{
  "id": 9058513,
  "title": "Celebrity guides, feng shui trails lead travelers off beaten path",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/celebrity-guides-feng-shui-trails-lead-travelers-off-beaten-path-9058513",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-22T02:07:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/lifestyle/travel-food/20260922/celebrity-guides-feng-shui-trails-lead-travelers-off-beaten-path"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a bid to reinvigorate dormant rural towns and reshape domestic tourism, Korea is offering intrepid travelers an unconventional roadmap to explore the countryside. The novel autumn initiative, named \"Five Passions, Five Journeys,\" is spearheaded by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) as part of its broader \"Travel Autumn\" campaign. This program allows visitors to traverse mist-covered mountains alongside feng shui masters, spot rare avian species in the company of celebrity actors, or prepare seasonal feasts under the guidance of renowned chefs.\n\nApplications for the program, which offers 700 limited spots across 25 specialized day-trip itineraries, opened on September 1 and will close on September 30. Each itinerary is meticulously crafted around distinct passions rather than the conventional sightseeing checklist. This novel approach directly tackles the pressing issue of severe regional depopulation plaguing Korea. As younger residents gravitate towards Seoul for career and educational opportunities, rural counties are witnessing dwindling populations and quiet main streets. Government tourism officials anticipate that by connecting urbanites with their personal interests, this unique travel experience will generate consistent foot traffic in under-represented areas.",
  "summary": "In a fresh effort to revitalize quiet country towns and rethink domestic travel, Korea is inviting vacationers to explore the countryside not by map, but by specific themes. Under a newly launched autumn initiative, travelers can trek up mist-shrouded peaks with a feng shui master, spot rare birds alongside a celebrity actor, or cook seasonal feasts with a prominent chef. The program, dubbed…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Celebrity guides, feng shui trails lead travelers off beaten path",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/22/celebrity-guides-feng-shui-trails-lead-travelers-off-beaten-path",
        "published": "2026-09-22T01:57:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}