On March 16, 2023, Yanolja Research, South Korea’s first private travel and tourism industry research institute, was officially launched. The event consisted of two parts: a press conference in Part 1 and an inaugural seminar in Part 2. Given that it was Yanolja’s first offline event in nearly four years due to the pandemic, it garnered significant attention from the media and industry stakeholders.

The Part 1 press conference began with a congratulatory speech by Lee Jae-hwan, Vice President of the Korea Tourism Organization. Yanolja CEO Bae Bo-chan then presented the background and anticipated outcomes of establishing Yanolja Research. This was followed by an introduction of the vision, goals, and operational plans of Yanolja Research by its inaugural director, Dr. Chang Soo-chung, a professor at Purdue University's School of Hospitality and Tourism Management. Dr. Chang emphasized the importance of digital transformation and globalization as the first topic proposed for advancing South Korea’s tourism industry. The press conference concluded with a Q&A session featuring CEO Bae and Director Chang.

The Part 2 inaugural seminar, held under the theme of "Digital Transformation and Globalization Strategies for the Tourism Industry," began with a congratulatory speech by Yoon Hyung-jung, President of the Korea Airports Corporation.

The first keynote presentation was delivered by Professor Choi Kyu-wan of Kyung Hee University’s Department of Food Service Management. Under the theme "The Future of Digital Transformation in the Tourism Industry," he discussed strategies for South Korea's tourism industry to leverage the rapidly accelerating digital transformation as a growth opportunity. 

The second keynote presentation, titled "Globalization Strategies for the Tourism Industry," was given by Yanolja Research Director Dr. Chang Soo-chung. He outlined pathways for South Korea's tourism industry to successfully expand into global markets and proposed government support policies. 

The seminar concluded with a panel discussion on digital transformation and globalization strategies in the tourism industry. Moderated by Professor Kim Dae-kwan of Kyung Hee University’s Department of Convention and Exhibition Management, the discussion featured panelists Kim Young-moon (Vice President of the Korea Hotel Association and CEO of Mayfield Hotel), Kim Jong-yoon (CEO of Yanolja and Yanolja Cloud), Ahn Hyun-sil (Director and Editorial Writer at the AI Economic Research Institute of the Korea Economic Daily), and Han Bum-soo (Professor at Kyonggi University’s Department of Tourism Development).