Culture will be power for new Korea
Kim Jong-deok, minister of culture, sports and tourism, poses for a photo in front of the ministry’s Seoul office in Seogye-dong, central Seoul on Oct. 27. / Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul
Minister places greater focus on national brand
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The last Wednesday of every month is very special in Korea. Royal palaces and national museums are open for free and moviegoers and theatergoers enjoy discounts. Libraries across the nation open until late and major sports games including baseball and soccer offer discounts as well. This is the "Culture Day," an ambitious project of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) to provide cultural welfare.
Culture, Sports and Tourism minister Kim Jong-deok picked the Culture Day as one of his focal projects.
The project planted itself in Korea, as people started to associate the last Wednesday with various cultural events. According to the ministry, the number of visitors to national cultural facilities increased 38 percent on the Culture Day, compared to the previous day in the first half of 2015.
However, Kim is not satisfied with the result yet. "It should be expanded more. It aims to make everyone feel and enjoy culture during everyday life. We are in talks with other ministries to broaden to Culture Week," Kim said.
The design expert, who took office in August 2014, oversees a wide range of tasks of culture, sports and tourism. The three might seem irrelevant, but Kim said they are in fact closely connected, as they are all related to leisure.
"Cultural enrichment is one of the priorities of the Park Geun-hye administration and the MCST takes the responsibility," the minister said.
Kim emphasized that without having cultural uniqueness, it is difficult for Korea to take the lead even in terms of industry.
"For example, German, American and Japanese automobiles each have its color, but Korean automobiles are functionally exceptional, but lack originality. The originality equals the value of the country. Without the cultural uniqueness, Korea cannot overcome the status of being a follower."
Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Kim Jong-deok, fifth from left, poses for a photo with the winners of the “Korea, Our Stories” contest, which collected ideas for the government symbol, at the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History in Seoul, Aug. 7. Redesigning the national and governmental symbol system is one of the major projects of the ministry. / Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
The cultural power comes from understanding what we have and that is one of the reasons why Kim puts in a great deal of effort in branding Korea. The MCST manages the creation of new national brand and government symbol system, which will be announced later this year.
“National brand is a comprehensive concept, not just a catchphrase or a slogan. It is something all Koreans can share, combining traditional and contemporary, tangible and intangible cultural assets of Korea," Kim said.
Kim hopes the unified national brand and government symbol system would contribute to social integration. "That is why we invite public participation. We are currently holding a contest asking what 'Koreanness' is and the contest is symbolic ― the process of collecting and listening to everyone's opinion in co-creation is important.”
President Park Geun-hye paid a visit to the Korean Cultural Center (KCC) in New York when she visited Big Apple to attend the U.N. summit and it brought attention to the advance base of promoting Korean culture overseas.
Currently, there are 28 KCCs across the globe, operated by the MCST's affiliate Korean Culture and Information Service. The centers screen Korean films and dramas, teach Korean language and offer events on Korean culture.
"We plan to localize each center based on regional characteristics. The national brand exhibit and the K-Culture experience center in New York are examples. We will also launch K-Culture Supporter program to promote Korean culture at grass roots level, networking with experts and scholars," the minister said.
It has been about two decades since Korean culture has been spreading out and warmly appreciated overseas with the neologism "hallyu," or the Korean wave, but it has been inclined to K-pop and dramas.
"The next generation of hallyu will be expanded based on integration. The world will enjoy the multi-faceted Korean culture from K-pop and drama to traditional culture such as hanbok (Korean traditional costume) and Korean food," Kim said.
Though the ministry is promoting "hallyu 3.0," centering on traditional aspect, the minister opened the possibilities.
"It is difficult to predict what is going to be the next leader of hallyu. For instance, many Chinese tourists visit Korean theme parks and it is a composite art, combining the essence of tourism and culture," he said.
As a public relations expert, Kim understands the significance of English media in Korea. "The Korea Times, the first English daily in Korea, has been a pioneer in introducing Korea to the world," the minister said. "Hallyu is having the limelight worldwide. The role of English news outlet becomes more and more important to promote Korean culture and brand. The MCST will work more closely with The Korea Times to overseas promotion."
Who is Kim Jong-deok?
Kim Jong-deok is the fifth minister of culture, sports and tourism in Korea. Born in 1957 in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, Kim is an expert in design and public relations.
He majored in Commercial Design at Hongik University and earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at Art Center College of Design in the United States. He received Ph.D. in communication from Seoul National University.
Kim worked for the advertising industry in the 1990s, winning a handful of awards for his commercials.
He was a professor at Hongik University's School of Design from 1991 to 2014 and served as chairman of Asia Digital Art and Design Association from 2005 to 2007 and president of the Korean Society of Design Science from 2010 to 2011.