Big Ocean, a boy band comprising entirely of members who are deaf or hard of hearing, has been named “honorary ambassadors of accessible tourism” by the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), its agency Parastar Entertainment said on Thursday.

According to the KTO, the group’s pursuit of diversity and accessibility — such as by incorporating sign language into its choreography — aligns with its goals of making tourism in Korea more accessible.


Big Ocean will deliver the message that “everyone can travel freely without difficulties” through the KTO’s promotional activities until the end of this year.

“As we are personally familiar with the barriers that people can face in everyday life, we hope to spread positivity [and awareness] so that [more] people can travel with excitement,” the group said.

Big Ocean debuted on April 20, 2024, with April 20 marking Korea’s annual Day of Persons with Disabilities. It has released EPs including “Follow” (2024) and “Underwater” (2025), as well as singles such as “glow” (2024), “brighT” (2025) and “Make it up to you.”



BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]