UNESCO World Heritage Sites & Korea Branding
There has been a fair amount of commentary on Korean-related blogs recently on the branding efforts being undertaken by the Korean government and Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), and in particular the decision to look for an alternative to the "Dynamic Korea" and "Korea Sparkling" slogans currently in use. For those who aren't familiar with the issue it may be worth checking out the posts at Carl's Blog, The Marmot's Hole, The Grand Narrative, and Asadal Thought. *
As most of my readers are probably sick of hearing about already know, the 33rd session of the UNESCO World Heritage Council recently added 40 royal tombs from Korea's Joseon Dynasty to their list of World Heritage Sites. Not surprisingly, this made quite a few people from the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) quite pleased -- most notably Lee Kun-moo, head of the CHA. He has a couple of quotes in this article from the Korea Times dedicated to the subject:
He pointed out that with the addition of the royal tombs, Korea now has all the sites of the major remains of the Joseon Kingdom listed as World Heritage sites, following the additions of Jongmyo Shrine in 1995 and Changdeok Palace in 1997.
"We have a complete set with the shrine (Jongmyo), the royal living and cultural place (Changdeok Palace) and the afterlife place (royal tombs) as the World Heritage," he said as he explained the meaning of the designation.
He also said that the World Heritage status will bring life to the tourism industry. Since the volcanic Jeju Island and its lava tubes were included on the World Natural Heritage list in 2007, the number of tourists to the island has surged by 20 percent, he said.
All well and good until you realize that it's approaching two months since the tombs' inclusion and there is still not a single mention of them on the KTO page for UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I'm not really sure how Lee Kun-moo expects to increase tourism to the tombs when the "Official Site of Korea Tourism Org" can't be bothered to add them to their list or offer directions and tour information for any of the other locations. Looks like I'm doing a better job of promoting the sites through my blog than the KTO is on its website ...
However, while searching for information during my initial post on the subject I did come across an informative page that includes a five-day itinerary covering Changdeokgung and Jongmyo in Seoul, Suwon's Hwaseong fortress, the Kanghwa Dolmen Site in Incheon, Gyeongju, Seokgoram grotto, Bulguksa temple, and Haeinsa temple -- each a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. Can you guess which government ministry is offering such a helpful guide to exploring the nation's cultural heritage? Actually, it's from Gachon University Gil Hospital. Part of their website states:
Facilitating patients' visits to Gil Hospital is one of the key roles of the International Medical Center. Once your appointment with our staff has been confirmed, we will gladly assist you with the travel arrangements and accommodations related to your visit. We can also provide information for you to enjoy the many attractions of Korea.
They appear to be doing a much better job of it than the official representative tasked with promoting Korea to tourists and foreign residents. While it's arguable how much this has to do with the current talk of creating new slogans for a global audience, the fact that the tombs' inclusion on the UNESCO register is being heralded as such a great way to boost tourism when they're not even listed as a potential destination hints at some of the problems that need to be resolved as Korea makes efforts to increase its global profile. For example, the royal tombs at Seonjeongneung are easily accessible to both backpackers and businessmen alike - it's not far from the Korea World Trade Center and near four different subway lines - and provides a bit of serenity within the hustle and bustle of Seoul. Not that anyone would know after looking at the Korea Tourism Organization's website.
Yet despite my complaints about the KTO in this post it's ultimately up to the politicians and policy-makers to emphasize those areas that they think are most worth visiting. (Then again, consulting one's desired target demographic in advance usually does wonders for determining what aspects to promote.) And really, come the end of the day, each time one of us goes out to explore the cityscapes and countrysides of Korea we create our own narratives of which places are best, worst, and somewhere in between. Unlike popular spots like France or China, there's not a "must see" destination in Korea - apart from possibly the DMZ - that everyone expects a visitor to see during their stay.
I remember telling friends and acquaintances about my trip to France in the summer of 2000 and their first response was always, "How was Paris?" My time was spent in the southeast near Lyon and the border with Switzerland, so that's not a question I can answer. My aunt went so far as to say it's 'impossible' to visit France without seeing Paris -- but you know, it's actually pretty easy. My point in all of this is that conversations like those are a lot less common when it comes to traveling within Korea. Expectations are slightly different here, and I suppose recognizing this point could also benefit the next generation of marketers and politicians working on the best way to create a new 'Brand Korea'. **
Of course, the perfectionist in me is still annoyed that the royal tombs are the only UNESCO site without a mention on the KTO site.
* Interestingly, there's a bit of controversy surrounding the branding efforts recently undertaken by Melbourne, Australia. Or the price tag, at least.
** Almost six o'clock in the morning and I'm meeting someone at noon. Guess it's time to post this, with all its mistakes and unfinished thoughts, so I can get at least a little rest before I head down to Seoul later in the morning.