Seoul City modifies controversial logo

Seoul City on Wednesday released the final version of its new logo -- with a little modification.

Seoul Metropolitan Government said it had revised the new slogan “I.Seoul.U” to “I∙Seoul∙U,” changing the position of the dots to better emphasize the connection between “you” and “I” through the city. The decision was made based on expert advice.

The new logo was chosen in late October after a series of public votes. It beat two other candidates -- “Seoulmate” and “Seouling.” The logo is to replace “Hi Seoul,” which had been used for 13 years,

The new slogan has been embroiled in controversy, with many calling it nonsensical “Konglish” with an unclear meaning.

The city, however, championed the new catchphrase, claiming that wordplay was a new trend in city branding.

It stressed that “I∙Seoul∙U” was not the city’s exclusive literary property, but an open-platform logo that was free to use under the “creative commons license” rule.

For commercial use, the city said that the word between “I” and “U” must be a name of a legally registered brand and that “Seoul” must remain below the brand name. To use the slogan, applications must be submitted on the city government’s official website. No fees are charged.

For noncommercial use, no particular approval is required. If the modified logo, however, damages Seoul City’s image or breaches the public interest, the city will demand modification, officials said.

More details about how the slogan can be used are available at www.seoul.go.kr. 

By Lee Hyun-jeong (rene@heraldcorp.com)