Magazine Cover Design for
Korean Tourism Organization (KTO)

THE CHALLENGE

Hallyu, a new cultural phenomenon

The term Hallyu began to be used in Taiwan, China, and Korea as Korea’s pop culture became well-known, and as of February 2000, the Chinese media used the term Hallyu to express the phenomenon.

The Korea Tourism Organization has created a Hallyu magazine that introduces the Korean Wave to foreigners in an attempt to increase their interest in Hallyu. Several famous design companies have produced Hallyu magazines, but they did not fit the magazine’s strategies and contacted me to design a cover for Hallyu magazines. 

THE SOLUTION

Contemporary but tradition

The cover image of Hallyu magazine is the main character of the popular Hallyu drama ‘Gung.’ The young-looking woman and her Korean traditional clothes and communications technology symbolically represent the Korean Wave of modern Korea. Also, I utilized my typeface ‘AC Young’ and photo image-touching techniques for movie posters to emphasize my design concept. 

THE MINDSET

Hallyu identity realized

Through this differentiated cover design and direction, foreigners became interested in and collected ‘Hallyu’ magazines. The image was utilized in many events and promotions during the period. It helped initiate interests for Korean dramas and Hallyu.

AC Young typeface

Responsibilities: consulting, research, interview, concept, banner logo, typeface, typography, photomontage, image correction, color correction, layout design, comprehensive design, production design, and pre-press.