The government on Monday officially adopted "Creative Korea" as South Korea's new national slogan and promote it internationally to highlight the importance the country places on fostering creativity.
The country had used "Dynamic Korea," as its official slogan ahead of the 2002 South Korea-Japan World Cup.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism chose the new slogan based on public polls that singled out "creativity," "passion and "harmony" as the three main keywords that can best identify Korea, and listened to opinions from local and foreign experts.
The ministry said while "passion" was the driving force of building today's Korea from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War, "creativity" is a value that the country should pursue to move itself forward to cope with changing demands of the time.
Yonhap
To promote the image, the government will launch a national brand campaign on foreign news media outlets such as CNN and BBC and its overseas missions and relevant organizations, including Korean cultural centers and the Korea Tourism Organization.
The ad campaign features actor Song Joong-ki and actress Song Hye-kyo of the mega-hit TV series "Descendants of the Sun," as well as go player Lee Se-dol, pianist Cho Sung-jin and K-pop boy band BigBang, among others.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jong-deok speaks during a press briefing at the central government building in Seoul on July 4, 2016, to announce "Creative Korea" as the country's new national slogan. (Yonhap)
The authority will screen a video showing the "Creative Korea" logo on the outer walls of buildings surrounding the Seoul City Hall in the city center for a month from Monday.
Forthcoming international sports events such as the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics and the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics will be used as a means to promote the new slogan, the ministry said. (Yonhap)