OK, the cat’s officially out of the bag and I don’t have to hold my tongue anymore, even though it had been leaked already by others. But not even wild horses got it out of me, a fact of which I am very proud.
So – Korea’s official tourism brand is fresh out the box from the Korean Tourism Organization, and ready for your comments. (The graphic isn’t uploading here, so you can see it on my crosspost – Marmot, feel free to steal it back over here and paste it above this paragraph.)
A key excerpt from the press release:
For the first time in its history, Korea has officially adopted national a tourism brand to nurture the tourism industry. Many countries, in fact, have already developed tourism brands to promote various aspects of their tourism resources and leverage them effectively to entice global tourists. Examples include, 100% Pure New Zealand (New Zealand), Yokoso Japan (Japan), Visit Britain (the U.K) Keep Exploring (Canada), Uniquely Singapore (Singapore), Truly Asia (Malaysia). It is expected that “Korea, Sparkling” will similarly serve Korea’s tourism industry in communicating the country’s redefined image around the world.
Okie dokie. To explain the logo:
The word “Sparkling” is synonymous with shining and dazzling. Additionally, it conveys a sense of revitalizing energy and freshness. In sum, “Korea, Sparkling” intends to denote the concept of “vital refreshment,” – a unique experience available to tourists traveling to Korea and being exposed to the incredible passion of both Koreans and Korean culture. The brand also delivers the message that experiencing Korea offers unique emotional rewards unlike any other.
I’m gonna leave it at that. So, what do you all think? Chime in with your comments.
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98 Comments
It’s the only “brand” with a comma in it. So…sparking what? Can you just fill it in?
Jung, Carl
Kellerman, Sally
Kinderman, John
Korea, Sparkling
Kundera, Milan
Kuntzler, William
Ladd, Cheryl
…
I don’t get it.
“Sparkling Korea” would at least make some sort of sense as a “brand.”
I also think that “Sparkling Korea” would have worked better, if I absolutely had to choose those two words.
I bet it is just a typo. It was supposed to be a comment on how Korea is fixing itself up, renovating itself for the modern age:
Korea, Spackling!
Or perhaps Korea, Spanking!, which would work, too.
Blech!
I think that Korea is the opposite of sparkling. Perhaps they were setting up a word puzzle. Korea:Sparkling::Fisticuffs:???
“In sum, “Korea, Sparkling” intends to denote the concept of “vital refreshment,”"
I guess it would be an improvement on Cass beer’s current “Sound of Vitality” slogan, for example, but will it work as a national tourism brand?
The crooked letters in the word “Sparkling” remind me of the lettering on Motel Good Time! between Shinchon and Edae. Joke lettering. More goofy than vibrant and exciting. Why does “Sparkling” appear in bolder type than Korea?
And, what’s the deal with the Italian/Hungarian colors? Come to think of it, is there anything uniquely Korean about this logo at all?
I really would like for this to be an enormous success for Korean tourism - the country has a lot to see and is well worth visiting - but my first impression of the logo isn’t all that good. I hope I’m wrong.
Wasn’t this reported in the press some weeks ago?
Who comes up with these ridiculous slogans? Do they assign the task to a room full of second-graders? No, obviously they don’t, because even second-graders could come up with something better than this.
Why is this old news being posted again??? This is way old news.
Actually, it’s not old news for the vast majority of foreigners I’ve been blabbing this to on MSN, and certainly isn’t for any Korean person I’ve asked.
And anyway, it is news, since the press release went out today, and it’s going to be rolled out officially this week.
So, since the gag order has been lifted, now those not “in the know” can know.
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/.....=sparkling
You can see the Korea Sparkling brand in action at the Korean Tourist Organization web site - its
http://english.tour2korea.com/index.asp
although no comma is used there.
If you get bored with that, the Food, How to Eat section has some good tips on serving food to foreigners - not sure why that’s on a site for tourists though.
I’ve also heard that a six-figure sum went to the European company that designed the logo. I’d love to have been in on that action.
What is the KNTO thinking. Sparkling has never been a word that I would associate with Korea.
they would hire native speakers, but then, that would go against their visa.
yawn. The graphic is boring and the slogan just grates. As mentioned above if sparkling is necessary the word order should be changed.
Rhinestone.
looks like a bad ad for french sparkling wine…
even that little logo looks like a flag…
absolutely retarded…
the bloke that developed this must be slightly retarded, or just not give a rats arse
Korea, Sparkling. It sounds terrible. and typical.
Well, the KTO website has another slogan that’s sure to have some appeal - ‘BoA’s Teenage Discipline Pays Off at 20′. Okay, it’s actually a headline, not a slogan, but I think it might attract attention all the same.
Seems an improvement over “Dynamic Korea” - when I’d see that I could always here the sounds of large industrial machinery churning away not far in the background.
It doesn’t have to make sense to us - perhaps its “A New Konglish word/concept being Erected on this Site.” Hafta admit, it does remind me a bit of a lemon-lime flavored soft drink….
But, I can remember some “sparkling” mornings, walking up past the rice fields toward the woods at the head of the valley, in the “Land of the Morning Calm.” Actually, this phrase is like the antithesis of “Dynamic Korea”…. Just hopefully the tourists won’t be pouring in on a day of heavy ‘hwangsa’.
From what I hear, some Limey took away a roomful of drachmas from that one.
I think Sparkling Korea comes from the “banja, banja” eyeshadow lots of girls use…
I had a cat named Sparky once. He looked like a “Sparky.”
Dong Kuk University’s motto: “Do Dream!”
They really have a problem with short sentences…
Korea (re)invents Tang.
The video isn’t bad - as a video; it’s complete rubbish as a representation of Korea
“Korea (re)invents Tang.”
Tang, Poon
dda: “They really have a problem with short sentences…”
Right, and in my experience, when Korean businesses look for slogans, they always, always, always want it short (even if it is a translation of a long Korean slogan). I think that is since, even though it is in English, the marketing is actually self-reflexive to Koreans and not oriented to foreigners at all. Just a catchword or two slammed together.
How about:
“The Verdant land — Korea”
Naturally that would mean that the whole approach to tourism would need a ecco-friendly and stylistically fresh approach. They could get away from nonsensical ideas of modernism and go back to something rural, fresh and uniquely Korean that focuses upon its rural traditions, culture and the unpolluted qualities that some dimwits think applies to North Korea only.
My concept will appeal to a future generation, undoubtedly, but not *this* one.
You can give Korea all sorts of catchy slogans, swish advertising etc, but it’s all a waste, as fundamentally the product sucks. Great tourist destinations don’t need marketing gimmicks, they sell themselves by word of mouth. I’ve met people who have been to Korea because they had to-it was a business trip, would they ever willing come here, again -forget it.
Given the crap architecture, the ONLY way to make Korea attractive to tourists is to demolish virtually every single building and start again.
The last thing Korea wants is more tourists. Better that the world not know the truth about Korea. Could the KNTO be sued by a disgruntled tourist for false advertising?
“Manila Bay, Sparkling!”
Works out about the same.
I don’t think “the product sucks,” not by a long shot, but the slogans thus far are silly.
If they could form a sentence using words like “Asia,” “history,” and perhaps “technology” or “future,” it might be better.
“The word ‘Sparkling’ is synonymous with shining and dazzling…”
Perhaps the KNTO should have adopted a logo more in-line with “shining” and “dazzling.” Something elegant and easily remembered. Perhaps a solar theme, with a striking sun-like disc on a simple monochromatic background…
It’s disheartening that Korea has such a bad slogan.
For what it’s worth, my students told me that the Korean word could be translated as “lively”. Given the choice, I would vote for “Lively Korea” over anything involving “Sparkling.”
I met Sperwer, who posts here, in a bar a couple of weeks ago. I hope he won’t mind my sharing a good theory of his: That while Korean businesspeople want to be associated with foreigners and want the whitey stamp of approval, they don’t really want the active participation of whiteys.
That theory has made me think a lot. For example, in my four years of teaching here I don’t think I’ve sat down once on equal terms with Korean management to hash out / come up with / plan / develop any programs.
To get back to the slogan, the phrase “Korea Sparkling” was obviously not made with the active participation of whiteys, because a group of native speaker consultants would have never let it pass the approval stage.
It’s sad but Korea got what it deserved in this case.
You’re pretty much correct, whitey. Although I believe the slogan was submitted to the KNTO (now KTO) by a foreigner, I know at least one foreigner working their advised them against using it.
I have seen many cases where Korean in business ignore what native English speakers say with regards to English phrases, thinking that they somehow know better. They often want to translate a phrase that sounds fine in Korean, and they simply assume that the literal translation will sound fine in English as well. They don’t have any “feel” for the language or its culture, so they can’t understand why some phrase doesn’t work.
You’ll notice that they have a long explanation for the phrase, as well. I think the KNTO is big on giving explanations and creating new words, but not on actually doing anything to change the actual “product” of Korea. On that note, I think austin is pretty much correct. Korea is not a good tourist destination. There is not much for tourists to do here. The KNTO would be a lot more useful trying to create (or getting funding for) more tourist destinations, rather than trying to hype up a non-existent product.
‘I don’t think “the product sucks,” not by a long shot…’
Really? Let’s be realistic here… No slogan can ever make Korea a competitive tourist destination. It is just not a place that makes people feel comfortable enough to enjoy. Just look at Marmot’s pictures posted yesterday. Sure they are interesting to us who have lived here for years (we can appreciate the roof tiles, I guess), but a couple temples and old building with bongos parked out front hardly captures the imagination. For me, this all too obvious.
permalink: “They often want to translate a phrase that sounds fine in Korean, and they simply assume that the literal translation will sound fine in English as well.”
I agree, but in my experience those involved do have good English. They just don’t want a message that sounds too packaged for Westerners (that is, too Americanized). Consider the “Land of the Morning Calm.” I’ll bet the first time you saw that you had to read it again. Koreans believe that even “Land of Morning Calm” is awkward to American ears, and therefore qualifies as somehow Koreanized, which is what they want. I think Koreans could make a “Truly Asia,” which in my mind whips ass as far as slogans go, but they just don’t want it.
Sparkling Korea! Pighting!
By “product,” yes, I mean Korea. That it doesn’t suck. Some things about Korea suck, and some things don’t. But if I really thought it sucked all that much, I would not care enough to even be commenting. I guess that goes for most others as well.
I think Korea can be a good tourist destination, especially outside of Seoul. But opinions vary.
———–
ARMY STRONG! (same advertising company?)
Years ago the Korea Dairy Foundation or Korean Cheese Promotion Board (something like that) came up with a new logo and slogan:
\\|// Dancing Fountain of Cheese.
Me thinks a “Korea, Sparkling Cheeze” t-shirt will be joining my “Be@ the Reds” one.
@ whitey, there’s a lot of face to be earned by hiring foreign consultants. And even more by “correcting” them. Many consultants’ reports are placed in the prominent bookcase, never to be looked at again.
You. Go. Korea. Now.
Where’s my consultant’s fee?
Add picture of ajumma next to slogan.
http://english.tour2korea.com/index.asp
“City Sighseeing Tours!”
That sounds exceedingly depressing.
Let’s come up with slogans that match the Korea we actually see:
Korea, Surgically Enhanced
Korea, Rioting
Korea, Sparkling Despite Japanese Predations
Korea, Angry at __________ This Week
Korea, Emigrating
Korea, Binge Drinking
Whitey #33 wrote:
“That while Korean businesspeople want to be associated with foreigners and want the whitey stamp of approval, they don’t really want the active participation of whiteys.”
One could easily substitute “businesspeople” with “educators,” “missionaries,” “researchers,” or any other occupational field. After working for Korean educational institutions for almost ten years, I couldn’t believe how much more professionally I’ve been treated by North American supervisors at the K-12 schools I’ve taught at. My principals actually listen to me and talk to me like I’m an intelligent, educated person. My Korean supervisors, on the other hand, were kind and wanted us foreign teachers to be happy (so we wouldn’t “make trouble”), but they rarely involved us in decision-making and kept us at arms-length. This was not a language problem as I am fluent in Korean and used my language skills to take care of business on behalf of other teachers.
a-letheia wrote:
“No slogan can ever make Korea a competitive tourist destination. It is just not a place that makes people feel comfortable enough to enjoy.”
More wise words from Marmot commenters. Part of the reason Korea cannot compare with Malaysia or Thailand is its lack of cultural diversity. Korea’s neighbors Japan and China draw many more tourists because they are familiar in the minds of people with money to spend on overseas travel; Korea has no globally recognized symbol like Mt. Fuji or Tiananmen Square. Korea does have two competitive advantages over its neighbors: affordable cost and short distance between destinations. While I was still living in Korea, the KTNO was running an ad campaign aimed at southeast Asians; the campaign touted Korea’s four-season outdoors and recreational activities. I also recall reading a story in the Korean media describing how tourism officials were luring Chinese visitors with gambling and amusement parks because Chinese visitors weren’t highly interested in Korea’s historical or cultural attractions. Korea itself is not diverse but diversified marketing strategies might bring more visitors.
Top ten collocations of ’sparkling’ sorted by t-score (0:2 span).
column 1 - collocate
column 2 - frequency of collocate in corpus
column 3 - joint frequency with node (sparkling) within set span
column 4 - t-score
Not sure how the format is going to be when this is posted…sorry if it is messy.
wine 33623 322 17.889629
form 115639 136 11.372272
wines 8200 127 11.248174
water 123435 108 10.045378
white 142084 92 9.158987
performance 69121 65 7.811840
with 2912052 191 7.665752
eyes 68605 60 7.487269
blue 54775 53 7.060346
from 1920773 131 6.543760
ugh…that is tough to read…sorry
As is the standard for the Kingdom of Sparkle, this doesn’t even pass the laugh test.
When you see such horseshittery getting the stamp of approval, you really have to wonder what kind of glue the whitebread consultants they ran this by are sniffing.
Either that, or whitey had a contest amongst themselves to see who could get the absolute piss-worst slogan approved, knowing full well that their Korean counterparts wouldn’t know shit from shinola.
Like I said before, although it is hearsay, I have it from a good source that it was a Limey (that’s “Brit” to the uninformed) brand consultant in the UK that came up with this, so Whitey (not the actual Whitey above) is responsible. The idea was that Dynamic Korea was too harsh, and Sparkling would shift focus to the softer side of this country. All this for six figures…
Well, seeing how I have a picture of the guy (Simon Anholt), as well as the link to his site, on my blog, I think we can put the idea that it’s “hearsay” to rest. The specific origins of this term were all relayed to me directly before this all came out, but I couldn’t say anything. It’s a fact – it was the brainchild of a single Brit, who charged an arm, a leg, and a few fingers and toes for this.
http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/.....p;start=15
In the hoo-hah introduction video up on the KNTO website, does Rain (that is Rain’s slightly retarded-looking visage, right?) actually say “Ko-ree-a, pa-kul-ling”? What a hoot.
I met quite a few hip and savy Korean men and women that work in a variety of creative disciplines here but *none* seem to exist in the management circles that make these decisions. I guess hiring a semantics specialist to vet their ideas has not occurred to them.
Yes, I received an email from Mr. Anholt exactly one week ago telling me that he hadn’t yet seen any design representations of “Korea Sparkling”. I sent him a link to a previous press release.
He also made some points that it’s not meant to be “Korea, Sparkling”, but simply Sparkling.
Hmmn… So who can we give the credit to for the design of it? Particularly the askew S P A R?
Ah well. My personal slogan for marketing this country seems to be Korea: Manage your expectations. It’s more in relation to how we’ll actually end up promoting Korea, and less so in regard to how to actually have fun here as a tourist. If the powers that be would actually see what’s fun here, they’d promote it instead of another palace or “intangible cultural property”. Mud Festivals, Outdoor concerts and seafood orgies anyone?
Except that the powers that be mainly enjoy binge drinking and whoring. (Which are, admittedly, fun — if you’re a member of the Lucky Penis Club™.) Should the country promote itself as a drinking and whoring destination? (I think, in fact, it does — at least in Japan. I sure do see a lot of 50ish Japanese gentleman, late-20ish, early-30ish Korean lady pairings out on the tourist hustings.)
i personally like what slim wrote. korea rioting.
“It’s a fact – it was the brainchild of a single Brit, who charged an arm, a leg, and a few fingers and toes for this.”
Korea(n) hosing!
“Should the country promote itself as a drinking and whoring destination? (I think, in fact, it does — at least in Japan. I sure do see a lot of 50ish Japanese gentleman, late-20ish, early-30ish Korean lady pairings out on the tourist hustings.)”
I always suspected that there was more to Japanese tourists in Jeju than just playing golf…
I don’t golf myself. Can’t figure out why it should cost so much and be so little fun. But then a friend let me in on a secret: Korean golf has traditionally afforded the (male) golfers access to sex with lithe young female caddies after the game. No doubt there is binge drinking involved as well. Golf — at least Korean golf — seems to make more sense now.
Are the VANKers going to attack this one?
Every time I see deliberate attempt to insult Korea or make her look bad, I try to remember all the times the embarassment is self-inflicted.
On the other hand, when Hello Kitty in the mid seventies I thought the name would ruin her chances.
How ironic, Korea, Sparkling was launched during the Yellow Dust season.
Should I expect my landlord will clean the windows?
It is apparant that the KTO is full of yes men (I won’t even dare to think a manager would listen to a female employee) and their group think came up with and/or approved the slogan (probably after a few soju fueled lunches, dinners, and party nights). I guess the thought of focus groups or a national survey, or hell even a local survey was completely out of the question.
I’m not sure if VANK would be inclined to go after the KNTO (KNO?) VANK’s site suggests, if the “Brief of our Efforts” section is any indication, that the organization attempts to influence various organizations, corporations, or media regarding their portrayal of Korea, but of over thirty named examples, all are foreign. Maybe they do try to correct misrepresentations of Korea on the home front, but the English version of the site gives no evidence of this being the case.
I suppose they could barrage the logo’s English designer with emails until he buckles and offers up a revised version to be displayed in parenthesis alongside the original.
The tourism slogan is a microcasm of the entire tourism policy in Korea as a whole. Not fully thought out, slightly off kilter. Not addressing the real problems of tourism in Korea.
The KTO should be discussing the serious issues relating to this nation’s lack of tourism (six million visitors total, probably three million when you factor in business people marking “tourism” on their landing form). We pale in comparison to places the KTO constantly benchmarks. The lack of tourists means a tourism deficit of 3.9 billion USD in 2004 (i.e. more Koreans spending abroad than foreigners spending in Korea). Yet the KTO and its’ gov’t appointed officials move along merrily, trying to bring more money into the KTO coffers. Is it not strange that the KTO is running half the duty free shops in Korea, as well as the Seven Luck casinos in the best locations? Also trying to develop tourism complexes themselves, instead of leaving it to private developers. Where is the expertise of the KTO to do all of this? Methinks they can barely run tourism ads, never mind setting proper tourism policies, running businesses and acting as their own investors and developers. Mind boggling.
How about now re-naming the (East) Sea of Japan the “Sea of Sparkling”?
Anyone?
iceberg…you need to update your site more often.
btw, it sure ain’t sparkling in korea right now, at least in seoul.
I agree that Korea, Sparkling is pretty bad. However, I would also point out that Westerns are probably not the target audience of this slogan. Most tourists in Korea come from Asia and are not native English speakers, and as such they have often different takes on English usage.
For example, most Westerners I know are appalled by “Hi Seoul”. They think it is meaningless and dumb. But I have heard plenty of people from south Asia and Japan say that they think it sounds friendly and cute. So it is possible Korea, Sparkling might work.
But I doubt it.
As usual, I find myself wishing the Korean government would put its time and money into fixing up the genuine historical artifacts Korea does have, instead of boasting about the things it wishes it has. Why not hire a respected historian and a good marketing team to write an interesting guide of Seoul’s major palaces, then get a Hollywood celebrity to host an audio tour of the major palaces? Beijing’s Forbidden City used to use Michael Douglas as the voice of its tour, and it was quite well done.
The old writing adage is “Show, don’t tell.” The Korean government should put its resources into the show and worry less about the telling part.
I wonder why the KNTO has offices only in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, Toronto, London, Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Dubai? Cynics like me would see this kind of list and conclude the KNTO opens offices only in the English-speaking parts of the rich world so that senior officers may park their wife and children for access to education, and have the Korean taxpayer pick up the cost of visits to the family in the guise of checking on the overseas office. The really cynical view is that the (American, British, Canadian, Australian, etc.) taxpayer picks up the cost of education.
You might ask, why Dubai? Remember, there is currently a property boom on in Dubai.
Netizen Kim # 40, “You. Go. Korea. Now.”
You. Win. Best. Post.
Brendon: “Can’t figure out why it should cost so much and be so little fun. ———- Golf — at least Korean golf — seems to make more sense now.”
So you think Japanese golf is as cheap as American golf?
Sonagi: “Korea’s neighbors Japan and China draw many more tourists because they are familiar in the minds of people with money to spend on overseas travel; Korea has no globally recognized symbol like Mt. Fuji or Tiananmen Square.”
I don’t think Americans would go to Japan or China because of Mt. Fuji or Tiananmen Square. Most Americans would have negative thoughts about Tiananamen anyhow. It’s the historical importance Americans and others attach to those two countries.
slim: “Korea, Surgically Enhanced”
That’s a bit rich for an American to say.
I don’t live in LA, but I saw more cosmetic surgery patients in a week in Seoul than I had in a lifetime in the USA.
I think you can check and find Korea leads the world in such procedures. It certainly leads Asia.
I have no idea, since I don’t golf. My guess is Korean golf costs the same as golf in Japan but may include some extra activities. But again, since I don’t golf I’ve never figured it out. Something draws groups of Japanese ota-san to Korea and I don’t think it’s the chance to see Cheonggye-chon.
US: #19 (30.7 per 100,000 pop)
Korea: #24 (19.6 per 100,000 pop)
http://www.nationmaster.com/gr.....per-capita
#34 Permalink wrote “You’ll notice that they have a long explanation for the phrase, as well.” Would you direct me to that, please? I couldn’t find it on the website. Thanks.
On the KTO site you can download “Tour2Korea.com - Everything of Korea” banners. Ouch, another howler.
The phrase “up and down vote” has been in the news lately. If the KTO had simply presented “Korea Sparkling” to 10 random native speakers for an up and down vote on whether the slogan made sense, it would have been 9 to 1 against. (That’s accounting for the one nutter in every expat crowd.)
Fundamentally Korea is not Foreign friendly. I was at Incheon airport (The world’s supposed best airport). Now it’s true I was travelling out of Korea. I went to one of the counters to buy Travel Insurance. Even though I am a resident, what do you think happened. “You can’t have insurance?” Why not I ask? “You are a Foreigner!”
Thanks to linkd for caring enough to look that up. I still prefer that slogan to Korea, Sparkling.
Given the rapid speed of the aging of the Korean population, how about: Korea, Wrinkling?
#70 - Data’s a bit old (2002, according to the fine print at the bottom of the chart). I haven’t been in Korea long, but every time I get on the Seoul subway I’m overwhelmed by how many (obviously) fake “double eyelids” I see. How long has the plastic surgery craze been going on here?
@Austin #72:
In China’s Xichuan province, it’s the opposite. Foreigners have been forced to buy travel insurance ever since the families of a couple of Japanese tourists sued the bus company after a fatal accident. The beneficiaries of the policy aren’t foreign travelers but transport companies, who use the revenues to pay for insurance against lawsuits.
I’m not convinced a two word slogan was the right way to go. Something along the lines of “Korea: experience the East” might appear to have been a better choice, but it probably wouldn’t have worked with Chinese and Japanese tourists (who make up the blunt of the people who travel to Korea). However, the color scheme doesn’t seem right. I would have also used different fonts and proportions. Then again, it really depends on who they are trying to attract. Kind of like Canada’s new slogan (’Rediscover Canada’, or whatever), is aimed at American tourists who have staying away in recent years because of the exchange rate and Europeans who will take advantage of it (I wonder how most Natives feel about this given there were already millions of people living in America when it was ‘discovered’ by the Europeans).
Some people just want to believe.
Several years ago, Canada ran a TV ad campaign with the slogan Canada, the world next door. The ads showed images of people of various races, ethnic, and religious groups in neighborhoods adorned with multilingual signs. I couldn’t figure why the Canada tourism board thought we Americans needed to cross the border to experience diversity.
babarian wrote:
“I don’t think Americans would go to Japan or China because of Mt. Fuji or Tiananmen Square. Most Americans would have negative thoughts about Tiananamen anyhow. It’s the historical importance Americans and others attach to those two countries.”
Westerners do not spend thousands of dollars just to see Tiananmen or Fuji. Rather, it is that these countries are “on the map.” The name “Tiananmen” invokes images of a lone protestor in front of a tank. The visual representation of Mao’s picture hanging over the front gate with colorful flags waving on either side is as recognizable as the white-capped symmetrical cone of Fuji. While visiting famous landmarks in China and Japan, I thought, “Wow! I’m here!” Even in Singapore, as I stepped off the plane at Changi Airport, I heard Bob Barker bellow, “And this trip to Singapore can be yours if the price is right!” Korea has many attractions to please the visitor, but it’s just not “on the map.”
My fourth graders know that I lived in China and Korea and that I have visited many other Asian countries. They ask questions and show great interest in China and Japan. They never ask about Korea. It’s all about name recognition, and “Korea sparkling” ain’t gonna make Korea a household name.
You ought to try that “bamboo grove” book. I’m sure the kiddies will be hearing a lot about Korea then.
Wow, I can’t read through 80 comments on this and I’m sure someone’s already mentioned it, but “Korea, sparkling” sounds like the slogan for a soft drink. What was wrong with “Dynamic Korea?” That’s actually apt for the place (think time-lapse photography of the nighttime traffic zipping around Namdaemun, for example.)
That’s rather sad. As sewing writes, it has not been so long since much money and effort was spent getting the “Dynamic Korea!” slogan out there. I guess with “Korea, sparkling” that is money down the drain.
I sympathize with Korea’s efforts to develop tourism, but I think that sonagi’s view is essentially correct: Korea will have to “get on the map” somehow if it wants to attract Western tourists. If a good slogan can help, great, but it will take more than that and will probably only happen intermittently.
However, there is a huge market of PRC tourists that Korea can attract as well (not to mention the numbers of Japanese who already visit). Does anyone know if Korea’s tourism authorities are targeting that market?
I reckon that “Hello, Hallyu” is a tool to attract the Asian tourist.
I recall that prior to the 2002 World Cup there was a bit of ministerial back and forth about Chinese tourists. KTO wanted to ease the visa process and the immigration authorities worried about Korea being overrun by the Chinese horde. China not qualifying ended that squabble.
Along Kwanghwamun there’s a big sign for the Yeosu expo 2012 bid that says “towards the future of ocean.” Good god. They just don’t get it–the slogans are always amateur and inappropriate.
I worked in advertising for a while as a copywriter. The trade magazine Adweek would run critiques of ad campaigns and the worst criticism was always that the ad agency failed to understand the target market in developing the ad/slogan. Korea, Sparkling is just another failure in a long line of failed slogans here.
I agree with Haisan: “As usual, I find myself wishing the Korean government would put its time and money into fixing up the genuine historical artifacts Korea does have, instead of boasting about the things it wishes it has.”
Why not promote the temples stays to Westerners, the skiiing to Chinese, the shopping/beauty care to Japanese, and skip the ass-tastic slogans altogether?
Sonagi,
I’m surprised you’re surprised your fourth graders didn’t ask you about Korea. Even the majority of the adult Americans would think Korea is somewhere in the South East Asia, and are not really interested in knowing about the country: they’re far more interested in knowing anything about Anna Nicole Smith.
“I haven’t been in Korea long, but every time I get on the Seoul subway I’m overwhelmed by how many (obviously) fake “double eyelids” I see.”
American imbecile’s monologue.
Which you’ve already made a dialogue.
Why so touchy? Was your own surgery botched?
I read this, read the comments, got so angry and frustrated that I stopped and have now since come back to read it again, more composed.
I have some experience working with Koreans in developing slogans and logos for an international audience and it is true, they really don’t care what a Westerner says as long as it sounds and looks good to Koreans. I have some funny but frustrating stories regarding my experience with this but I’ll save that for another time.
Knowing this, it is a shame so much money was spent paying someone to create something Koreans could have done on their own.
After reading some of the comments here, I agree that this latest approach seems to be targeting Asian tourists who probably will respond more positively. But that doesn’t mean this is going to be effective and it excludes a huge potential market of non-Asians.
I had a bunch of solutions/suggestions once in terms of vamping up Korea’s tourism industry but I’ve since given up. If it’s going to change, the change has to come from the Korean side. My words only fall on deaf ears.
> American imbecile’s monologue.
No, I think the song you are thinking of is “North American scum”. Very catchy.
Korea, Discriminating
I asked one of my (Korean) lawyer friends and the first things that he came up with were “water” and “wine”. This was after he asked me what it meant…I wish I could have given him an answer.
I still think that they missed the boat with “The Soul of Asia” thing. That really did not have to be city specific, but could have been applied to the country as a whole.
The bottom line, however, is that the slogan itself is pretty much irrelevant - it will be the actual ads and marketing that will lead to the success or failure of the program. Seriously, how many people have gone to Malaysia because of the “Truly Asia” slogan? “Amazing Thailand” is not all that great but they market what they have very well.
Or they could just go with “Korea: Stuck in the Middle” to the tune of the same name…
…clowns to the left of me…jokers to the right etc etc
ba dum ching
One of my coworkers suggests, slong the lines of “Incredible India”: “Angry Korea.” That does have a certain je ne sais quoi….
Targeting Japanese and Chinese tourists is a tricky thing. That is, almost like comparing apples to oranges. Chinese generally stay one day less than the Japanese and spend about 30% less. (These figures are from the recesses of my memory so don’t quote me verbatim here.) The level of hotel they stay in is also different and type of attractions also diverge. Then we need to get into whether we are talking about mainland Chinese, Taiwanese or HK folks.
Catchphrase aside, what is Korea doing to actually entice tourists, from Asia or otherwise? I totally emphasize with Jodi’s comments regarding change needing to come locally. But as I stated previously, the KTO is spread too thin, in areas they have no business being in. They brag too much and set unrealistic standards. Ditto for other levels of gov’t. Remember when Seoul’s mayor Oh Se Hoon said their target was 12 million tourists by 2010? Given that all of Korea if 6 million (actually 3 million real tourists) now, that is an unachievable target in 3 years. Other follies include benchmarking the wrong cities (i.e. Disneyland, Singapore, Las Vegas) rather than understanding exactly what Korea is or what it has to offer. Korea needs to comprehend what it is, what it has to offer and how to achieve realistic targets in tourism.
I’m off to get some Sparkling malt beverages courtesy of the KNTO over at the FCC. Anyone else heading that way?
babarian wrote:
“I’m surprised you’re surprised your fourth graders didn’t ask you about Korea.”
I’m not surprised.
My personal losing battles in the past months have been against:
1. Unholy devotion to the word “Ubiquitous”
2. Unyielding insistence on using “Spirit of Challenge” to define the corporate culture.
3. The all-time favorite “Global leading company” - a title to which the number of claimants is seemingly endless; and
4. Please, for all the ink spilled announcing how ‘innovative’ your company is, could you give just one example? No…? Ok, then…
To whitey (post #71)
I was referring to the explanation in the original post. Here it is again:
“The word “Sparkling” is synonymous with shining and dazzling. Additionally, it conveys a sense of revitalizing energy and freshness. In sum, “Korea, Sparkling” intends to denote the concept of “vital refreshment,” – a unique experience available to tourists traveling to Korea and being exposed to the incredible passion of both Koreans and Korean culture. The brand also delivers the message that experiencing Korea offers unique emotional rewards unlike any other.”
Basically, my point is that a good slogan shouldn’t need to be explained. Most people who hear it will never know the explanation, so it is irrelevant.
Either here or on the other webpage linked on the OP, the logo was also brought up. Some people thought it reminded them of Italy. It was supposedly an open window which tourists could fill with their experiences. Again, without reading the explanation, nobody would every come to that conclusion. Like the slogan, the logo should not leave people wondering “Why is Korea trying to emulate Italy?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POG2Oc0q4Z8
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