Have you seen the Japanese advertisement, where a Korean singer, Youn-ha, appears and says, ‘Real White, Snow Japan’? Or seen a JAL (Japan Air Line) airplane, which has writing on the side that says, ‘Yokoso! Japan’ on it? In fact, for a long time Japan has used the tourist brand and slogan ‘Yokoso’. However, we have heard about this brand name since 2003 when Japan organized the ‘Visiting Japan Campaign’ after the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan, and the Prime Minister of Japan announced that they were planning to exceeded ten million annual foreign tourists by 2010. Up to that time, ‘Yokoso’ was a welcoming greeting and was used sporadically at national events. Now, you can see the slogan, ‘Yokoso! Japan’ or ‘Yokoso! Tokyo (or any cities in Japan)’ no matter where you go in Japan, nowadays. Nor do you have to explain the meaning of ‘Yokoso’ to foreign tourists, because they already know about it. An ostensible reason for the Japanese Government’s focus on attracting foreign tourists is that they can not maintain their tourist industry using only native tourists, because of their graying society and fall in birth rates.
In the case of Malaysia, they made a great coup among foreign tourists. The number of tourists doubled from 1998 to 2000 thanks to their ‘True Asia’ campaign, a brand advertisement which sets up the curiosity and mystique of Malaysia.
Korea ranked 42nd on the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI), which checked 124 countries recently selected by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The tourist industry in Korea can not be maintained with only native tourism, so Korea has decided to start an overseas information marketing campaign named ‘Korea, Sparkling’. The Chung-Ang Herald decided to investigate.
The Korean Tourism Organization has proclaimed a new tourist brand, ‘Korea, Sparkling’ and decided to conduct an aggressive overseas information marketing campaign from April 2007.
What is ‘Korea, Sparkling’? Sparkling means twinkling and glittering. Additionally, it has shades of meaning, such as active, fresh, and a return to life. The campaign’s creative director is Simon Anholt, who also made New Zealand’s tourist brand ‘100% Pure New Zealand’. According to this expert, he has been prepared for over 2 years to symbolize Korea’s traditions and future. He expressed the Joseon Dynasty period as having the colors of red and blue. An empty space between the logo has a serious meaning. It means that people can see the world and Korea through a window. Besides, he said, the color red represents Korean tradition, blue shows the future-oriented feeling and a wave pattern means a weathercock which is a symbol of a horse riding people.
The reason for a tourist brand is to bring into relief the tourist industry’s image, which will be the clout used by the next generation, and to attract over ten million foreign tourists by 2010.
The Korean government said that they are planning to promote public relations in major cities such as New York, Tokyo, London, Beijing, and others from April to June this year. They already conducted a survey in 17 countries with 8014 participants for the improvement of a new tourist brand. The new Korean tourist brand launching ceremony will be on April 10, CNN, BBC, and other principal media sources in foreign countries will be used.
The original slogan ‘Dynamic Korea’ was helpful for export or investment inducements, but the Ministry of Culture judged that it had a limited affect on the tourist industry. Kim, Myoung-gon, said the public interest in ‘Dynamic Korea’, was low even after the 2002 FIFA World Cup. For this reason, the government announced that ‘Korea, Sparkling’ would be adopted as the new brand.
The Chung-Ang Herald (CAH) had a special interview with an official of the Korea Tourism Organization about the effects of already made tourist brands. Let’s see the notes below.
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CAH: It took 2 years to create a tourist brand. Can you tell us about the process? CAH: What do you expect from the ‘Korea, Sparkling’ brand? CAH: In the case of Malaysia, the brand name was embossed with a mystique, so they attracted foreign tourists successfully. Is there a country which has a benchmarking campaign? |
Korea’s tourism attractiveness is still ranked low among other major countries in Asia. Therefore, it is urgent for Korea to improve its competitive clout through branding. Why are the tourism’s actual results unsatisfied? According to a survey from the Korea Tourism Organization, 48 percent of foreigners answered that they do not consider Korea for their sightseeing destinations, because they do not have know anything about Korea. The biggest problem is that Korea has not achieved a difference among competitive countries. Korea has been appraised positively about its beautiful natural environments, exotic landscapes, clear four seasons, and delicious foods. However, you can see those contents in China, Japan and Hong Kong, too. On the other hand, Japan has images of modern, high technology and tourist attractions. Hong Kong has an image of shopping and China has strong image of traditional culture. These 3 examples give a suggestion to forming an image of Korean tourism. However, you can see a developmental possibility through the satisfaction rates of foreign tourists (67%), who have been to Korea, and who have an intention to visit once more (72%) are high. Consequently, the public tourism should be aimed at overseas.
In Korea, there are three public activity plans for the tourist brand.
The first plan is called ‘R-16 Korea Sparkling, Seoul’. Korea got publicity, because of the B-Boy competition. A preliminary match was held on March 31st at the Melon-ax in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul and the main match will be held in June.
The second plan consists of entrusting an Honorary Ambassadorship to Toby S. C. Dawson (Korean name, Kim Soo-chul), who became famous as an American skier (Mogul Part). He won the championship Ski World Cup in 2005, and won a bronze medal in 2006 at the Torino Winter Olympics. As an adopted child of Korean descent, Dawson was appointed to an Honorary Ambassador for Korea Tourism by the Korea Tourism Organization on February 27, 2007. He promised to propel positive images for Korea.
The last plan is the official announcement to execute the National Brand Campaign. Daegu and Incheon have joined together to promote an intensive foreign tourist inducement travel agency.
Korean tourism competitive power should be considered in the cultural aspect which was based on the expectation effects of ‘Korea, Sparkling’ brand through the interview. If we let the world know our beautiful culture, people will be fascinated by Korea and they will visit Korea.