Busan gets 'good' new city branding designs

The new logo designs, left, and new slogan designs of the city of Busan [BUSAN METROPOLITAN CITY]

Busan has unveiled new designs for its city logo and recently chosen city slogan, “Busan is good.”

The new designs are part of the city's effort to revamp its urban brand, Busan city government said Friday.

The designs were used in souvenirs and city pamphlets, with the English slogan accompanied by its Korean translation. The slogan will also be used in combination with other words or phrases, such as “Busan is good to travel.”

The new logo for city flags is an overlapped B and S, where the letter B represents two mountain peaks and the S a ridge.

The previous logo, chosen 28 years ago, depicted a seagull and the Oryuk Islands, a scenic island chain in Nam District, Busan.

The revamp of the city’s brand began last November, with some 100,000 Busan residents taking part in the process through surveys and votes.

A ceremony to announce the city’s new branding will take place at Bexco, Busan on March 21.

“I thank the 100,000 Busan citizens who participated in the journey for a new city brand, choosing the slogan and design together,” said Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon.

“We will use the new brand effectively so that it can be valued and to increase public pride as the city becomes recognized internationally.”

An inspection team from the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) will visit Busan from April 2 to 7 as the city bids to host the 2030 World Expo.

In January, Busan residents took part in a week-long vote on three candidates for the city's new slogan: "Busan is good," "Bridge for All, Busan" and "True place, Busan."

Some 25,000 people participated in the vote, with "Busan is good" receiving the highest vote count with 11,373.

The new slogan comes about 20 years after “Dynamic Busan” was chosen as the city’s previous slogan.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]