were placed in the street to attract individuals to a daytime group tour of attractions. To promote Ki-seng, the association exploited the metaphor of Ki-seng and the performance of the Chosun dynasty. The association selected companies to engage in this tourism industry and then avidly promoted them. In addition, the company produced a map for individual consumption activities. On the map, souvenir shops were highlighted and promoted. All shops are marked with their own color and symbol. Lastly, the Keijo Tour Association heavily promoted tours to experience the night culture of Keijo and to emphasize the “Keijo sentiment.” The present analysis confirms that tourism eventually becomes a stratified cultural activity that promotes personal consumption. All in all, the present study showed that the marketing of the entertainment culture of Keijo by the Keijo Tourism Association played a crucial role in making the Keijo tour equivalent to the Ki-seng tour.