A Korean tourist who was nodding while listening to the guide's explanation during his trip to Europe asked.
"I know France well during the reign of Louis XIV, but what was our country like then?" The guide couldn't answer. He had never properly studied Korean history.
That question changed one man's life. A successful guide who had led art galleries and museum tours in Europe for over a decade returned to Korea and set out to create a new travel culture. A tour that offered a deep understanding of history and culture, without any shopping. That was the beginning of Travel Label.
The problem isn't the guide, it's the lack of a system.
Travel Label is a startup that plans and produces tourism content. It focuses on creating cultural tourism products that meet the needs of the platform, rather than focusing on the platform itself, which has recently been gaining attention in the tourism startup market. Its core business is "knowledge guided tours."
"In Europe, paying for museum tours is standard practice. But in Korea, there were many who wondered why anyone would pay for a free cultural tour when there were free cultural guides."
Lee Yong-gyu, CEO of Travel Label, has worked as a guide at art galleries and museums in Europe since 2005. He's explained European history and art to tourists, touring the Palace of Versailles and the Louvre. However, while he was eloquent about French history, he knew virtually nothing about Korean history. When he brought this up at a company seminar, other guides shared a similar experience. The same tourist had asked several guides the same question.
"He sent a powerful message to all of us. He said, 'It's good to hear stories from other countries, but please also introduce our own history.'"
From then on, CEO Lee Yong-gyu began studying the stories of Korea connected to each region. In Paris, he incorporated the stories of Hong Jong-woo, the first Korean student studying abroad, the 1900 Paris World's Fair, and the independence movement into his tour. He returned to Korea in October 2016 and began full-scale business preparations. In August 2017, he launched Travel Label's first Korean tour.
The unfamiliar challenge of a tour without shopping
Born in 1981, CEO Lee Yong-gyu spent ten years working as a European guide, contemplating the essence of travel. Foreign tourists visiting Korea were centered around shopping, with a significant portion of their trips to ginseng, cosmetics, and seaweed stores.
"One thing I learned while touring Europe is that traveling isn't about buying things, but about gaining experiences and knowledge."
He designed a tour that completely eliminated shopping. He focused solely on palaces, museums, and historical sites, offering in-depth narratives. People around him tried to discourage him, saying, "Who would pay for a free cultural commentary?" But the response was different. People were willing to pay for a proper commentary. They wanted a trip that offered genuine learning, not a waste of time shopping.
"I heard the same thing when I started in Europe in 2005. They said, 'Who would pay to listen to a commentary when museums have audio guides?' But now, paying for museum tours in Europe is the norm."
The crisis created by COVID-19 presents a new challenge.
The coronavirus outbreak hit in 2020. The travel industry ground to a halt. CEO Lee Yong-gyu had to find a new way.
“Instead of not being able to go on a trip, I thought I would try to solve it in the form of a lecture.”
In collaboration with CGV, we launched a lecture program called "Cine Museum." Instead of going on a European tour, participants could attend lectures in theaters. With high-definition material adapted for the theater's large screen and lively lectures from local European guides, we replaced the traditional European museum tours. The response was enthusiastic. Every session sold out immediately after launch, and the program has grown over the past five years. CEO Lee Yong-gyu wanted to make guiding a profession. He wanted to develop guiding into a profession that goes beyond simply providing travel guidance, but rather a profession that conveys knowledge and stories.
"Guiding used to be considered a hobby or part-time job, not a profession. But in Europe, it's a respected profession."
He dedicated himself to training guides. He taught them history, art, and storytelling, and helped them develop their own unique style. Today, a variety of professional guides work for Travel Label.
The Value of Human Guides in the AI Era
"As AI advances, will guidance become unnecessary? In fact, it will become even more important."
CEO Lee Yong-gyu believes that while AI can convey information, it cannot replace the emotion and connection that only humans can provide. Travel is about experience, not information, and experiences are created between people.
"AI can't accompany us on our journeys. Isn't the most important thing about traveling who you meet and share your journey with? I believe that being a guide is something AI can't do."
He says he wants to continue to increase the value of the guiding profession and enable more people to experience proper travel.
“If that tourist hadn’t asked the question back then, Travel Label wouldn’t exist today.”
CEO Lee Yong-gyu says a single question changed his life. A guide who had previously known only European history began studying Korean history, and he moved beyond shopping-centric tourism to create a travel culture centered on knowledge and experience.
Travel Label projects sales of 800 million won this year. It was a small beginning, but it's changing the very nature of travel. It's not about buying things, but about listening to stories and gaining experiences. That's the new travel map that Travel Label is drawing.
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