The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) and the Corea Image Communication Institute (CICI) held yet another pointless forum yesterday about the “national image” and the search for a national symbol to represent the nation:
What comes to the mind of people around the world when it comes to Korea? Like the pyramids in Egypt, art in France, soccer in Brazil and zen in Japan, does Korea have such an image or symbol, tangible or intangible?
Some say Korea has kimchi, hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) and pulgogi (grilled beef), while others cite the 2002 World Cup, hangul (Korean alphabet), temples or the divided nation.
However, experts say that so “many” symbols indicate, paradoxically, “none.”
What a problem to have!
“While Korea has achieved extraordinary growth in a short period, its image is not receiving the just evaluation it deserves. According to a study conducted by national brand expert Simon Anholt, Korea’s national brand value is a mere 26 percent of its gross domestic product, leaving it in 25th place among 35 countries,” Kim Jong-min, the KTO president of said.
He added that a national image has a positive effect on economic aspects as well as in promotional policies for trade, investment, tourism and immigration.
Some take this issue quite seriously, apparently:
Kim Yoo-kyung, a professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, showed a survey conducted by CICI in 2003 during his keynote address.
According to the survey, Korea’s external image is that of a divided country (72 percent), traditional culture (61 percent), rapid economic growth (58 percent), hosting of the World Cup (41 percent) and traffic congestion (29 percent).
“In addition, Korea’s external image is that of a vibrant, attractive and polite country. However, this is a general image of Korea that has existed for the past decade. The national slogan that has been promoted during the past few years, `Dynamic Korea,’ is within the same context,” he said.
He pointed out that “Dynamic Korea,” is the recently enacted national slogan but how it is to be delivered is still unclear. “In contrast, there are more symbols which are linked to the ‘Land of the Morning Calm,’ which was used in the past, indicating that there are problems with consistency and suitability,” the professor said.
Kim said the link between the traditional ideology of the “Land of the Morning Calm” and the future-oriented national identity of “Dynamic Korea” is weak, as the former relates to the existential essence while the latter is an action-oriented characteristic.
“Consequently, in order to garner the consensus of the people and pan-government agreement, an interim identity needs to be developed,” he stressed.
Well, if you got ideas, let them be known.
42 Comments
Well see now, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. “Korean” is a race, not a nationality, when it suits the purposes at hand. But then when it comes to “Branding and image” S. Korea tries to separate itself from the North. Fact is, the “image” of “Korea” is the North Koreans’ marching in sync.
Like it or not, since the riots of the 80s, the South has nothing to compare with the impact of those military parades. Hanbok?…Hangul? …like, get serious… Where is “4 distinct seasons” on the list?
Two words: Bee Man.
Did the Egyptians have sit around in committee meetings and decide to promote the pyramids as the representative symbol of Egypt? No, The pyramids are world-renowned because they are very big and very old. The French have long patronized and promoted their art because they love art, not because they want to get on the map. Promoting a country’s image is not like promoting a candidate for political office. You can’t spin your way to international recognition. You can drum up tourism business with a snazzy ad campaign like Thailand’s Land of Smiles or Malaysia’s long-running and successful Truly Asia theme. China has been blitzing US cable channels with tourism promos blending both traditional and modern images and reminding viewers that China is hosting the 2008 games.
How about combine the two current slogans into something Sŏn (Zen)-like: “Land of Dynamic Calm”? (An enigmatic koan, like “What is the sound of one hand clapping”?)
More seriously, they should just pick an instantly recognizable image and stick with it. Forget about hanboks or Hyundais. If there’s one picture I see over and over again in articles or media in relation to modern-day South Korea, it’s Namdaemun. It combines traditional Korean architecture with the surrounding traffic (which is hopefully freely flowing when the photo’s taken, so there’s no appearance of congestion), and the tall office towers. Ancient and modern. Bingo. Stylized as a logo, just use a sillhouette of the gate itself.
…But it’s not sexy enough for tourism marketers. They’ll look for something more nuanced and complex, and get off message.
The only possible national symbol would be the image of those ajumma cutting their fingers off over Dokto.
Ah, but you left off the best part of the article:
“Jurgen Keil, director of the Goethe Institute Seoul, said the biggest asset and best point for branding Korea is the Korean capability for learning, the tremendous investment in education, suggesting a branding “Learn with Koreans for a better world!”
Having been a teacher in Korea now for 4 years, I can tell ya’ that is the silliest thing I have ever heard! Someone remind me again just exactly where Korea’s top universities fall on that list of world-class uni’s??
I have to admit, I almost vomited when I read that.
How about this one: Korea, the land that ALMOST got it right!
The examples are too numerous to list, but Korean Air’s theme song would be a good start. If I were to get on an airplane, I would want the theme song to remind me of “drowning in the sea.” Here are the words to Korean Air’s theme song….
ROBBIE WILLIAMS LYRICS
“The Road To Mandalay”
Save me from drowning in the sea
Beat me up on the beach
What a lovely holiday
There’s nothing funny left to say
This sombre song would drain the sun
But it won’t shine until it’s sung
No water running in the stream
The saddest place we’ve ever seen
Everything I touched was golden
Everything I loved got broken
On the road to Mandalay
Every mistake I’ve ever made
Has been rehashed and then replayed
As I got lost along the way
There’s nothing left for you to give
The truth is all that you’re left with
Twenty paces then at dawn
We will die and be reborn
I like to sleep beneath the trees
Have the universe at one with me
Look down the barrel of a gun
And feel the Moon replace the Sun
Everything we’ve ever stolen
Has been lost returned or broken
No more dragons left to slay
Every mistake I’ve ever made
Has been rehashed and then replayed
As I got lost along the way
Save me from drowning in the sea
Beat me up on the beach
What a lovely holiday
There’s nothing funny left to say
[Thanks to the_ullakko@hotmail.com for correcting these lyrics]
[ http://www.azlyrics.com ]
A country trying hard to promote tourism is either a banana republic or on the way to be one. Korea should not, and need not rely on tourism. KTO people have too much time in their hands.
Korean women.
I think the reason tourism fails in Korea is because there really isn’t much to see here. Apart from the DMZ and some temples (the best of which you can see in a few days) what’s left to see? Drinking areas? They have cooler ones in Japan and Hong Kong. The food? It’s hard to swollow for most ppl when they first get here. Wildlife, natural beauty, cool history? No, no, no. That’s why tourism isn’t big here cos Japan and China are simply more exciting places to visit. WHY would any one come to see a temple in Korea when they could see the Forbiden Palace or some grand Castle in Japan? No matter how they spin it they can’t help the fact that THERES NOTHING TO SEE HERE.
This is the first time I’ve ever done this and I feel kind of awkward doing so, but we had a good discussion going on over on my site about this earlier this week so if you care to check it out, you are welcome to do so!
(Sorry for toting my blog here. I try not to do it but thought it would be acceptable this time.)
Thanks!
Probably Korea ought to play up its latent Communism, awful spicy food, and thriving sex industry, together with a tweak on its World Cup image — something like Korea: Red. Hot.
Leaving matters of excellence and aesthetics in the hands of under-educated, money-loving bureaucrats is a tremendous mistake. I have always been reminded of this when I read “Ministry of Culture and TOURISM”. Such tells me that those in power consider their culture to be a means of generating revenue. If any thing, this sort of attitude is more American than Korean, more Korean than Japanese, and more disgusting than eating your neighbor’s dog.
P.S. I wonder what this administration will do about the thousands of tombs and Koguryo-era castle that the Chinese are claiming as being HAN Chinese.
How abuot “Korea: We have cheap snatch if they’ll let you in”
Considering those two organizations can’t even agree on how the name of the country should be spelled in English…
How about:
“Korea! Since you’ve already flown so far to Japan, why not pay us a visit too?”
Korea should be thinking in terms of drawing Chinese tourists (and it should stop the xenophobic stunts that scare off the impoprtant Japanese tourist flows). Europe and North America are too far away for Korea ever to be a big draw.
I’ve met Singaporeans and others from SE Asia who ski in Korea (because Japan is too expensive).
OTT, but I think you did it in a very classy way.
Toting one’s own blog is always welcome.
http://www.occidentalism.org
See that was the implicit, unclassy way of doing it.
God, you’re like the corner Scientologist continually waving copies of Dianetics in the face of passers by.
If it’s good enough for TomKat, it’s good enough for the likes of you.
I think you mean ‘explicit, unclassy way of doing it’, Jyce. Implicit means that you don’t actually say something that you mean. Subtext and all that.
Use the one expats have been uttering for years: Only in Korea. All the uniquely unique images mentioned can be flashed and morphed and what not. Make it bali bali hip by making Only in Korea an acronym: OinK.
Korea should be thinking in terms of drawing Chinese tourists
Then how about this:
“Visit Korea! We were once a part of you!”
No I meant that Jodi had promoted her blog in a completely cool and classy way as opposed to the unmentioned, but implicitly stated, kooky and sad blog pimping from L. Ron Dogbert (who showed up in record time). I could have phrased things more transparently though.
National symbol = Crossed metal chopsticks.
“You don’t like Korea - we’ll stab them into your eyes!”
“Visit Korea! We were once a part of you!”
When was Korea a part of China?
Okay, technically Korea was never a part of China. I just thought that slogan had a better ring to it than “We were once your bitch”. (This is all being said tongue-in-cheek so I hope no one freaks out. You know who you are.)
VD education in Korea.
http://www.rjkoehler.com/?p=2831
Come and visit us -or- buy a Hyundai/Daewoo vehicle, and we’ll hook you up with one of our 400,000 guest workers that went to the U.S. this year when you get back home.
We love you long time! W40,000 please.
There’s a drink in Germany called “Korea”, which is red wine and usually Coca-Cola. Perhaps, even soju cola wouldn’t be bad. For Korea, a country that loves its alcohol, this would be quite appropriate, a purely Korean drink with a slight amount of American influence from Coke.
What’s with this silly idea of having the games starting after midnight? *boggle*
The reasons that tourism is vertually non-existent here are many. The main reason is that Korea is a country where nothing is as good as it is protrayed and it takes only a short time to learn that this country is built on short-cuts and fake personalities. Tourist arrive first at the airport. The last time I had a relative come visit there was a group of middle age Koreans yelling at each other as loud as they could right were everyone was exiting cutoms into the waiting area. The police did nothing and this went on for at least 20 minutes. I had to explain that this is Korea and they went from dirt floors to 50 floors in about as many years and they have not advanced as fast socially. I have been on vacation to Japan, Thailand and China since coming here to Korea to work (thank goodness I leave soon). While in each of these countries when I mention to locals that I work in Korea they give me this incredoulous look and then the next question is always similar to “Do Koreans act as bad at home as they do over here?”. There are many hotels that will no longer accept travel groups from Korea. Koreans just do not know how to act. They are arrogant, loud, drink till they get stupid, spit wherever they happen to be, love to yell at everyone and will not obey any kind of rules. Now, do you think that anyone would want to pay to come to a country full of people that always exhibit that kind of behavior. A Korean will pour your drinks, fight to pay for your meal and then as everyone leaves to go home will drive his car through a redlight and run over your whole damn family as you try to crose the street in a crosswalk. Korean people are only nice when they think they can get something from you. It’s like everything else in this country it’s all fake. Nothing is as it seems.
“Korean people are only nice when they think they can get something from you. It’s like everything else in this country it’s all fake. Nothing is as it seems”
You might consider relocating to another country. When an expat has generally negative feelings about a people or their culture, the problem isn’t the people or the culture; it’s the expat.
Howzabout:
“Come to Korea! jyce, bluejives, baduk, wooj, and nulji don’t live here anymore!”
Sugar, are you Korean or La Eme? siempre esta cojoneando…
Expel the waeguk-noms!!!
What the fuck did you expect? Kansas?
MrChips, I’m Korean.
Btw, I’m neither a Mexican gangsta not do I always f*ck around here, señor!
typo - “nor do I…”
i thought the national symbol was the Red/Blue yin-yang.
I still live here, but I think you’d probably get your crinlins in a knot regardless.
Christ, that would be half of the sour bastards that post on here. It should be Korea: Exploitive Bitches Allowed.