Correspondent

I studied international relations in Australia, where I have worked for seven years at local councils in addition to the Korean Consulate General. I have always been interested in public diplomacy and was keen to promote Korean culture and a positive image of Korea. During my time as a graduate student, I engaged in the activity of distributing Korea-related materials with the support from the Academy of Korean Studies (AKS) and translated materials distributed by the local councils of Australia into Korean.

Just four years ago, I found that many locals here in Australia had little knowledge about Korea, and recently, the situation has noticeably improved. As far as I see it, this improvement is more attributable to Hallyu’s effects associated with the increase in the number of Asian immigrants and students rather than the efforts made by the Korean government, Korean-Australians or Korean students in Australia. Three years ago, I received materials from AKS that were created to publicize Korea. The materials were gratifying; they inspired patriotism and encouraged those working to spread Korean culture. I placed them at the office of the local council in Australia where I worked part-time so that visitors could take or distribute them to others. While making similar efforts, I felt the need to improve the system.

It is necessary to put marketing materials in public places like libraries or the offices of local governments in foreign countries, or distribute materials designed to provide support for Korean schools in foreign countries. Many agree that it is necessary to use engaging content and formats like cartoons to arouse young people’s attention. Regarding the marketing materials that are distributed worldwide, using the strategy of differentiation is crucial to yield maximum effects in different countries. No one will dispute the fact that different materials are used in different places and for different demographics in order to achieve higher effects, even in Korea.

1. Using differentiated approaches in different countries

As one engaging in the activity of distributing marketing materials for years, I think that the dispatch of such materials to those in foreign countries needs to consider the specific situation of the destination, although sometimes a whole set of materials may be also effective. People of a specific country form their own image of foreign countries. It is necessary to take hold of such images that foreigners have of Korea, and adopt a strategy that improves the images with the use of compelling marketing materials.

The level of interest taken by people of a foreign country can be divided into four levels: recognition (few people know the foreign country’s exact geographical location, characteristics, language or culture); attention (more people are getting to know about the foreign country through cultural events); good impression (many people try to learn about the foreign country’s culture and language); and focus (many scholars who publish theses about the foreign country’s language or culture, and even civilians focus on the diplomatic relationship with the foreign country).

As for the way South Koreans look at Australia, many of them have basic knowledge about Australia. Thus, the level of interest is at “attention” and is moving in the direction of “good impression.” The aforementioned four levels of interest can be used as a useful indicator for distributing relevant marketing materials.

2. Using overseas monitors

It is not recommended to get a grasp of the image that people of a country have about another country based on statistical data or materials kept by the country’s embassy in that country. Economic and cultural indicators are vastly different. As for the relationship between South Korea and Australia, Korea is Australia’s the third-largest export destination, while Australia is the 4th largest export destination of Korea. The Australians’ level of recognition of South Korea is merely at “recognition.” In this regard, I think that overseas monitors can be more beneficial in publicizing a country like Korea abroad in a different country than they are. These monitors can present objective data concerning what people in those countries feel about Korea based on their local experiences, in addition to the PR materials that introduce Korean culture and history. Relevant institutions including the AKS can distribute PR materials more efficiently based on the information provided by these overseas monitors, and check the results of such efforts.

3. Sorting out content

Different types of marketing materials should be distributed in consideration of the aforementioned levels of recognition. The distribution of materials like theses in the country where people have only a vague recognition of Korea is not wise. Suitable PR materials are like the following, depending on the level of recognition:

(1) Vague recognition: Stationeries, posters, Korean patterns
(2) Attention: Culture-based materials like cartoons, food, and clothes
(3) Good impression: Special events, booklets, Korean history books with light content
(4) Focusing: Theses (Special efforts for distribution not needed)

One important factor that we need to keep in mind is that our efforts should not be focused on publicizing the superiority of our culture over others. We need to take pride in our culture, but the way foreigners appraise our culture should be left to them. All we should do is to make the effort to distribute our culture more widely and effectively, and help foreigners understand our culture better in order to have them appraise our culture appropriately. As key actors in cultural diplomacy, ordinary citizens need to look for more efficient ways to make such efforts.