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Sun, January 29, 2023 | 12:46
Times Forum
Olympics to enhance Korea's reputation
Posted : 2018-02-12 17:33
Updated : 2018-02-12 17:33
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By Andrew Hammond

The Winter Olympics started Friday with a grand opening ceremony in PyeongChang. At a time of geopolitical turbulence on the Korean Peninsula, the Games offer an opportunity for South Korea to present a positive image to the world enabling a brand makeover for the country.

A key goal will be to present a vision to the world of a modern, vibrant, stable democracy that is a prime destination for future investment and tourism. And with a multi-billion audience watching, the nation can capitalize on a first class opportunity to showcase its credentials after a troubled time in 2017 which saw tensions rise ― sometimes dramatically ― with North Korea.

While the nuclear standoff on the peninsula remains, the Olympics have already brought about a highly unexpected geopolitical dividend. That is, at least temporarily, relations between the North and the South have improved and ― remarkably ― the two sides staged a joint march under the unified peninsula flag at the Games. It also fielded a single ice hockey team for women.

Two major questions arise. Firstly, can a country's reputation be enhanced in the same way as a corporate (or other organization) might do? And, secondly, can this have a significant, sustainable national economic impact?

On the first issue, competition for the attention of stakeholders like investors and tourists is intensifying, and national reputation can therefore be a prized asset or a big liability, with a direct effect on future political, economic, and social fortunes.

Boosting country reputation is therefore an ever common ambition in what is an overcrowded global information marketplace, and a number of countries have successfully used the Olympics to positively differentiate themselves to the world, including Spain's post-Barcelona 1992 and Australia's post-Sydney 2000.

Yet, the simple fact is that many nations fail to fully capitalize, reputationally or economically, upon hosting the Olympics and other major sporting events like the soccer World Cup. One only has to recall legacy images of abandoned and underused Athens 2004 sports stadia, whose inflated cost helped contribute to Greece's unsustainable public sector debt, to appreciate that countries do not always get this right.

Moreover, on the economic front, numerous studies have indicated that "legacy-driven" Olympics growth is often overhyped. In 2012, for instance, Citibank found that in nine of the last 10 Summer Games, GDP tended to rise in host nations in the run-up to the event, but then receded in the two quarters afterwards.

To maximize prospects of Korea benefiting, reputationally, it must pursue a concerted reputation and economic strategy that aligns all key national stakeholders (across the public, private and third sectors) around a single, coherent vision for its country brand. This exercise should not just be the preserve of tourism agencies, let alone government, but must involve the private and third sectors too.

A good example here is the "New Zealand Way" Initiative which helped transform global perceptions of that country in the 1980s and 1990s. New Zealand was in a difficult economic climate during much of the 1970s and 1980s, partly caused by the country's loss of preferred trading status with the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth ― among the nation's then major export markets.

In this context, the New Zealand Way initiative helped transform perceptions of the country by building a destination brand for outdoor sports and tourism, in part, by leveraging the hosting of events like the 1987 Rugby World Cup and the 1990 Commonwealth Games. Here, the untapped potential of the country's natural environment was recognized and indeed subsequently showcased in films too like the "Lord of the Rings" blockbuster trilogy.

And it is no coincidence that the New Zealand tourism sector has enjoyed a long boom. For instance, visitor numbers from the United Kingdom increased by around 60 percent between 2001 and 2006 alone.

Building upon the growing international appreciation of the country's unspoiled natural environment, and in the face of the loss of its preferred trading status with the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth, New Zealand recognized that a strong country reputation for quality agriculture and produce would be hugely beneficial if it was to better compete in global markets.

The subsequent success of the country's agriculture sector, which has also become more competitive and efficient, is symbolized by the fact that it now accounts for around one third of global dairy exports ― that is twice Saudi Arabia's share of the world oil exports.

The New Zealand example underlines how even a relatively simple, unified country brand vision can be powerful. To be sure, the country is not unique in having a beautiful, scenic environment but it has managed to capture the world's imagination with its consistent branding that has put outdoor pursuits and natural values firmly at its core as epitomized, for instance, by the "New Zealand 100% Pure" slogan.

This is a lesson that South Korea would do well to learn fast as it seeks to capitalize upon the Olympics. In the midst of the hurly burly of the next few weeks, the long-term opportunities of the event should not be sidelined.

As with New Zealand, a key part of this work must connect PyeongChang's hosting of the Winter Olympics to a wider story that showcases South Korea's strengths so as to increase favorability of international perceptions of the country politically, economically and socially.

Taken overall, the medium- and long-term economic impact of previous Olympics has frequently been overstated for host nations. However, South Korea now has a key opportunity to use the world's largest sports event for a positive brand makeover that could produce a lasting reputation legacy for the country.


Andrew Hammond is an associate at LSE IDEAS at the London School of Economics. Contact him at andrew.hammond.james@gmail.com.



 
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