Policy of nation branding in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

The current interest in the Korea’s nation branding model is due to the rapid and apparent change of attitude to Korean cultural and industrial products globally. The policy of national branding has been implemented in the Republic of Korea for over 20 years. At the first stage, the creation of a favorable image of the country was supposed to help bringing the high standards of living and a developed economy into line with the predominantly negative assessments of Korea by foreign audiences of potential consumers of Korean products. The “Korea brand” building strategy is realized by the state with the implementation of branding campaigns through partnerships with private corporations. Public-private partnership allows ensuring the continuity of the process due to the mutual interest of the participating parties as raising the status of the “Korea brand” brings both political and economic dividends. In order to shape the social behavior of Koreans, domestic advertising campaigns are also organized in support of the objectives of improving the country’s image. Nation branding campaigns aim at promoting the country’s development goals, gaining international recognition in various fields, and are supported by South Koreans. At the same time, certain aspects and practices of implementing this policy encouraged public debate on the issue with the range of opinions from supportive to critical ones. The desire for international recognition, combined with the participation of many actors in the implementation of nation’s branding policy, often led to the incorrect presentation of Korea, its history, sports, and culture causing unexpected and undesirable results.