By Kim Ki-tae, Reuben Staines
Staff Reporters




Corporate slogans using poor English are hurting the image of Korean companies, according to marketing experts and foreign residents.
``The more they invest in marketing overseas, the worse their image may become,’’ said Choe Yong-shik, marketing lecturer at Sejong University, referring to the awkward English catchphrases of the country’s biggest firms.

Choe criticizes the companies for their ``Konglish’’ slogans in his new Korean-language book ``What’s Wrong With Korea’s Global Marketing.’’

Slogans consisting of puzzling wordplays such as Samsung Electronics’ ``Digital Exciting Anycall,’’ SBS’ ``Humanism Thru Digital’’ and HTH Logistics’ ``36.5°C Delivery Service’’ are listed in the book with comments from English native speakers.

Choe pointed out that many local firms fail to observe even the very basics of English in choosing their slogans.

Foreign residents in Seoul canvassed by The Korea Times agreed that many slogans are weak, confusing or even inadvertently amusing due to their poor use of English.

``They are a bit wonky,’’ said Ivan Milin, a Canadian English instructor who has worked in South Korea for the past four years. ``It’s like someone translated the slogans literally with a dictionary.’’

Commenting on the ``Bravo Your Life’’ slogan for Samsung Life Insurance, Milin said: ``It comes across as comical because it’s not really proper English.’’

But Park Jong-won, marketing professor at Korea University, was more accepting of the company slogans. He said slogans don’t have to strictly follow grammatical rules as long as they appeal to customers. ``Even in the United States, slogans are poetic or symbolic. The English isn’t always perfect,’’ he said.

Park said the young South Koreans who the slogans are aimed at are unlikely to be put off the products but will instead accept the catchphrases as they are.

However, he noted that local companies need to be more careful about their slogans if they want to become global brands.

The following are 10 examples of confusing English slogans in Korea chosen by Choe, with comments from Choe’s book and The Korea Times’ copyeditors.

Bravo Your Life (Samsung Life Insurance)

Samsung Life Insurance used this slogan as a play on ``bravo to you.’’ But the

ungrammatical use of words makes the company look bad.

``The slogan is a fragmented sentence and may not make sense to many native English speakers… I am sure that most Koreans understand what it means,’’ Derik Dissler of U.S. Forces in Korea comments in Choe’s book. The slogan seems to be designed for domestic customers, but the life insurer’s English Web site uses the phrase. ``If they want to target native or near-native English speakers, they should really consider using the same individuals for all their English copy,’’ Dissler writes.

Have a Good Time (KTF)

Along with ``Have a Good Time,’’ the mobile carrier has so far come up with other slogans like ``First in Mobile’’ and ``Good Time Chance.’’

In the case of ``Good Time Chance,’’ it is unclear whether the mobile firm wishes its customers to have a good time or keep good time.

The ``Have a Good Time’’ slogan does not seem to effectively define the brand for customers. Criticisms include ``the phrase has nothing to do with phones’’ and ``it is boring.’’ Another comment reads: ``Nothing wrong with the slogan, but I don’t get what it has to do with mobile phones.’’

Digital Exciting Anycall (Samsung Electronics)

The word order should be ``Digitally Exciting,’’ ``Digital Excitement’’ or ``Digital and Exciting.’’ The ungrammatical word order makes this supposedly catchy slogan dull. ``The ad slogan is not geared toward native English speakers because it does not convey much of anything to me. For Koreans who seem to focus more on `mood’ rather than capability or features, it may be O.K., but I have always considered it a bit strange,’’ financial consultant Jennifer Yoon writes in the book.

Think Star (Kookmin Bank)

Few English speakers seem to get the meaning. Among the comments are ``It appears it wants to express personalized service but the slogan sounds bad’’ and ``I don’t know if this means to think like a star, like think of yourself as a celebrity, or if it means to just think about a star.’’ A Kookmin Bank official told The Korea Times that they haven’t used the slogan since late last year. However, the bank’s English homepage still uses the phrase.

Human Bank, Human Life (National Agricultural Cooperative Federation)

Koreans often associate the word ``human’’ with a human-centered or human-oriented culture. That may explain this ambiguous slogan. Among the comments are ``The concept of a `human bank’ sounds zoologically terrifying,’’ and ``It reminds me of blood bank or organ donation.’’ Choe suggests that ``Humane Bank, Humane Life’’ could be slight better, but it still isn’t an appropriate slogan for a bank.

Humanism Thru Digital (SBS)

The broadcaster has made two mistakes in this three-word slogan. First, the slogan is clearly missing a noun at the end, as ``digital’’ is not a noun but an adjective. An alternative might be ``Humanism Thru Digital Media.’’ In addition, commentators said the term ``humanism’’ is too abstract to be in a slogan. ``Humanism is a chunky block of a word,’’ one comment reads. Choe writes that the slogan is as illusive as ``Utilitarianism Thru Digital.’’

Milk Itself (Seoul Milk)

The dairy firm seems to want to say that ``it is real milk.’’ However, the ``milk’’ in the phrase seems more like a verb, not a noun, to many English speakers. The comments included ``A cow milk itself?’’ ``It sounds gross’’ and ``It sounds strange.’’ Some even said that the slogan has a suggestive or sexual implication. An official of the firm told The Korea Times that it was last year’s slogan and they are currently trying to come up with a new one.

36.5°C Delivery Service (HTH Logistics)

By using the human body’s temperature in Celsius, the delivery service tries to impress its ``warm’’ approach to its clients. However, Choe points out that people in the United States use Fahrenheit, making it hard for them to understand the catchphrase. If HTH Logistics is only targeting domestic clients, the slogan may appeal to them. However, one foreigner asks, ``What does 36.5 C mean? It does not seem to have anything to do with delivery.’’

Think Benefit (Samsung Card)

As the credit card company is actively trying to promote all kinds of benefits, not just a single benefit, for its customers, the phrase should be changed accordingly. One commentator writes, ``It should be `Think About the Benefits’ or `Think of All the Benefits.’’’ Other commentators did not understand the meaning at all.

KT&G and You (Korea Tomorrow & Global)

Most commentators did not raise questions about the slogan, but about the company name itself. They say ``It does not make sense. Tomorrow and global don’t match,’’ and ``The bigger problem is the company’s name, which does not make sense.’’

Choe goes on to say the slogan ``Korea Tomorrow & Global and You’’ is a meaningless combination.

kkt@koreatimes.co.kr