It would be an understatement to say that the cultural year 2020 has been markedly different from previous years. The pandemic has had a huge impact on the cultural scene, with most live events cancelled and event promoters falling back on the internet to provide us with our cultural fixes. Some of these attempts have … [Read More]
Category: Travel Promotion
The dumbing down of the KTO?
Hmmm. Gone is the 기, 흥 and 정 of Lee Charm. Instead, are we to get an emphasis on K-pop at the expense of the more traditional things? Two quotes from an interview with Byun Choo-suk, the new KTO president, in the Korea Herald: “The royal guard changing ceremony at palaces in Seoul, traditional mask … [Read More]
2013 Travel Diary #36: The royal perambulation
Insadong, Seoul, Monday 16 September, 7am. What more to report? I finish my packing. I ring home. I pay the bill. I hail the usual taxi in the street and get it to drop me off at the Koreana Hotel. I buy the bus ticket. I get on the KAL airport limo-bus. I get to … [Read More]
KTO advertises at Piccadilly Circus
For the duration of the Olympic Games, the KTO has taken out some advertising space at Piccadilly Circus, joining the other Korean advertisements there – Samsung, Hyundai and LG. Here are a few shots taken on 30 July: [Read More]
Last chance to enter the KTO’s photo competition
Last chance to enter the KTO’s photo competition celebrating Asiana’s daily flights from London to Seoul. http://t.co/H1xCXhM4 [Read More]
British tenor made ambassador for Jeju
Britain’s Got Talent winner Paul Potts becomes Jeju’s goodwill ambassador (the day after I become Sancheong’s) http://bit.ly/kazB1y # [Read More]
Gangnam seeks goodwill ambassadors
Why does glitzy Gangnam need foreign bloggers to act as honorary publicity ambassadors? http://bit.ly/dP5y9R #. On second thoughts, the place needs all the help it can get: I never go there if I can possibly avoid it. [Read More]
The Korea Promotional Video competition
Check out 10 Magazine’s Korean Promotional Video competition. Great fun. Winning entry is number 13, by Michael Aronson. http://bit.ly/cuEbiv # [Read More]
Korea Attraction ap for iPhone
Free Korea Attraction Grid Puzzle for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad on the iTunes App Store http://bit.ly/c9ZsFN # [Read More]
A belated look back at 2009
For the past 3 years LKL has concocted a quiz of the year as a way of gathering together some of the news stories which have most caught our eye. This year, as I came to draw up the list in mid December I found it hard to think of anything amusing or diverting: most … [Read More]
Korea, recharge your energy
In fifty years since the Korean War, South Korea was catapulted from being one of the poorest countries on the planet, on a par with Ethiopia and Bangladesh, to being one of the OECD countries with a GDP that hovers between 11th and 13th in the world, depending on exchange rates. Now Mr Charm Lee, … [Read More]
Meeting more Mr Kims: CoolstuffKorea on Cheju Island
Jennifer Barclay, LKL contributor and author of Meeting Mr Kim, has landed herself a dream assignment for the Korean Tourism Organisation: tweet about Korea, travel round Korea, write about Korea on Facebook, generally do things we’d all like to be doing, and maybe earn a little bit of pocket money as well. Nice one, Jen. … [Read More]
Visit GoKorea.co.uk and enjoy the Festival
As most readers will know, this weekend’s Thames Festival is a fun event, and more importantly has a lot of Korean performers entertaining the crowds and bringing the best of Korean culture to London. The Korean “Village” is sponsored by Asiana Airlines, Expedia, H.I.S., the Korea Tourism Organisation and the Korean Cultural Centre UK. In … [Read More]
Naturalized Korean Charm Lee to Head Korea Tourism Organization
A press release announcing the new KTO head. On July 30, 2009, the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) announced that German-born naturalized Korean Charm Lee (55) has been appointed as their new President and CEO. His appointment was based on the Korean government’s decision that he is the most well qualified figure to develop and promote … [Read More]
Korea Times and National Branding
The Korea Times is currently running an interesting series of articles on Korea’s national brand. The paper has asked a number of foreigners – branding, business, tourism and advertising specialists – to comment on Korea’s perception overseas. Some of the writers are uniquely qualified to provide insights: Simon Anholt, for example, is the man who … [Read More]
B-boys promote Korean tourism at KCC
It’s now more than a year since the somewhat controversial launch of the Korea, Sparkling tourism brand. As I suspected at the time, people would get used to it in due course, and now the logo has become a familiar feature on the various tourist literature available. The branding, together with the Han Style campaign … [Read More]