New tourism initiative aims to train 100 young job seekers

Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) are rolling out a nationwide job-training program this year to ease labor shortages in the tourism industry and connect young job seekers with stable employment.

The "2026 Industry-Linked Tourism Workforce Training Project" will provide 100 young job seekers with hands-on job training and internships, with the goal of leading to full-time hiring, the ministry said.

The program is run in partnership with tourism enterprise support centers — regional hubs that help local tourism businesses with consulting, funding and workforce needs — in eight regions: North Jeolla Province, Busan, Incheon, North Gyeongsang Province, South Gyeongsang Province, Gwangju, Daejeon and Sejong, and Ulsan.

Each region will run a three-stage program of job training, internships and full-time hiring tailored to local needs.

In North Gyeongsang Province, the training will draw on lessons from the 2025 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit held in Gyeongju and will place interns with local luxury hotels.

In North Jeolla P