BTS, as the face of K-pop and the first act in Korea to hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two consecutive weeks, will show the beauty of Seoul in a worldwide release of the 2020 Seoul City TVC. The Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG) and Seoul Tourism Organization (STO) (CEO Lee Jae-sung) unveiled that they will release the video “See you in Seoul” for the 2020 Seoul City TVC starring BTS worldwide on Friday, September 11 via STO’s VisitSeoul website.
SMG and STO co-produce new videos of various themes every year that promote to the world the beauty of Seoul to vitalize Seoul tourism. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s halting of travel worldwide, this year’s promotional video has been designed with a different concept from that of all the previous videos, focusing mainly on major tourist attractions.
Despite the halt in global travel, the international love for Seoul and “Hallyu” (Korean Wave) still continues, and this video will allow Seoul to establish itself as a must-visit destination for worldwide fans. STO’s message of “we hope you begin your journey in Seoul [when COVID-19 subsides]” is embodied in the slogan “See you in Seoul.”
Moreover, this year’s video was produced to make viewers feel like they are on a journey visiting Seoul with BTS while watching via the web due to the current situation of global travel restrictions. The video stars all seven members of BTS, each of them giving a thematic tour guide of Seoul from start to finish, capturing the eyes and ears of Hallyu fans and effectively depicting the colorful beauty of Seoul.
The seven themes have been selected after analyzing the interests and preferences of Seoul tourists, and are presented as follows: “Old But New” by RM; “Recharge” by Suga; “Getaway” by V; “Exciting Moments” by J-Hope; “City Break” by Jin; “Scenic Nature” by Jungkook; and “Local Life” by Jimin.
This marks BTS’s fourth year starring in STO’s videos to promote Seoul tourism; BTS has long continued its relationship with Seoul, having served as Seoul’s Honorary Tourism Ambassador since 2017. Following its previous appearances in “Seoul Life” in 2017, “My Seoul Playlist” in 2018 and “Live Seoul Like I Do” in 2019, BTS makes its appearance again in 2020 for the STO’s promotional videos for Seoul tourism, playing a major role in promoting Seoul tourism.
SMG and STO had previously released seven countdown videos starting on Friday, September 4 starring each BTS member introducing their theme as prelude teasers for the main worldwide release on Friday, September 11. The countdown videos have been gaining hot interest and responses from potential tourists around the world. The videos featuring BTS members in the order of RM, Suga, V, J-Hope, Jin, Jungkook and Jimin, have so far garnered a total of 21 million views and 23,700 comments (as of 3PM, September 9), showing the scale of BTS’s ripple effect.
