Korean Air Chairman and CEO Cho Yang-ho, right, shakes hands with Louvre director Henri Loyrette, Tuesday, in an event announcing the museum’s adoption of a multimedia guide system, including a Korean language service, sponsored by the carrier. / Courtesy of Korean Air

By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

Korean Air has been active in spreading Korean culture and tradition by taking advantage of its business that has destinations all over the world.

Its effort to take Korean culture on its wings ranges from supporting Korean studies overseas to holding friendship events for ambassadors to Korea.

Sponsoring a Museum Guide

The latest effort was the sponsorship of a Korean-language guide service at the Louvre in Paris.

On Tuesday, an event was held at the French museum to commemorate its adoption of Korean in its new multimedia guide. Korean is the seventh language in the guide following English, French, Italian, German, Spanish and Japanese.

The new service was made possible mainly through the efforts of Korean Air Chairman and CEO Cho Yang-ho, who sought cultural projects related to Paris hoping that Korean Air could become a cultural messenger. Cho discussed the issue with the museum in early 2007.

``The service will not only allow Korean travelers to enjoy works of art with commentaries in their mother tongue but also enhance Korea's national brand,'' Cho said.

To celebrate the service, the carrier decorated one of its flights with the image of the Mona Lisa, which is formed by small ``hangeul'' (Korean alphabet) letters. The B747-400 aircraft was first put on the Incheon-Paris route on Tuesday, the day the Louvre's Korean guide service began.



Private Ambassador

The carrier is playing the role of public ambassador that promotes Korean culture to foreigners by inviting ambassadors to Korea and their spouses to Jeju Island.

The event, held annually since 2002, is designed to provide them with a chance to learn about Korea's culture and the island's natural environment.

The couples visit the scenic resort island's famous tourist destinations such as the folk village and volcanic land features, as well as experience traditional Korean culture including rice cake making.

First to Greet Foreign Visitors

A national flag carrier is important not only because it carries foreigners to its country but also because foreigners get their first impression of Korea from the carrier.

Last April when a delegation from the Bureau de International Expositions visited Korea to inspect Yeosu's bid to host the 2012 World Expo, the carrier showed them an in-flight video program made to promote the city.

As the delegation's on-the-spot evaluation is a decisive factor in selecting a host country for international events, Korean Air provided the utmost in-flight services to delegations for PyeongChang's Winter Olympics bid and Incheon's Asian Games bid.

For PyeongChang and Yeosu, the carrier put advertisement of their bids on its limousine buses running between Incheon International Airport and Seoul. It also published related articles in its in-flight magazine.

Supporting Korean Studies

The carrier also supports Korean studies at overseas schools and organizations in an effort to provide correct information about Korea.

The Korean Studies Institute at the University of Southern California is an example. A former residence of the late Ahn Chang-ho, which was originally located near the campus in Los Angeles, was relocated to a central spot of the campus after which it has become an institute dedicated to the studies of Korea and its heritage.

Korean Air Chairman Cho, a graduate of the university and currently a trustee, has helped the school's research on Korean studies. He donated money for the renovation of the institute and another $100,000 in funding.

Providing Korean Education

Korean Air offers scholarship to students in Mongolia so that they can have the opportunity to study in Korea.

Since 1998, an education foundation run by the Hanjin Group, the parent company of Korean Air, has selected talented Mongolian college students and provided them with a chance to study in Korea.

They are given money for Korean-language studies in Mongolia for one year, and a full scholarship and living expenses for four years of study in Korea.

Last July, the foundation also sent volunteers to Mongolia to provide education on IT to students and professors at the Mongolian University of Science and Technology, and donated 100 computers.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr