KOCIS Enhances Awareness of Korea and Its Culture Abroad

Makes the most of a plethora of publicity resources available

In the past, Korea found few things to publicize about itself to the world. Things have now changed with an array of soft power resources suiting the nation’s improved international standing.
“In the past, Korea had almost nothing available to promote itself abroad. Democracy, overcoming the Asian financial crisis, strong showing in the 2010 Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup in South Africa and the nation’s rise as an IT powerhouse . ― we have an endless list of publicity resources available,” said Seo Kang-soo, director/assistant minister of the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS).
Seo stressed the need for Korea to make strenuous efforts to enhance awareness toward Korea and Korean culture. For instance, he cited the Culture 20 (C-20) meeting in which influential cultural figures from the G20, including Vittorio Missoni, head of Italy’s Missoni Group, and Guy Sorman, a well-known French philosopher and economist, got together in Seoul from Sept. 8-10 ahead of the G20 Seoul Summit slated for November. Many participants of the meeting showed a keen concern about Korean culture while meeting with First Lady Kim Yoon-ok over tea on Sept. 9. Seo quoted a participant, saying that he came to know Korea through the late renowned Korean-born video artist Paik Nam-joon and he found out many artists like Paik and Korean food. “We have been conducting overseas publicity activities designed to promote Korea and Korean culture abroad so that Korea’s national image can be enhanced,” he said.
As part of efforts to promote Korea abroad, KOCIS plans to produce and broadcast overseas publicity videos and commercials designed to enhance Korea’s national image. They will carry the message that Korea, having already made economic strides and achieved democracy after emerging from the ruins of the Korean War, is now a contributor to the international community, tackling the global financial crisis and serving as a bridge between advanced and developing countries.
The following are excerpts of an interview between NewsWorld and Seo, who touched on the direction of KOCIS policies, including Official Development Assistance programs.
Question: Will you introduce the current status of KOCIS?
Answer: KOCIS is an overseas Korean culture promotion agency under the umbrella of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, charged with promoting Korean culture abroad, carrying out international cultural exchanges and enhancing Korea’s national image. It has the Assistant Minister’s Office, the Senior Public Diplomacy Planning Office, five divisions in Korea, overseas stations and 41 culture and information officers in 29 countries.
Q: What’re the major projects KOCIS has conducted or will conduct during 2010?
A: We have been conducting overseas publicity activities designed to promote Korea and Korean culture so that Korea’s national image can be enhanced.
As part of efforts to promote bilateral cultural exchanges, Korea and Russia held an official ceremony marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in Moscow on April 2; Korea and Malaysia held an event in Kuala Lumpur on May 5 marking the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties; Korea and Mongolia held an opening ceremony and a performance celebrating the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relationships in the Cultural Palace in Ulan Bator on March 26; and Korea and Nigeria hosted a joint performance marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations in Seoul on Sept. 28 and in Abuja on Sept. 29. Korea and Russia will hold joint performances in Moscow on Oct. 6-7, while cultural events commemorating the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Korea and Spain and the 50th anniversary events of Korea-Malaysia ties are to be held.
Korean cultural events designed to promote Korean culture took place in five places in four countries ― South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, and Turkey ― from May 17 to June 5 in celebration of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. With Korea and Nigeria celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties this year, Korea has opened Africa’s first Korean Cultural Center in Nigeria, building a foothold for promoting Korean culture in the continent.
With Korea’s hosting of the G20 Seoul Summit in November, we are encouraging newspaper and broadcast outlets to carry special reports on Korea, overseas Korean cultural centers to promote Korean culture to local people, producing and distributing commercials and videos on Korea’s national image, reinforcing on-line publicity activities via Korea.net and social networking websites, and sponsoring international conferences.
KOCIS is transforming the Bethell Fellowship Program into a substantial one focusing on discussions and observations, departing from simple coverage. The program was named after the late British journalist who worked for press freedom in the late Joseon period.
We plan to produce and broadcast overseas publicity videos and commercials designed to enhance Korea’s national image. They will carry the message that Korea, having already made economic strides and achieved democracy after emerging from the ruins of the Korean War, is now a contributor to the international community, tackling the global financial crisis and serving as a bridge between advanced and developing countries.
A program dubbed “People’s Suggestions on Overseas Promotion” is in place to help Korean travelers abroad, now estimated at 12 million, become “culture promotion ambassadors”. When they find errors on Korean materials while visiting foreign museums and libraries, people are asked to post their suggestions on the website (www.kocis.go.kr) so that the mistakes can be rectified and suggest ideas publicizing the nation abroad.
Q: What’re the roles and visions of Korean Cultural Centers and Korea Centers?
A: Korean Cultural Centers are designed to promote Korean culture in strategic locations on a continental or country basis, enhance Korea’s national image through exchanges in culture, art, cultural industry, tourism, sports and other general areas and serve as centers to ensure efficient overseas promotion.
Korea Centers, an expanded version of Korean Cultural Centers, houses institutions related to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, including the Korea Tourism Organization, Korea Creative Content Agency, the Game Industry Commission and the Korea Copyright Commission in order to serve as an integrated information center publicizing Korean culture.
Currently, there are 16 Korean Cultural Centers Among them are the Korea Centers in Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai and Log Angeles. Korean Cultural Centers hold a diverse array of events, including exhibitions, performances, movie screenings, Korean language classes, cultural lectures and academic seminars in order to publicize the excellence of Korean culture by introducing it to host countries and promoting cultural exchanges.
KOCIS plans to raise the number of Korean Cultural Centers to 37. We plan to expand or inaugurate Korean Cultural Centers in Southeast Asia, Central and South America, the Middle East and Africa to push for cultural Official Development Assistance (ODA), serve as a bridge for cultural exchanges and provide support for market entry by private entities so as to improve Korea’s national image and ensure efficient overseas promotion.
Q: Will you elaborate on KOCIS’s cultural ODA activities?
A: KOCIS conducts three major cultural ODA activities ― a collaboration program with UNESCO, a cultural partnership program and a youth culture volunteer program.
The collaboration program with UNESCO, established in accordance with agreements the Korean Government and UNESCO signed in 2006 and 2008, is designed to help developing countries build their culture industry in order to promote diversity of cultural expressions. The program, launched in 2007, selected Vietnam and Mongolia for development of Vietnam’s traditional craft industry and the digital content restoration of Mongolia’s cultural heritage. In 2009, the beneficiaries of the program were Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in the Central Asian region. KOCIS has provided support to preserve and promote Kazakhstan’s craft industry as well as protecting and restoring Uzbekistan’s traditional craftwork and assisting female craftspeople.
In 2011, KOCIS plans to increase the beneficiaries of the program to four countries in order to expand Korea’s contribution to the international community and enhance Korea’s international standing and influence. The existing beneficiaries, Vietnam and Mongolia, which are to be exempted from the program in 2010, may be retained, while two new beneficiary countries ― one from Southeast Asia and the other from Middle East or Africa, ― will be selected.
The cultural partnership program is a bilateral cultural exchange project to promote Korean culture abroad. It is designed to maintain or spread Hallyu, or the Korean Wave, by building bilateral partnerships and co-prosperity relationships. For this year, 74 people from 35 countries in Asia, South America, the Middle East/Africa and Eastern Europe will be invited to participate in the program, comprising Korean language classes and cultural experiences.
The youth culture volunteer program is designed to promote bilateral cultural exchanges and enhance Korea’s national image by dispatching Korean youth volunteer corps majoring in traditional Korean culture and art to foreign countries in order to introduce Korean art and provide experiential opportunities. A team has returned home from Belarus where they held performances and conducted volunteering activities in the first half of this year. Another team, which has just finished their activities in Astana, Kazakhstan, is continuing their activities including cultural lectures and street performances in Almaty.
Q: Will you explain to us about periodicals and multimedia materials introducing Korean culture?
A: Now that concern about Korean culture is rising, KOCIS has been producing high-quality content suitable to Korea’s national image and is publicizing them through diverse media outlets. To name a few, there are such periodic publications as ‘Facts about Korea,’ ‘Welcome to Korea,’ ‘Guide to Korean Culture’ and the monthly ‘Korea,’ as well as introductions on Korean culture and art, and a series on multiple ethic cultures that KOCIS has been producing frequently.
We have been producing advertisements and videos to improve the image of Korea. With Korea’s hosting of the G20 Seoul Summit, an advertisement, titled “Korea: A Good Neighbor” has been produced and broadcast through such foreign media outlets as the BBC, CNN and Euronews as well electronic boards in Manhattan. KOCIS is working on the production of ‘With Love Korea,’ a video on the promotion of the national image, and a video on the promotion of world cultural heritage sites in Korea. Programs designed to promote Korea’s hosting of the G20 Seoul Summit in November and publicize Korea’s international exchanges have been broadcast or will be broadcast through such satellite broadcasting outlets as Arirang TV, KBS World and mbn. “Korea Today” was aired on KBS World in July; “Soul in Korea” was put on mbn in August; and “G20 Seoul Summit” will be broadcast on Arirang TV in October.
KOCIS is pushing to make the most of social networking websites and smartphones, which are emerging as tools with significant influence around the world. We now run seven social media promotion platforms on the Korean government’s multi-language portal (www.korea.net), Twitter, Facebook and blogs, etc., while developing smartphone applications that will make their debut soon.
Q: Will you explain the direction of promoting Korea via foreign media outlets?
A: Mass media, which reaches the general public daily, is an influential tool in determining and recasting the image of foreign countries, so how Korea has been perceived by foreigners tends to depend on how foreign media covers Korea. As of late, Korea’s standing is rising. Foreign media outlets have expanded from the past coverage of the Korean economy and inter-Korean relations to such areas as Korean culture and society. KOCIS is striving to provide diverse channels with foreign media outlets and step up close relationships in order to help foreign journalists get a better understanding of Korean culture, history and tradition, prevent distorted reports and project the image of Korea in the right direction. We’re making strenuous efforts to provide exact English-language materials to help foreign journalists cover Korea while trying to explore reporting areas tailored to attract attention from journalists, including visiting newsmen. Journalists from advanced countries as well as Asia and Africa have been invited and given opportunities to cover news items attracting their attention, as was the case of inviting journalists from the countries that participated in the Korean War during the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the war.
Meanwhile, KOCIS is trying to rectify foreign reports with erroneous facts as soon as possible and contribute articles explaining Korea’s position to cope with reports with different views from ours. nw

KOCIS Produces Promotional Video: ‘With Love, Korea’
The Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) has produced and distributed an overseas promotional DVD titled “With Love, Korea,” striving to promote exchanges and cooperation with the world and serve as a good neighbor with care and co-prosperity.
Departing from the previous format of providing one-sided messages of high-technology and economic development, the five-minute video has a concept of “The Republic of Korea Together with the World” and takes the format of a letter in which Miss Korea 2009 Seo Un-mi, a Yeungnam University student, appears as an actress to show the image of Korea growing up like a friend, exchanging and cooperating with the world. It also publicizes Korea’s hosting of the G20 Seoul Summit 2010 in November.
The promotional video, produced in September in 10 foreign languages including English, has been distributed to the nation’s 166 overseas diplomatic missions, ministries, foreign media outlets and organizations in Korea. nw

Seo Kang-soo, director/assistant minister of the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS)