Gangnam Style promotes Korea to Australians

Korean tourist chiefs have been promoting their country's growing appeal as a holiday destination by taking Gangnam Style to Australia.

Visitors to Korea Tourism's roadshow at Sydney's Cockle Bay Wharf heard Korean-Australian band K-Note perform and were treated to a demonstration of how to do South Korean rapper Psy's famous horse dance to the worldwide hit Gangnam Style.

More than 70,000 Australians visited Korea between January and July this year, a 5.5% rise on 2011 with the Sydney event and other roadshows in Melbourne and Brisbane staged to promote the country further.

Joon-kil Jo, Korea Tourism's director for Australia and New Zealand, said increasing numbers of Aussies were now visiting for holidays rather than just on stopovers. He added: "We want to see more and more Australians enjoying the wonders of Korea."

Released as a single in July Gangnam Style has been a hit around the world with the number of views its video has attracted on YouTube now approaching half a billion.