K-Pop K-Fashion K-Music Drives Korean Tourism in the City of Hanam
Hanam City n South Korea is the world capital of K-Pop. The city’s Mayor Lee Hyeon-jae is accelerating its leap forward as a Hanam to be the K-culture hub city by increasing the city’s value through differentiated city branding strategies, such as collaboration with fashion brands and the use of movie themes.
This month, Hanam City’s identity boldly studies the wardrobes of its citizens. At the newly opened Starfield Hanam SPAO store on this day, T-shirts featuring Hanam City’s characters “Hanam & Bangwool ” and SPAO’s representative character “Woody ” were released as exclusive products to commemorate the opening, captivating the attention of visitors.
This is especially meaningful as it is the first collaboration in Korea between a local government character and a famous domestic fashion brand.
This T-shirt, which has emerged as a ‘ wearable symbol of Hanam ‘ beyond a simple souvenir, received an explosive response from the first day of sales and sold out over the weekend, proving that city branding can communicate directly with citizens.
This collaboration is even more meaningful as citizens’ passionate interest leads to community sharing. The proceeds from the project will be used to provide 500 items of clothing to those in need.
If this SPAO collaboration has added joy to the citizens’ daily lives, the letters on the screen remain as an example that has already imprinted the philosophy of Hanam City on the entire nation.
Previously, Hanam City garnered attention from the cultural world when the city’s exclusive font, “Hanam Daum,” was adopted as a key device that runs through the worldview of the movie “Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint,” which was released in July.
This is an unusual case in which the city’s spirit of ” dynamism in stability “, rather than a city symbol, leads a cultural content, adding depth to Hanam City’s branding.
The city’s recent moves, bridging the gap between fashion and the screen, are just the beginning. Beyond mere promotion, Hanam City’s ultimate goal is to infuse its cultural content with the city’s identity, becoming a “K-Culture Hub.”
At the heart of this vision lies the “K-Star World ” project, a complex encompassing everything from planning to distribution.
This place, which will be a key base for South Korea to leap forward as a ‘ global Big 5 cultural powerhouse ‘, will house a state-of-the-art K-pop concert hall with 20,000 to 30,000 seats for world-class artists such as BTS and Blackpink, as well as a world-class film studio that will create content that surpasses ‘ Squid Game ‘.
The goal is to create a ‘ complete ecosystem ‘ for K-culture that goes beyond simple facility construction and encompasses everything from creation to distribution and industrialization.
Furthermore, Hanam City is pursuing a broader vision and a cultural policy that fosters creative growth for future generations. A prime example is the youth creative exhibition “Ani Gallery,” held in April at the Misa Library in collaboration with Korea Animation High School.
Mayor Lee Hyeon-jae of Hanam City said, “ We are instilling the city’s philosophy in every character loved by citizens and every font in content, ” and “ From the K-Star World project to youth creative exhibitions, we will implement a cultural city strategy that connects everyday life with the world, and make Hanam a ‘ Korea ’s representative K- culture hub city . ’ ”
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