KMI Moves to Expand South Korea-China Maritime Tourism Cooperation, Identify Joint Tourism Content

More than 20 Experts Discuss Three Maritime Tourism Sectors in Jeju

South Korea and China have launched efforts to develop joint content linking maritime culture, ecological resources and cruise tourism, and to identify interregional cooperation projects.

The Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) announced on Nov. 13 that it had jointly held the 2026 Korea-China Maritime Cooperation Forum with China's Shandong Academy of Social Sciences (SDASS) in Jeju on Nov. 12.

Held under the theme "Cooperation Tasks and Future Directions for South Korea-China Maritime Tourism," the forum was organized to share the two countries' maritime tourism policies and market trends and identify practical areas for cooperation.

More than 20 experts from relevant institutions in both countries attended, including KMI, the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, the Jeju Research Institute, the Jeju Tourism Organization, Korea Maritime and Ocean University, and Daekyeung University. Presentations and a panel discussion covered three areas: maritime cultural tourism, marine ecotourism and cruise tourism.

In the maritime cultural tourism session, participants discussed ways to develop tourism content using maritime historical and cultural resources shared by the two countries. Proposals included joint content featuring the remains of Jang Bogo and maritime legends, as well as maritime cultural experience programs linked to sea routes. Other key cooperation tasks included creating a Maritime Silk Road cultural tourism belt, developing cultural theme routes and promoting youth exchanges.

In the marine ecotourism session, participants shared the two countries' policies and operational experience and explored environmental education initiatives, including joint monitoring of ecological resources in the Yellow Sea and ecological education on migratory birds and tidal flats. They also raised the need for joint research on tourism carrying capacity and safety management.

In the cruise tourism session, participants discussed ways to link ports and routes in the two countries to establish a Northeast Asian cruise belt. They also proposed standardizing tourism data, developing cruise content based on cultural themes and conducting joint marketing.

In the ensuing panel discussion, Xu Guangping, director of the Institute of Marine Economy and Culture at the Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, served as moderator as participants discussed specific ways to implement cooperation tasks in each field.

Participants agreed on the need to advance marine environmental conservation alongside tourism promotion and proposed making cooperation more concrete through regional pilot projects linking Shandong Province and Jeju. Other key tasks included establishing a sustainable cooperation framework through sharing tourism statistics and policy information, conducting joint research and holding regular exchanges among experts.

Cho Junghee, president of the Korea Maritime Institute, said, "The Korea-China Maritime Cooperation Forum is both a foundation for the two countries' maritime and fisheries cooperation, which has continued for 15 years since 2011, and an important venue for exchanging policy and research experience. We will work to connect research and field experience in both countries and ensure that the cooperation tasks discussed at this forum lead to tangible results."

The Korea Maritime Institute and China's Shandong Academy of Social Sciences (SDASS) pose for a commemorative photo in Jeju after co-hosting the 2026 Korea-China Maritime Cooperation Forum on the 12th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.