WASHINGTON (Yonhap) -- Spearheading South Korea's efforts to burnish its image, Lee Bae-yong wants to show more to the world.
Lee, head of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, is confident that South Korea has a lot more than K-pop or soap operas, which have created the so-called Korea Wave, or "hallyu."
"If the 1.0 generation of hallyu is drama and 2.0 is K-pop, 3.0 should be the modernized version of our tradition," Lee said Monday in a meeting with South Korean correspondents in Washington.
She arrived here on Sunday for the 2012 Korea Nation Branding Convention.
The convention was launched last year in Seoul, and South Korea has decided to hold this year's event in Washington to commemorate the 130th anniversary of diplomatic ties.
This year also marks the start of implementing a bilateral free trade agreement between the two nations.
With the theme of "Ongoing Harmony: 130 years of Korea-US relations 1882~2012," the one-month convention will include a formal reception, various exhibitions, cultural performances, academic forums and activities for Korean residents here.
Lee said, "In the convention, we will place a focus on exchange and communication in the culture and education fields, rather than politics, diplomacy, security, and economy."
An example is a joint performance of Ahn Sook-sun, a famous singer specializing in traditional Korean music, and a jazz band, Lee added.
Lee, who holds a minister-level post, agreed that South Korea faces obstacles to its image makeover because of North Korea.
"It's true that North Korea undermines the value of the Korea brand," she said, adding her agency is stepping up efforts to help foreign media and Internet users clearly differentiate between the two Koreas.
"We have come to a conclusion that the best branding strategy is to get consumers to forget the existence of the other side itself," she said.
Lee, who served as president of Ewha Womans University from 2006-2010, expressed optimism for the fate of her council, which was created in 2009 under the Lee Myung-bak administration's "Global Korea" campaign.
"The council is not a PR agency for a president," she said.
Whoever wins the presidential elections in December will agree to the need for its role in enhancing South Korea's image comprehensively and systemically in the mid-to-long term, Lee added.