By Charles Montgomery

Some months ago (Feb. 3, 2009) I wrote an opinion piece for The Korea Times expressing reservations about the Korea Tourism Organization's (KTO) implementation of a ``widget" to attempt to popularize tourism in Korea.

The ``widget" was a small Internet-based application that could be attached to a blog or web page where it would broadcast ``a variety of information about Korea including updates on travel destinations, culture, history, daily life, shopping and more."

There is much about Korea that is interesting to potential tourists, but the initial widget created by the KTO did not take advantage of these presentation opportunities.

The opinion read, in part: ``The widget, putatively designed to intrigue foreigners, in fact presents them as dangerous and stupid boors, demonstrating that if they visit Korea, they will act like complete rubes, be laughed at by Koreans, be beaten and/or killed, and eat things that will make their heads explode into flames."

I generally liked the idea of the widget, and came to like its implementation through blogs. The piece concluded: ``I hope that the KTO will go back to the drawing board on the widget, and this time involve some input from members of the target audience, perhaps even involving the same bloggers the KTO has targeted as potential hosts of it. The widget itself needs new content."

I was not alone in this response; there was a similar outcry all across the English-speaking blogosphere in Korea, and related to Korea. Wisely, the KTO responded by withdrawing the widget. Now, happily, it is apparent that the KTO did more than merely withdraw the widget. Instead, they redesigned it to make it a much more friendly and attractive advertisement, and have rolled it out in the context of a nicely conceived blog-based (and blog-roll/aggregation based) campaign.

First, the new widget. It is a success. David, the foreign tourist, is shown enjoying himself in a wide range of places and activities. The widget combines attractive vignettes featuring Korean people and culture, with a series of informational slides including the weather in Korea, lessons in Korean language, and Korean news.

While the widget itself might not convince tourists to visit Korea immediately, it is a very nice step forward in how the KTO is portraying Korea, and the Korean experience for foreigners, on the web. After criticizing the first version of the widget, I have installed the second version on both of my blogs.

Equally good is the blog campaign in which the widget is now aligned. Perhaps noting the response of foreign bloggers in Korea, the KTO has chosen to try to bring bloggers together (on an aggregated blog site, which uses the promise of prizes as incentive to get them to come aboard) as advocates for Korea, the beauty of its land and culture, and the friendliness of its people.

Given the diversity of Korea-related blogs, this may not be a simple task, but it is an admirable and savvy attempt. For many overseas who have never visited Korea, blogs of friends and family in Korea are sole information sources. If the KTO can gather these sources of information into one place, and work with their authors, bloggers can become part of an effective viral advertising campaign for Korean tourism and Korea's general international image.

There are several lessons here. From the perspective of foreigners in Korea, it is nice to see that the KTO seems to be heeding some of our reactions and advice ― after all, we are representatives of that foreign market the KTO seeks to tap.

From the perspective of the KTO, it is good that the new widget is an effective marketing tool and part of a larger strategy ― KTO's learning curve and reaction time was phenomenal. For Korea as a whole, the implementation of these new, clever, and friendly strategies mean that Korea's global reputation will likely improve.

Finally, the Korea Times deserves credit for publishing the first opinion piece on the widget, as I suspect that it had some effect on the KTO's willingness to respond.

This is one of those happy cases in which I think there is enough good will, and good result, to go around!

The writer is a professor in the English Literature and Translation Department at Dongguk University in eoul. He can be reached through his blog at http://www.spunangel.com/Morningcalm.html.