More than 20 journalists from 12 major South Korean media outlets took part in fact-finding trip to report on the development of Yantai, a beautiful coastal city in east China's Shandong province, on June 23.

This three-day event, entitled "Discover Yantai", was jointly organized by China Daily and Yantai municipal government.

During the trip, the South Korean news outlets were keen to investigate the construction of the China-ROK Industrial Park and the interaction between businesses of each nation in the economic, trade and cultural fields.

With Yantai's resources on display to the ROK journalists, the city seems set to receive favorable coverage in its east Asian neighbor's media, helping Yantai become a bridgehead in trade with ROK.

"Yantai has witnessed tremendous changes," said Park Saeyoung, a journalist from South Korea's Munhwa Ilbo. She lived in Yantai 13 years ago and was impressed by the progress it's made.

She said that a great many high-end hospitals and enterprises from ROK had been attracted to invest in Yantai by its clean city appearance, comfortable living environment and favorable investment conditions.

"Yantai is a beautiful city and I've learned so much about it in just half a day," said Yun Eunsook from AJU News, her first time in the city, who said she couldn't wait to rave about Yantai back home.

Administrative vice minister of Yantai Municipal Publicity Department Li Ming said at the opening ceremony that this event provided an excellent opportunity to promote the latest achievements of Yantai to people at home and abroad, especially after the signing of the Sino-ROK Free Trade Agreement in December last year.

As of 2015, South Korea has invested 36.45 billion yuan ($5.51 billion) in 3, 625 project in Yantai, accounting for 8.3 percent of its total investment in China. In the first five months of the year, investment from ROK approached $160 million, with a year-on-year growth of 65 percent.

Li Ming, administrative vice minister of Yantai Municipal Publicity Department, in the ceremony for "Discover Yantai Trip" event, June 23. [Photo by Wang Qian/ China Daily]