President Lee Myung-bak |
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The administration plans to create a G20 Park, a G20 Street and a forum of young leaders from the world's 20 major economies as part of programs aimed at improving Korea's international image.
In a report to President Lee Myung-bak, Friday, the Presidential Council on Nation Branding said the country's hosting of the world's premium economic forum would be a crucial opportunity to promote its potential of becoming an advanced country. The briefing session took place at the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
The council proposed diverse measures,
including naming a park and a street to celebrate the summit, and creating ads for global media outlets such as CNN and BBC to promote Korea's rising global status.
It also plans to come up with a 10-point action plan to raise residents' awareness of global citizenship and etiquette; suggest guidelines for the street advertisements of businesses and stores; organize a conference for student leaders from the G20 countries; and launch an online campaign to improve Korea's reputation abroad, among others.
"As the first Asian country to host the G20, Korea should take advantage of the event to become a more respected and powerful nation," President Lee said.
"It will be a good opportunity, too, to upgrade global awareness about Korea's potential as well as the remarkable achievements the nation has made during the past decades."
Korea gained unanimous support at the third G20 Summit, held in Pittsburgh last September, to be the host of the fifth summit, slated for November in Seoul. Canada will host the fourth meeting from June 26 to 27 in Toronto.
Last month, the government launched its Presidential Committee for the G20 Summit, headed by Sakong Il with the aim of making the Seoul summit the biggest and most successful G20 gathering.
Citing a joint study between the branding council and the Samsung Economic Research Institute on Korea's overseas image, the council's chairman, Euh Yoon-dae, said there was a wide gap between how foreigners think about Korea and reality.
Foreigners are well aware of Korea's status regarding the economy and science technology, but the gap was bigger in terms of culture, suggesting that Korea should step up its efforts to promote its culture and food worldwide, according to the chairman.
"This study shows what we should focus on and how we should act to build up the country's overseas reputation," said Euh, a former president of Korea University.
According to a survey of 2,500 people from G20 nations conducted by Research International, 64 percent of respondents didn't know about Korea's hosting of the summit next year.
About 47 percent of them had a positive image about Korea, 36 percent were neutral and 17 percent had a negative image.
After they were told about Korea's hosting of the event, the portion of those who thought positively about Korea jumped 18 percentage points to 65 percent, indicating the event is crucial in raising the country's overseas image.
"We need the full cooperation of the public and political parties to make the Seoul summit successful," President Lee said. "It will serve as a cornerstone in our efforts to make Korea an advanced country."
Policymakers said the Seoul summit would be the largest global forum ever to be held here, drawing more than 10,000 participants, including the leaders of more than 20 countries and heads of major international organizations.
On the sidelines of the meeting, Lee is expected to hold a series of bilateral summits with the leaders to discuss ways to promote diplomatic and economic partnership.
jj@koreatimes.co.kr
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무디스, 스페인·伊·포르투갈 신용등급 강등
