Psy promotes Korean tourism in TV ad
Psy promotes Korean food in one of “Psy’s Wiki Korea’’ series of commercials, produced by Korean tourism authorities, which have started to be shown on 70 television channels worldwide. / Courtesy of KTO
By Yun Suh-young
A television advertisement featuring Psy promoting Korean tourism has gone on air worldwide as the Korean government attempts to milk the international popularity of the "Gangnam Style’’ rapper.
The six 15-second commercials, dubbed "Psy’s Wiki Korea,’’ shows Psy explaining various subjects in Korean culture: "banchan’’ (side dishes), "bulgeum’’ (Friday night leisure activities), "cosmeroad’’ (shopping areas for cosmetics products in Myeong-dong, Seoul), "samgyeopsal’’ (grilled pork belly), Dongdaemun (a central Seoul shopping and leisure district), and olle-gil (trekking trails in Jeju Island). The commercials have begun to be broadcast on 70 television channels worldwide, including cable network giant CNN and China’s CCTV.
"Psy introduces only some of the information and iconic concepts about Korea but online, Internet users can share their favorite places, foods, or entertainment with other users,” said Lee Charm, CEO of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), during a press conference Monday.
"We want people to share information about Korea online like they do with Wikipedia. Psy’s Wiki Korea will be an encyclopedia for Korean tourism. We hope the ads will generate curiosity about Korea and ultimately make people visit the website to get more information about Korea.’’
Psy’s Wiki Korea website is
and it introduces 21 more cultural subjects on video other than the ones introduced in the advertisements.
KTO will hold an online event on the website until the end of August where participants will be given the opportunity to visit Korea if they upload the most number of postings. Consumers can upload questions and answers freely on the website about the 27 cultural icons of Korea.
Psy was chosen as the model for the commercial because he was globally well-known, according to the KTO.
The KTO creates new advertisements every year to promote Korean culture overseas. Last year’s models were K-pop bands 2PM and Miss A because the theme was “K-pop.”
The “Touch Korea” commercial last year was selected as one of the 10 best ads by MediaCorp, a major media corporation in Singapore.
Commercials are known to play a big role in attracting tourists to the country as 86 percent of people surveyed said it affected their decision on whether to visit the country.7