With the recent emerging popularity of Korean pop-culture among nations all around the globe, there has been a great increase in interest in South Korean culture outside of the realm of pop-culture. The South Korean Government, or more specifically, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), has been capitalizing on this interest with costly and colorful advertisements to increase travel to South Korea. One of their more recent projects is the webpage koreavisitsyou.com that features four videos as well as a section where Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter posts tagged with #koreavisitsyou, #koreatrip, #koreafood, #koreastyle, and #korealife are displayed. If someone tags a photo with one of these hashtags, they are also automatically entered into
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In these four videos, one of the KTO’s main emphases seems to be on food, especially ethnic street food. This may be because of the rapidly increasing popularity of the Korean food industry, especially in the United States. According to Marie Kim’s article “New Globalization Trends of the Korean Food Industry,” this phenomenon is not a spontaneous event, since “...the government will work to nearly double the number of Korean restaurants in other countries, a move aimed at developing the country 's restaurant industry and globalizing its traditional food” (Kim 4). By repeatedly showing scenes of Korea’s vibrant food scene, the promotional videos create a hunger for the Korean lifestyle and entice people to expand their horizons.
Finally, in the video entitled “Enjoy your Creative Korea,” many alluring elements are present to convince the viewer that Korea is a must-see location. The diversity of the beautiful landscapes is especially important—both sprawling, sparkling cities and relaxed, green countryside scenes are repeatedly shown. This diversity is persuasive because it proves that South Korea has a little something for everyone who chooses to visit. Whether the tourist enjoys the fast-paced city life or the more relaxed country feeling, they will find some paradise in South Korea’s vast expanse of possibilities. …show more content…
Despite Kpop and K-drama’s success around the globe, the KTO made an obvious effort to leave them out of the advertisements. Why is this? It may be because in some parts of Asia (especially Japan), there is a resistance to Korean pop music due to its tendency to become too mainstream and overthrowing of local music. It may also be because South Korea does not want to be known solely for its pop music. In the article “Soft Power and the Korean Wave” written by Joseph Nye and Youna Kim, the authors state, “The global audiences may expect certain conformity with the very partial, or extremely polished, image in the popular cultural forms of K-pop music, dramas and films, without further developing an ability to understand the country’s actual conditions and
In these four videos, one of the KTO’s main emphases seems to be on food, especially ethnic street food. This may be because of the rapidly increasing popularity of the Korean food industry, especially in the United States. According to Marie Kim’s article “New Globalization Trends of the Korean Food Industry,” this phenomenon is not a spontaneous event, since “...the government will work to nearly double the number of Korean restaurants in other countries, a move aimed at developing the country 's restaurant industry and globalizing its traditional food” (Kim 4). By repeatedly showing scenes of Korea’s vibrant food scene, the promotional videos create a hunger for the Korean lifestyle and entice people to expand their horizons.
Finally, in the video entitled “Enjoy your Creative Korea,” many alluring elements are present to convince the viewer that Korea is a must-see location. The diversity of the beautiful landscapes is especially important—both sprawling, sparkling cities and relaxed, green countryside scenes are repeatedly shown. This diversity is persuasive because it proves that South Korea has a little something for everyone who chooses to visit. Whether the tourist enjoys the fast-paced city life or the more relaxed country feeling, they will find some paradise in South Korea’s vast expanse of possibilities. …show more content…
Despite Kpop and K-drama’s success around the globe, the KTO made an obvious effort to leave them out of the advertisements. Why is this? It may be because in some parts of Asia (especially Japan), there is a resistance to Korean pop music due to its tendency to become too mainstream and overthrowing of local music. It may also be because South Korea does not want to be known solely for its pop music. In the article “Soft Power and the Korean Wave” written by Joseph Nye and Youna Kim, the authors state, “The global audiences may expect certain conformity with the very partial, or extremely polished, image in the popular cultural forms of K-pop music, dramas and films, without further developing an ability to understand the country’s actual conditions and