Saejeong-gol, a town in Daejeon where actor Song Joong-ki grew up, has become a tourist attraction for international fans since the actor’s role in the hit drama “Descendants of the Sun.”

(KTV)

The small town is populated by approximately 20 households.

Song and his family currently reside in Seoul, but they have opened their former house in Saejong-gol to tourists. The residents of Saejong-gol welcome such visitors, with some of them even installing banners near Song’s house to indicate where to go.

“We hardly had visitors in this neighborhood in the past, but we now have about 100 visitors on weekends. We are proud of the fact that a talented and popular actor like Song is from our town,” Song Haeng-sun, a resident of the Saejong-gol, was quoted as saying in an interview with a local media outlet.

The city of Daejeon is trying to assign Song as the region’s promotional ambassador to further attract visitors.

This is not the first time a celebrity’s fame has led to the promotion of his or her hometown.

For instance, Kim Hee-chul, a member of Super Junior, has jokingly said about his neighborhood in a few TV shows, “Hoengseong is most well-known for beef and me.”

Actor Park Si-hoo even held a birthday party at his hometown in Buyeo, alongside Chinese and Korean fans. The actor and his fans visited Park’s hometown and other places in Buyeo, such as the historical site Buyeo Fortress and Eunsan Middle School, where Park had attended.

By Lee Ji-hae (jihlee@heraldcorp.com)