Booklets on Korean sports, fashion published

Above photo shows the cover of “K-SPORTS: A New Breed of Rising Champions” by the Korea Culture and Information Service as part of series of books on introducing Korea and Korean culture.

Shows cover for “K-FASHION: Wearing a New Future.” / Courtesy of Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism

A state-run overseas promotional agency has published two booklets to introduce Korea’s sports and fashion, two areas that are increasingly playing an important part in promoting the nation abroad.

“K-FASHION: Wearing a New Future” and “K-SPORTS: A New Breed of Rising Champions” are the latest in a series of booklets on Korea published by the Korea Culture and Information Service (KOCIS), an affiliate of the culture ministry.

As part of the “K-CULTURE” series, KOCIS formerly published booklets on Korean movies, classical music stars, TV dramas and pop music.

“Through the ‘K-CULTURE’ series, we hope to spread the energy and charm of Korean culture worldwide,” KOCIS director Woo Jin-yung said in a statement.

“K-SPORTS” contains information on traditional Korean sports like taekwondo and some major sports venues and facilities around the country.

It also introduces where to enjoy some of the most popular sports in Korea, such as baseball, mountain climbing and football.

The booklet contains stories of some of Korea’s most renowned sports stars, including reigning Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na.

The K-FASHION series covers some of the most important designers from Korea today, like Lie Sang-bong. He is recognized for integrating modernity and traditional Korean elements into his designs. He also held a show during the 2012 London Olympic Games. Another designer Lee Young-hee,  one of the most renowned designers of “hanbok,” or traditional Korean attire, is also featured in the book.

The book also introduces how fashion has changed with the times in Korea since the Japanese occupation (1910-1945) and provides information on some of the fashion meccas of Korea, such as Myeong-dong, Dongdaemun and Cheongdam-dong.

As with previous “K-CULTURE” booklets, they will be distributed at 170 Korean diplomatic missions as well as to foreign media and universities.

The rising popularity of “hallyu” or Korean wave has fueled the demand of these booklets as well.

KOCIS has produced other publications introducing Korea to foreign readers such as “Facts About Korea” in 2004. The pocket-sized book containing 70 color photos and maps examines the history, people, culture, customs, economy, sports and other aspects of Korea. The English-language book is currently available from online stores like Amazon and a PDF version is available from the KOCIS website.

KOCIS was formerly in charge of operating Korean cultural centers abroad. But after a reshuffle in February, the culture ministry has taken over this task so that KOCIS can focus more on creating quality content and methods for online and offline promotions of Korea.

New Korean cultural centers opened in countries like Thailand, Belgium, Brazil and Egypt this year, bringing the total to 28.