From left: Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon, K-pop girl group NewJeans and acting President of the Korea Tourism Organization Seo Young-choong pose at the appointment ceremony of NewJeans as honorary ambassadors for Korean tourism on July 11. (KTO)
The Korea Tourism Organization has come under fire for offering a promotional product created by NewJeans, its honorary ambassadors, in collaboration with Japanese pop artist Takashi Murakami as part of its tourism event that launched July 11.
Although the merchandise itself is not tied to any political issue, critics contend that the organization should promote products related to Korean culture, given its role in representing the country’s tourism interests.
The controversy involves the KTO's “Real Korean Daily Travel” project, where participants are invited to watch a promotional video and leave comments about day trips in Korea. The promotion, scheduled to run until Sept. 10, offers prizes including a $50 Amazon e-gift card for 40 winners and a NewJeans bag for 20 winners.
The issue arose with the NewJeans merchandise, which was created for the K-pop girl group's Japanese debut album released last month, in collaboration with pop artist Murakami.
Promotional poster for the “Real Korean Daily Travel” event, posted on the KTO website on July 11 (KTO)
Following the backlash, the KTO suspended the event.
“The comment event to promote Korea Tourism Organization's new global video advertisements is temporarily closed. We will be returning shortly with an upgraded event to better promote the charms of Korea tourism,” KTO announced on its official website on Wednesday.
The group's music label Ador, a subsidiary of Hybe, said the KTO had not consulted with the K-pop agency beforehand about giving away NewJeans merchandise in the promotional event and it had not received any detailed plans.
Critics say as a representative body promoting Korea, the KTO should not have used a promotional product designed by a Japanese artist.
“The decision to use NewJeans' Japanese album merchandise, created in collaboration with Takashi Murakami, as a promotional item was misguided,” said Lee Dong-yeon, a committee member of the Korean Commission for UNESCO and a professor at the Korea National University of Arts, Wednesday.
“While Murakami is a globally renowned pop artist, providing the merchandise from the NewJeans-Murakami collaboration directly as event items seems shortsighted,” Lee added. "This issue required in-depth discussions considering the sentiment."
NewJeans, wearing traditional hanbok, participates in the 2024 Visit Korea Heritage Campaign & Korea On Stage event at Gyeongbokgung in central Seoul, Tuesday. (Yonhap)
Professor Lee Jong-im of Seoul National University of Science & Technology echoed these sentiments, saying the KTO should have reviewed the promotional product more carefully.
“If this were a promotional event solely organized by Ador, it would not have been a problem. However, the KTO is a government body and should have been more cautious with what it is giving away,” Lee of Seoul National University of Science & Technology said.
“NewJeans has previously collaborated with hanbok designer Lee Kyu-ok, whose creations have garnered attention. These items could have been more suitable promotional products,” she added.
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