This blog post introduces how to naturally weave your ability to design customized services for clients into your cover letter, based on actual travel experience and tourism-related major knowledge.
My Upbringing
I grew up under the care of parents with warm hearts. I sincerely respect and love my parents because they both possessed admirable character and constantly influenced me positively. My mother always practiced service for her neighbors, finding joy in helping others and making sacrifices. My father traveled the world, writing essays firsthand and communicating with people through his writing. These two often traveled together, showing mutual consideration and respect, naturally fostering family harmony. Watching them closely as I grew up allowed me to develop into a warm-hearted teenager.
Among my memories with my mother, the one that remains deepest is our shared experience volunteering to prepare kimchi and serve meals for the homeless. My mother practiced this service without fail every week, and I would occasionally make time to join her. Homeless people can be seen anywhere around us, yet they are often easily ignored by society and rarely receive help. My mother prepared food with great care for them, personally distributed it, and worked hard to convey comfort and courage to their hearts. It wasn’t something done under anyone’s direction, nor was there any monetary reward. Yet, her steadfast commitment to this work, driven solely by the fulfillment and value it brought to her life, deeply moved me and filled me with pride. I was also truly grateful that so many volunteers around her shared her warm conviction.
Father worked as a travel writer, personally visiting diverse regions and then weaving those experiences into his writing. He possessed rich sensitivity and exceptional writing skills; I was always deeply moved reading his work. Though I haven’t yet mastered such expressive writing, I’m gradually learning through my father’s books, feeling the charm and power of writing. He also diligently supported my studies, occasionally taking me to nearby travel destinations, and offered much advice on life’s values and direction. Thanks to this, I could live energetically at school and make various attempts and efforts to find what I truly wanted to do.
Thus, my growth process was a time of learning much by observing and feeling through my parents’ lives. My mother embodied a warm regard for others, while my father demonstrated a profound attitude toward life through writing and travel. Nurtured by their teachings, I grew into a person with a warm heart and an open perspective. Moving forward, I aspire to become someone who positively impacts others and the world, building upon this foundation of learning.
Self-Development
“Efforts to Grow as a Travel Planner”
While attending a general high school before entering university, I found myself deeply contemplating my career path. Which major should I choose to avoid regret? What do I truly want to do? These questions constantly arose, and I frequently consulted with my father to find answers. Fortunately, I had naturally cultivated an interest in travel from a young age through various family trips. Building on this experience, I ultimately decided to pursue a tourism-related major, leading me to choose Tourism Information Services. I believed that leveraging my travel experiences and passion would allow me to excel in the tourism service field.
After entering university, I began contemplating more specifically what career path to pursue. Among the various related professions, the field that caught my attention was travel planning. While learning the theory and practice of tourism services, the role of a travel planner naturally stood out to me. I came to understand that this job involves much more than just arranging travel itineraries; it encompasses highly comprehensive tasks like designing tourism products, planning budgets, and managing customized schedules for clients. I contemplated what competencies were necessary to become a travel planner. Beyond basic job execution skills, I believed essential abilities included the intuition to quickly discern public travel preferences, creative itinerary design skills, and communication skills to flexibly respond to diverse customer needs. Above all, I judged that to cultivate these abilities, it was crucial to personally experience various regions and physically learn the flow and routes of travel.
For this reason, I frequently traveled domestically during my university years, focusing particularly on solo trips. Group travel often risks becoming mere ‘sightseeing’ and lacks sufficient time for research and analysis. Solo travel, requiring me to plan my own routes and adapt flexibly to unexpected situations, proved to be invaluable training for honing the instincts of a travel planner. At each destination, I always sought out distinctive local spots or hidden gems, compared various itineraries, and pondered how best to design travel courses ‘from the customer’s perspective’.
I also recognized the importance of foreign language skills, keeping the global tourism market in mind. I chose to focus on Chinese and began studying it seriously. I believed that working at a travel agency required proficiency in at least one foreign language. Through consistent effort, I achieved reasonably fluent conversational skills within six months of starting. After that, I actively sought opportunities to put those skills to practical use. I volunteered as a guide for Chinese tourists visiting Korea, introducing them to various attractions. I also participated in Korea-China exchange events, serving as a Chinese interpreter volunteer to gain practical experience. I feel all these experiences were invaluable, not just for academic knowledge, but for developing the ability to interact with customers and solve problems on the ground.
Moving forward, I aspire to grow into a travel planner who combines expertise with real-world practical skills through further experience. Travel is not merely movement; it is a special experience that brings emotion and inspiration to people’s lives. To become a travel planner who can offer such experiences to more people, I will continue to learn, experience, and challenge myself relentlessly.
Strengths and Weaknesses of My Personality
“Deliberate Boldness, the Source of Confidence”
I have always made living with confidence my life goal and personal creed. I believe that without confidence, even tasks you excel at can lead to mistakes, and things that should succeed can go awry. Conversely, with sufficient confidence, you can boldly take on new challenges you’ve never attempted before, and I believe that such a courageous attitude ultimately leads to success. That’s why I strive to approach even the smallest tasks with confidence.
For example, during university team projects, I often volunteered to be the presenter when preparing for assignment presentations. Speaking my opinions in front of many people was never easy, but I had faith that with confidence, I could handle any situation. However, I also knew well that confidence alone wasn’t enough. To deliver a good presentation, thorough preparation and planning were essential. So, from the initial planning stages of the presentation materials, I actively communicated with my teammates to gather data and focused intently on writing a script that followed a logical flow. Rather than finalizing the materials in one go, I continued exchanging opinions with my team members and revised them multiple times. I exercised caution, checking for any shortcomings right up until the last moment to enhance the presentation’s completeness.
On the day of the presentation, I practiced the script I had written several times and adjusted the flow and content of my speech to respond flexibly to the situation. I approached the presentation like a project, preparing answers for anticipated questions and striving to include every possible variable in my plan. Through this process, I realized that while I boldly challenge myself and act confidently, thorough ‘planning’ always forms the foundation.
In any task, I aim to keep possibilities open while meticulously planning everything I can prepare in advance to minimize mistakes. Approaching tasks with this prepared mindset allows me to stay within the overall plan while remaining flexible enough to respond to unexpected variables. I am confident this will be a significant strength in my future job responsibilities. Whether planning a trip or developing a strategy, I will rely on this planning and execution ability to prepare thoroughly. I will always have various scenarios ready so that even if exceptions arise, I can respond swiftly without panicking.
While I possess bold execution skills and a confident attitude, meticulous planning and preparation form the foundation of all my actions. I believe stable results are only achievable when these two elements are balanced, and I intend to continue approaching every task with this mindset, giving my utmost effort.
Post-Employment Aspirations
“An Employee Growing with Fresh Passion Every Day”
Modetour is a leading travel company representing South Korea and one of the nation’s foremost travel agencies. If given the opportunity to join Modetour as a travel planner, I am confident I will become an employee more passionate and responsible than anyone else. Especially as a new employee taking my first steps into society, I will actively absorb everything I learn at the company and demonstrate rapid growth.
I majored in Chinese at university, receiving systematic language training for four years, which equipped me with practical language skills in both writing and speaking. Building on this language ability, I gained experience working as a tour guide introducing various regions of Korea to actual Chinese tourists. This experience was invaluable, helping me develop not just language proficiency, but also the ability to understand the field and communicate effectively with customers. Subsequently, while preparing for related certifications, I also obtained a Travel Planner qualification. Currently, based on my OP certification, I actively participate in permanent guide programs around Seoul.
However, my dream is not to remain merely a guide, but to serve as a Travel Planner who plans and coordinates the entire customer journey. I want to proactively manage the entire process—from identifying customer needs and adjusting budgets to consultation, planning, execution, and guide matching. Having honed my on-site intuition through guiding experience, I possess a particular strength in smooth communication and collaboration with active guides. I am confident this will greatly benefit Alltour’s field-centric operational approach.
Moving forward, I plan to actively participate in developing your company’s travel products. I will propose and implement new ideas by viewing them from multiple angles—both the customer’s perspective and the field’s perspective. In the ever-changing travel market, I will strive to create travel products that go beyond customer satisfaction to deliver genuine感動. I will approach my work each morning with renewed passion and become a talent who grows alongside Modetour.
