'Seoul, my soul' selected as new city slogan

“Seoul, my soul” has been chosen as the city of Seoul's new slogan. According to Seoul Metropolitan Government on Friday, a total of 260,513 people participated in the final vote to choose between “Seoul, my soul” and “Seoul for you” from February ..

A promotional poster for boy band BTS's ″My Soul Seoul″ campaign [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

“Seoul, my soul” has been chosen as the city of Seoul's new slogan.

According to Seoul Metropolitan Government on Friday, a total of 260,513 people participated in the final vote to choose between “Seoul, my soul” and “Seoul for you” from February 15 to March 16.

Around 63 percent of the participants voted for the city’s newly chosen slogan.

The new slogan comes as part of the metropolitan government’s project to revamp the city’s brand.

According to the city government, 72 percent of foreigners answered that they were unaware of Seoul’s existing brand in a survey of 1,000 residents of Seoul and 200 foreigners who visited Seoul last year.

Workers demolish structures of Seoul's previous slogan, ″I Seoul U,″ displayed at the Nodeul Island in Yongsan District, central Seoul. [YONHAP]

The city’s previous slogan, “I Seoul U,” also received criticism from the public regarding its inaccurate English grammar and its ambiguous meaning. The slogan was chosen in 2015 when former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon was in office.

The city government hence announced in August that it would develop a new brand for the city.

“The new slogan catches the eye of both local residents and foreigners as the words Seoul and soul rhyme,” said Lee Jong-min, a professor at Kookmin University’s advertising and public relations department.

The new slogan will be announced to the public on Saturday at the 2023 Han River Light Show's finale, or the Drone Light Show, held at the Ttukseom Han River Park. The light show will be held four times from Saturday through May 6.

“The voting for the city’s slogan has closed successfully thanks to the participation of so many people,” said a spokesperson for the city government.

“We will embody the active participation and high hopes of Seoul's residents in the city’s new brand, which will be finalized with a new design.”

The city government will unveil the completed version of the city’s new brand after finalizing designs for the slogan.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, MOON HEE-CHUL [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]