"PSY will headline Korea's efforts to increase tourism by introducing popular travel icons. Users will be able to actively interact with the campaign by uploading their own unique contents on Wiki Korea, which will become an online database about Korea Travel, just like Wikipedia."

Global sensation PSY and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) launched an interactive campaign that will encourage tourism in Korea. TV commercials were released on June 3rd that highlight popular Korean food and tourist locations, such as Samgyeopsal, Banchan, Bulgeum, Cosmeroad, Olle-gil, and Dongdaemun.

"This Year, we are determined to introduce Korean tourist icons. They will highlight Korea's spirit (Ki), entertainment (Heung), and heart (Jeong), which are key elements of Korean culture. I'm sure that they can be loved worldwide. KTO's new ambassador PSY is a global super star. His songs 'Gangnam Style' and 'Gentleman' showed great global appeal, having about four hundred million views worldwide. We believe we can leverage PSY's global popularity to effectively promote tourism in Korea; and hence, will use the TV commercials, starring PSY, to grab the attention of our global audience," Charm Lee, CEO of KTO, said at a morning press release on June 3rd.

In addition to the TV commercials, the campaign also launched 'Wiki Korea' through KTO's online communication platform 'buzz KOREA' (www.ibuzzkorea.com). The website shows 27 items (Yasik, Susansijang, Bungeoppang, Pageon, Banchan, Samgyeopsal, Jeonju Bibimbap, Tteokbokki, Surasang, Jagalchisijang, Temple Stay, Olle-gil, Georieungwon, Dolhareubang, Minsokchon, Pocha, Bulgeum, Garosu-gil, Hongdaeap, Cheongdam-dong, BB cream, Jeontongsijang, Cosmeroad, Gangnam, Chak-shot, Dongdaemun) and borrowed elements from the renowned internet encyclopedia, Wikipedia. Consumers can upload questions and answers freely on the website about the 27 cultural icons of Korea.

KTO will hold an online event on the website until July 12th. Users can submit their own opinions and questions about each item in different formats � video, text, or photo. Among the most active participants who upload many high quality contents, eight users will be given the 1st prize with the opportunity to attend Wiki Korea Tour, a tour of Korea with Korean celebrities that will last for six nights and seven days. The 2nd prize is a brand new Samsung SMART Camera (NX300) and the 3rd prize is a gift box. "We will differentiate our strategy by connecting TV commercials and online promotions together in order to effectively engage users to visit and learn more about Korea." said Charm Lee.  

See what all the buzz is about at BUZZ KOREA.