A promotional video produced by the Korea Tourism Organization has apparently won a prize at the 12th International Festival of Tourism and Ecology Films that took place in Romania.
(HT to reader)
Korea… in Blog Format
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Finally, somebody got a clue. The reason why this add works is that for once it seeks to catch the attention of foreign travelers, not please Korean nationalists.
I must agree with the above. Perhaps they have finally learned from their mistakes.
all around a pretty damn good job on this one
It helped that they asked the opinions of their target audience. I was asked my opinion of this about 8 months ago. They did seem to take in some changes, like when he says “wow beautiful” he had that cheesy white guy in Korea sound you hear on EBS and ariang. The have since cut that piece of audio. The other problem that we had was the 25 year diference between the husband and wife, but it was too late by the time we saw it, so that was never going to change. I think the American woman from Misuda is at the start.
Anyway I liked it, but it is hard to say if I hadn’t experienced the things in it, whether I would have as positive a reaction. Still like it though.
That is a great promo for Korea. But exactly what in that have you experienced? As an observer, I have seen the acrobats and reenactors, but other than that, it looks like something out of a movie, that noone would really have that experience, would they? I am aware that I haven’t had every experience possible in Korea and I don’t have a boat load of money, so maybe this kind of experience is available to Joe Blow, but somehow it feels like false advertising.
it seemed a bit implausible…and strange…don’t think I’d want to do some kind of traditional Korean wedding as a tourist (especially if she not Korean and I am already married)…..and how much would that cost, cause if its under 1000$ Koreans should just act like tourist and get married like that (save a billion won)
# 1 and # 2,
Like I said… Koreans tend to take four steps forward and three steps backwards…
#5,
I would guess that they’re planning to provide these experiences to those who can afford them, if they don’t already.
Korea has a lot of potential for tourism, it just needs to diversify its investments. Foreign visitors don’t all want to go to casinos, for example.
i wonder who their target segment should be for marketing this. would it really be euoropeans/americans or do asians in the region make up the majority of the tourists. it seems pretty tough to sell korea as a tourist destination to americans due to distance traveled and limited options in the country. may be very appealing to others in the region, though.
White tourists + traditional Korean culture = aiming at Western travelers
East Asians, Chinese and Japanese especially, are less interested in traditional activities and historical sites and more interested in modern culture and recreation. Casinos don’t appeal to Westerners, who don’t need to leave the country to gamble legally, but they do attract Chinese visitors.
The camera work was good in parts, shooting artistically from a variety of angles, but the pace did drag a little. Got tired of the wide-eyed woman grinning ear to ear and gasping “Wow!” at everything Korean. Ending was cute.
Successful Korean tourism promotion definitely needs diverse messages for diverse audiences, and I think they do realize that. Back in the 90s, I recall seeing on Star TV a Chinese-language ad touting Korea’s four seasons, showing leaf peepers and skiiers. China obviously has four seasons, so I think the ad was aimed at residents of Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore.
It’s like a Koreanized Mentos commerical…
It’s like a Koreanized Mentos commercial…
WangKon936 @7,
Churchill said this about Americans: “Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing…after they have exhausted all other possibilities.” I feel exactly that way about Koreans.
# 13,
Well, Churchill was a little bitter at the US for taking so freak’in long for getting involved in WWII. Back in the late 30’s the U.S. and today’s Korea were in a similar boat. Neither nation really had all that much international experience and sorta stumbled around, trying to find its way and made a lot of mistakes in the process.
I don’t think Churchill will say that today about the U.S.
America’s tremendous resource base and its general competence in mobilizing those resources into tanks, ships, guns, financing, foreign aid, etc. allows the U.S. to make a lot of mistakes and recover. Korea has little more than its people as the main resource base. It can’t afford to make a lot of mistakes. As Korea gets into more competitive industries and the industries they are currently in get more competitive (watch out for cheap Chinese cars, TVs, ships, refrigerators, cell phones, etc.) they need to develop, manage, and marshall their resources much more smartly and efficiently.
#14,
Eh. A lesson from Roh Administration I learned was that even with such a spectacular fuckup of a presidency, the country chugs along. It’s a twisted way to get comforted, but it is nonetheless a comfort to know that Korea has at least that much room for failure.
Of course, two in a row would be pretty bad, which is where LMB seems to be heading right now…
Pretty good vid, true — improved sensibilty from my former firm; kudos!
Korean trad-culture imagaes & experiences are properly aimed at Westerners now, but i think the could be appealing to a chunk of the Chinese tourist masses in the future — judging by my talks with my Ch exchange-students and a few Ch profs i’ve met at conferences — What they once had but tragically and criminally lost, but have dim impressions of as still ‘theirs’, they are somewhat curious about, are surprised and pleased to find preserved (with exotic Korean flavoring added) and still-alive over here.
Casinos, golf, massage-spas, shopping, nightclubs, TV/movie stars and skiing are attracting the first wave, but many might retrurn for Temple-Stay, Neo-Confucian rituals, Shaman shrines, rural meals and hiking in the great National Parks…
“East Asians, Chinese and Japanese especially, are less interested in traditional activities and historical sites and more interested in modern culture and recreation.”
You forget the Korean ‘historical’ TV dramas are all the rage in Asian countries.
A friend of mine (2nd generation Indian-American, if you must know) just got back from a trip to Korea – before anyone thinks anything, I had nothing to do with it.
Here’s what he liked
1. ‘cool’ and beautiful looking ancient buildings and their approximation (and therefore sharp contrast to) to modern buildings
2. ‘Street culture’ and, more prominently, the ’street cuisine’. The dude apparently had like 100 tons of 떡볶이 over there.
3. How Seoul is ‘alive’ even late at night… I wasn’t so sure what that meant.
4. Hiking, hiking, and more hiking. In fact, this was his favorite part of the trip.
From this, I think the tourism should focus a lot more on the fact that you can’t drive in Korea for more than 10 minutes without running into a great place for hiking. .
I’m sure with you there, bum. Hiking the pine-crags and stopping off at the colorful temples along the way…
#18 re point 2
Seoul is a 24 hour city. You never have to stop and can get anything you want at almost any time. This is a feat only a very large city can perform, and many do not due to local laws. It’s one of the things I love about Seoul. (Like seeing a movie at 4 am in 동대문. Haven’t done it in a few years, hope the theater is still open.
sorry, point 3
I liked the music a lot. Other than that, I guess the video accurately portrayed Korea–for travellers intending to stay within the confines of folk village museums. Of course, when one walks out the gate of the folk village, there are those hard-partying B-Boys again!
Yeah, that had me wondering. How much does it cost to stay at a Korean Folk Village? I didn’t know it was possible.
Boycott all Korean products.
And besides, Japan is a much better place to travel.
Nice video, but what are eccentric European families going to think when they find out that they can’t actually spend a weekend at a Korean folk village getting treated like royalty?
hahaha…. they should have advertised that the scenes were shot at Korean Folk Village and that the park also grows marijuana.
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