First cruise to embark from the east coast of Korea

First cruise to embark from the east coast of Korea. May. 14, 2016 07:23. by 최혜령기자 herstory@donga.com. A cruise tour to Russia, Japan, and the East sea of the Korean Peninsula is set to launch on May 17. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on Friday that Lotte Tour will launch its cruise package with Costa Victoria, a Victoria-class cruise ship owned by Costa Crociere, visiting Vladivostok of Russia, Hokkaido and Aomori of Japan, after embarking from Sokcho, East coast of Korea.

The cruise ship can accommodate around 2,000 tourists. It will come back to the Busan port on May 24, after a trip of seven nights and eight days. It will be the first round of cruise tour sailing the East sea route. Cruise ships touring around Korean seas have generally taken the western sea route, offering a round-trip departing from and returning to Shanghai, hitting Incheon, Jeju, and Fukuoka.

The new cruise tour on the east coast will be part of the government’s plan to boost the cruise industry. "Korea will be able to attract Chinese tourists to take the cruise after looking around the Seoul Metropolitan area for a couple of days," said Park Gyeong-cheol, chief of the ministry's shipping and logistics department. “The booking was closed already in January and many are on the waiting list. We plan to expand next year,” said a Lotte Tour official.