 Actor Lee Byung-hun appears with a Japanese tourist in an advertisement for Seoul City airing in Japan. / Courtesy of Seoul City |
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff reporter
Actor Lee Byung-hun and singers 2PM and the Wonder Girls filmed separate television commercials for a special overseas promotion of Seoul City targeting specific countries.
Lee was selected for the Japanese version which started airing from Sunday. He presents the "Lively Touch" of Seoul by visiting Gwanghwamun, Cheonggye Stream, Myeong-dong and Seonyudo Park with Japanese tourists. He will be designated a global honorary ambassador of the capital city in August.
A commercial aired in China from June 28 is themed "Romantic Touch" Seoul, featuring girl group Wonder Girls as guest stars in an amusement park and restaurant. This version aims to show off the stylish and romantic parts of Seoul.
Popular idol group 2PM appeared in the "Fascinating Touch" Seoul version for Southeast Asian countries. In the commercial the six-member group plays with young visitors from the region and participates in cultural events held throughout Seoul.
The advertisement for America titled "Timeless Touch" portrays Seoul's 600 year history and the state-of-the-art information technology of the capital.
A video of the filming of the commercials and interviews with the stars is available on YouTube.
"Influential 'hallyu,' (Korean wave), stars appear in these commercials for Seoul tourism and we expect a good response from the word of mouth spread by their fans," a city official said.
Seoul started overseas marketing in 2008 and tourists to the capital city increased 13.4 percent last year.
"Seoul was ranked third in a list of 'The 31 Places to Go in 2010' by the New York Times in January and the preference for the city is continuously increasing as a result of overseas marketing," the official said.
이병헌, 2PM, 원더걸스 서울 홍보대사
배우 이병헌과 그룹 원더걸스, 2PM이 외국에 서울시를 홍보하는 TV 광고 모델로 선정됐다.
8월 서울시 글로벌 홍보대사로 지명되는 이병헌은 지난 일요일부터 일본 전역에서 방송되는 광고에서 일본인 관광객과 함께 광화문, 청계천, 명동 등을 방문한다.
7월 28일부터 중국에서 방송된 광고에는 원더걸스가 놀이공원과 음식점을 찾아가는 내용을 담고 있다.
아이돌 그룹 2PM은 동남아 지역에 방송되는 광고에서 서울 곳곳에서 열리는 축제를 즐기는 모습을 보여준다.
미국에 방송될 광고에서는 한국의 600년 역사와 최신 IT기술을 강조할 예정이다.
한편, 서울시는 유투브를 통해 광고 촬영 현장과 인터뷰 영상을 올려 한류 팬들의 관심을 유도할 계획이라고 밝혔다.
