4 March 2014

Brilliant crowdsourced social media project drives Korean brand marketing

Director Park Chan-wook's hour-long film, "Bitter, Sweet, Seoul", is the result of Seoul's first-ever global crowd-sourced movie project. 

Source: PR Newswire

In a global brand marketing programme to explore various experiences and feelings that Seoul can provide, the Seoul Metropolitan Government asked people around the world to submit short video clips about Seoul on YouTube and via a microsite.

Nearly 12,000 clips, totalling 159 hours, 35 minutes and 4 seconds' worth of footage, were submitted from all over the world. The best were used for the movie, which is a striking departure from the typical city promotion video.

Director Park Chan-kyong, Park Chan-wook's brother and Co-producer of "Bitter, Sweet, Seoul" said, "I thought it was a very good opportunity to show how Seoul has different people and different lives."

The preview session was broadcast live to the world via YouTube on 10 February. The Seoul Metropolitan Government also set up an online chat in cooperation with Google Korea for both directors and
Park Won-soon, the mayor of Seoul Metropolitan Government. 

"The greatest significance of this project is the fact that everyone from all over the world made this movie together. This is what makes this project truly meaningful," said Park Won-Soon. "The honesty and truthfulness of Seoul shown in the movie is what actually distinguishes the city."

"Bitter, Sweet, Seoul" can be watched here.