The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
The Korea Times
amn_close.png
amn_bl.png
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
amn_bl.png
Business
  • Tech
  • Bio
  • Companies
  • World Expo 2030
amn_bl.png
Finance
  • Companies
  • Economy
  • Markets
  • Cryptocurrency
amn_bl.png
Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Columns
  • Thoughts of the Times
  • Cartoon
  • Today in History
  • Blogs
  • Tribune Service
  • Blondie & Garfield
  • Letter to President
  • Letter to the Editor
amn_bl.png
Lifestyle
  • Travel & Food
  • Trends
  • People & Events
  • Books
  • Around Town
  • Fortune Telling
amn_bl.png
Entertainment & Arts
  • K-pop
  • Films
  • Shows & Dramas
  • Music
  • Theater & Others
amn_bl.png
Sports
amn_bl.png
World
  • SCMP
  • Asia
amn_bl.png
Video
  • Korean Storytellers
  • POPKORN
  • Culture
  • People
  • News
amn_bl.png
Photos
  • Photo News
  • Darkroom
amn_NK.png amn_DR.png amn_LK.png amn_LE.png
  • bt_fb_on_2022.svgbt_fb_over_2022.svg
  • bt_twitter_on_2022.svgbt_twitter_over_2022.svg
  • bt_youtube_on_2022.svgbt_youtube_over_2022.svg
  • bt_instagram_on_2022.svgbt_instagram_over_2022.svg
  • Login
  • Register
  • Login
  • Register
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
  • 1

    Hybe's new boy group Boynextdoor aims to be 'one and only' presence in K-pop

  • 3

    Brave Girls to restart activities under new name

  • 5

    Rapper Mino attends sister's wedding in U.S. amid military service

  • 7

    Running convenience stores becomes popular among people in 20s, 30s

  • 9

    Actors' off-screen chemistry enthralls fans

  • 11

    Sluggish exports behind weak Korean won

  • 13

    Naver suffers shrinking online search market share

  • 15

    Doctors, pharmacists to receive 30% bonus for offering telemedicine service

  • 17

    'Elemental' director on bringing his personal story of immigration to cinema

  • 19

    Directors thrive on streaming platforms amid sluggish film industry

  • 2

    Seoul city erroneously sends emergency alert after NK launch

  • 4

    NK's attempt to launch 1st spy satellite fails after 'abnormal' flight: S. Korean military

  • 6

    Korea to ease immigration rules to attract more medical tourists

  • 8

    Big businesses face growing union pressure to extend retirement age

  • 10

    Seoul city takes flak for emergency text alert on NK's rocket launch

  • 12

    Anti-corruption watchdog set to investigate crypto assets of lawmakers

  • 14

    Seoul resident clashes with authorities for raising dogs to nab 'North Korean spies'

  • 16

    Pyongyang may have delayed spy satellite launch due to technical issues

  • 18

    NATIONALKorea likely to face pressure over imports of Fukushima seafood

  • 20

    Rude cabbies in Seoul face stricter penalties

Close scrollclosebutton

Close for 24 hours

Open
  • The Korea Times
  • search
  • all menu
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Photos
  • Video
  • World
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment & Art
  • Lifestyle
  • Finance
  • Business
  • National
  • North Korea
National
  • Politics
  • Foreign Affairs
  • Multicultural Community
  • Defense
  • Environment & Animals
  • Law & Crime
  • Society
  • Health & Science
Thu, June 1, 2023 | 04:10
Society
Korea's ever-changing city brand slogans baffle foreigners
Posted : 2023-01-24 17:01
Updated : 2023-01-25 17:07
Lee Hae-rin
Print PreviewPrint Preview
Font Size UpFont Size Up
Font Size DownFont Size Down
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • kakaolink
  • whatsapp
  • reddit
  • mailto
  • link
A 3D installation of Seoul's 'I.Seoul.U' city brand is seen in Seoul Plaza in this August 2022 file photo. Newsis
A 3D installation of Seoul's "I.Seoul.U" city brand is seen in Seoul Plaza in this August 2022 file photo. Newsis

By Lee Hae-rin

It was initially "Hi Seoul," introduced in 2002 by conservative Mayor Lee Myung-bak, who later became the president of Korea. That slogan for Seoul Metropolitan City had been in use for the longest time. Then in 2006, Lee's successor, Mayor Oh Se-hoon, modified it to "Hi Seoul: SOUL of Asia."

The capital's slogan went through another change in 2015 when liberal Mayor Park Won-soon, in his second term, introduced the controversial and nonsensical "I.Seoul.U" slogan, which was selected in an online vote open to the public.

Last year, the city government reached the consensus that "I.Seoul.U" is not appealing or competitive enough to attract foreign travelers or global investors and embarked last August on a project to develop a new slogan, which will "strengthen Seoul's competitiveness as a global city," with a panel of public relations and marketing experts.

The city's slogan is set to change this year as the Seoul Metropolitan Government holds yet another vote for its next slogan.

Anyone can vote for the new slogan until Jan. 31 through the city government's website.

The four final candidates put to the vote are: "Seoul for you," "Amazing Seoul," "Seoul, my soul" and "Make it happen, Seoul."

A similar effort to introduce a new slogan is also underway in the nation's southern port city of Busan.

Earlier this month, Busan proclaimed "Busan is Good" as its new slogan to replace "Dynamic Busan," which had been in use for over 20 years. The southeastern city of Daegu announced its new slogan "Powerful Daegu" to replace "Colorful Daegu," which represented the city's historical identity as a textile industry. The administrative capital of Sejong, south of Seoul is now using "Sejong is the future."

The three major cities have one thing in common: a change in mayors. To signal their fresh starts, the ambitious mayors are trying to fix the images of their respective cities with new slogans.

But the reactions are not all positive.

The Korean-language page for voting on the slogan has several critical comments. Only 12,369 people have voted as of 3 p.m. Sunday.

A 3D installation of Seoul's 'I.Seoul.U' city brand is seen in Seoul Plaza in this August 2022 file photo. Newsis
Seen is the poster for Seoul's options on the next city brand with the four candidate slogans, which reads on top, "What is your most preferred Seoul slogan?" Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

Although the English-language page does not have a comment section, a number of foreign residents and overseas visitors to Korea interviewed by The Korea Times expressed their confusion and dissatisfaction, which was agreed by experts.

Several foreign interviewees pointed out that Seoul's four candidate slogans fail to reflect the city's identity. They are "uniformly awful and cheesy," and fail to "appeal to tourists," according to Michael Aronson, a former New Yorker who was named an honorary citizen of Seoul in 2012.

Stephane Mot, 55, a Frenchman who lived in Seoul since 1991, agreed that they are "either dull or already used elsewhere or embarrassingly clumsy," and believes the candidate slogans should have gone through a crash-test among native English speakers before being put to the vote.

Jericho Li, 35, from Hong Kong, who visited Seoul and Busan earlier this month, said that "Make it happen Seoul" was her least favorite. She said that it made her wonder: "The city is trying to make what happen?"

However, these candidate slogans have been thoroughly screened and selected, according to the government official in charge of the city's brand development. The expert panel including foreign nationals screened and selected the four most appealing among several hundred suggestions made from Korea and abroad, especially because I.Seoul.U received such a backlash.

However, Lee Hee-bok, a professor of design at Sangji University, pointed out that the cities still should have been more thorough in developing new slogans. Some of the slogans can be easily found on the internet having already been used elsewhere ― Gimhae and Ulsan have already used "for you," and "Amazing" was Thailand's tourism slogan, while "Make it happen" is used by the United Arab Emirates.

Also, many criticized the fact that Korea's slogans are changed far too frequently ― often along with the change in mayors ― and take an extensive amount of money and manpower. Kevin Nickolai, an American resident of Daejeon, which has the "strangely humble" slogan "It's Daejeon," commented that Korea's slogans "seem to be recycled too quickly here like the churn of so many K-pop brands."

A 3D installation of Seoul's 'I.Seoul.U' city brand is seen in Seoul Plaza in this August 2022 file photo. Newsis
Former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, center with a red bow tie, holds a banner displaying the slogan I.Seoul.U during the city brand proclamation ceremony at Seoul Square, Oct. 28, 2015. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government

For instance, I.Seoul.U cost around 2.1 billion won ($1.7 million). The city government spent 800 million on slogan development, 300 million won for the new slogan proclamation ceremony and over 1 billion won to install 29 3D logos at tourist landmarks across the capital.

Busan and Gyeonggi Province's latest slogan development initiatives also cost around 800 million won each, their budget records show. Daegu's city identity improvement plan initiated in 2019, which ended up only recommending some color changes from the previous logo, cost around 350 million won.

Korean cities' tendency to change their slogans along with their city mayors show "their strong will and ambition," to appeal in a distinctive way by administering city affairs differently from their predecessors and showing results, Lee said.

Multiple updates of slogans could have some advantages, according to Hwang In-seok, a marketing professor at the University of Seoul. "A new slogan could supplement the previous one and reflect the city's transformation," Hwang said, while also warning that changing slogans too often could be costly and create public confusion.

Lee explained the importance of consistency and durability in building a city's brand identity with the example of Paris' Eiffel Tower. When it was built in 1887 by French engineer Gustave Eiffel, the controversial tower faced strong criticisms for breaking the city's altitude limit and was called a disgrace to architecture. However, it outlasted the controversy and became an iconic cultural asset and landmark of the city.

"Although Korea is not a big country, it has a rich historical and cultural background to develop unique regional brands and identities," Lee said. "If we don't invest enough time in a slogan, we'll never have a symbol like the Eiffel Tower," Lee said.


Emaillhr@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
wooribank
Top 10 Stories
1Seoul city takes flak for emergency text alert on NK's rocket launchSeoul city takes flak for emergency text alert on NK's rocket launch
2Rude cabbies in Seoul face stricter penaltiesRude cabbies in Seoul face stricter penalties
3[INTERVIEW] Asia expected to be key driver of ESG growth: Deloitte ESG Partner INTERVIEWAsia expected to be key driver of ESG growth: Deloitte ESG Partner
4North Korea's spy satellite launch fails as rocket falls into sea North Korea's spy satellite launch fails as rocket falls into sea
5Retailers adopt generative AI to offer personalized products, services Retailers adopt generative AI to offer personalized products, services
6Committee calls for lowering requirements for foreigners to teach English online Committee calls for lowering requirements for foreigners to teach English online
7Chinese account for 54% of foreign-owned homes in Korea Chinese account for 54% of foreign-owned homes in Korea
8LS chairman appears in YouTube commercial LS chairman appears in YouTube commercial
9AMCHAM stresses S. Korea-US ties after NK fires 'space launch vehicle' AMCHAM stresses S. Korea-US ties after NK fires 'space launch vehicle'
10Samsung Sharing Kiosk raises $174,000 to help children in need Samsung Sharing Kiosk raises $174,000 to help children in need
Top 5 Entertainment News
1[INTERVIEW] Lee Jun-hyuk unrecognizable in 'The Roundup: No Way Out' INTERVIEWLee Jun-hyuk unrecognizable in 'The Roundup: No Way Out'
2'Elemental' director on bringing his personal story of immigration to cinema 'Elemental' director on bringing his personal story of immigration to cinema
3SHINee celebrates 15th anniversary of debut: 'It feels surreal' SHINee celebrates 15th anniversary of debut: 'It feels surreal'
4ENHYPEN reaches new career high with latest album 'Dark Blood' ENHYPEN reaches new career high with latest album 'Dark Blood'
5'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' raises bar with epic battle scenes 'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' raises bar with epic battle scenes
DARKROOM
  • Turkey-Syria earthquake

    Turkey-Syria earthquake

  • Nepal plane crash

    Nepal plane crash

  • Brazil capital uprising

    Brazil capital uprising

  • Happy New Year 2023

    Happy New Year 2023

  • World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

    World Cup 2022 Final - Argentina vs France

CEO & Publisher : Oh Young-jin
Digital News Email : webmaster@koreatimes.co.kr
Tel : 02-724-2114
Online newspaper registration No : 서울,아52844
Date of registration : 2020.02.05
Masthead : The Korea Times
Copyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.
  • About Us
  • Introduction
  • History
  • Contact Us
  • Products & Services
  • Subscribe
  • E-paper
  • RSS Service
  • Content Sales
  • Site Map
  • Policy
  • Code of Ethics
  • Ombudsman
  • Privacy Statement
  • Terms of Service
  • Copyright Policy
  • Family Site
  • Hankook Ilbo
  • Dongwha Group