Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Korean cultural heritage gets new brand identity overseas
A sample of a promotional booklet promoting Korea's overseas cultural heritage properties using the “Heritage of Korea” brand identity / Courtesy of Cultural Heritage Administration
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Objects of Korean cultural heritage located overseas received a new integrated brand identity, which will help increase their recognition.
The Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) announced the new brand for overseas cultural heritage, Thursday. According to the Cultural Heritage Protection Act, "overseas cultural heritage" means any objects of cultural heritage taken out of Korea and currently located outside the territory of Korea.
The brand identity was inspired by the trigrams ― geon, gon, gam, ri ― used in the Korean national flag. In the logo, the four trigrams are connected like a Mobius strip, symbolizing the historical and cultural exchange that connects the past and the future between Korea and its location.
The brand identity's English trademark name is "Heritage of Korea," emphasizing Korea's history that has been handed down to the present.
The integrated brand identity is intended to strengthen utilization and protection of overseas cultural heritage. It will be used in promotional materials such as booklets, maps, banners and invitations as well as signs attached to diplomatic offices, historic sites related to the independence movement and immigration history-related buildings.
The CHA will cooperate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for overseas promotion, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for diplomatic offices and immigration history, the National Veterans Affairs Office for independence movement-related historic sites and the Ministry of Education for historic sites to unify the image of overseas cultural heritage projects under the new brand.
The CHA also plans to distribute preservation and management manuals and provide support for repair and restoration to improve foreign collectors' awareness and help overseas cultural heritages to be better preserved and managed voluntarily.