Mayor of Seoul Stands By New Slogan; Admits It Has No Meaning

The Mayor of Seoul is defending the city’s new slogan I.Seoul.U by claiming that since it make no sense that it could mean anything:

The Seoul Metropolitan Government will stick to its new slogan, “I.Seoul.U,” Mayor Park Won-soon said Monday.

“Many slogans of cities around the world receive negative feedback at first,” he said during a luncheon with reporters at City Hall. “After a while, I expect the negative reactions will change.”

“Even if we start all over again and come up with a new slogan, it will face some sort of criticism. That cannot be avoided.”

This is the first time that the mayor expressed his opinion about the slogan.

“I.Seoul.U” was selected as the capital city’s slogan on Oct. 28, after beating two other finalists ― “Seoulmate” and “SEOULing.”

“I had expected the slogan would be received positively, but it wasn’t,” Park said.

“I nonetheless believe that the process of selecting the slogan was meaningful because it allowed citizens to participate.”

Addressing the criticism that the slogan is nonsensical and unclear, Park said he believes it is better to leave the interpretation open to the public rather than try to define the meaning.

For example, he noted, the slogan “Incredible India” is a great one, but because its meaning is unchangeable, it can only be used for a short time.

“On the other hand, ‘I.Seoul.U’ can mean anything,” Park said. [Korea Times]

You can read the rest at the link, but the city spent $700,000 on something the mayor admits has no meaning.