밈(Meme)이 바꾼 도시의 얼굴: 거제시의 유쾌한 변신과 지역 축제의 진화 > K-wave Trends

The origin of this syndrome was a short phrase, "Geoje Yaho," uttered by Minami, a Japanese member of the girl group RESCENE, in a YouTube video. This simple wordplay, combining a Japanese exclamation with the place name "Geoje," went viral as a popular meme, racking up millions of views by leveraging the characteristics of short-form content. Despite not being a marketing campaign backed by the massive capital of a major agency, netizens were enthusiastic about this quirky and cheerful greeting. This phenomenon proves that in today's content market, an artist's sincere attitude and unintended humor can be a more powerful driving force for moving the public heart than meticulously polished planning.

Geoje City did not miss this opportunity and responded with agility, demonstrating the textbook way to handle promotion. In the process of appointing RESCENE as official honorary ambassadors, they boldly omitted formal protocols or boring ceremonies and immediately produced and released short-form content to the public. The results were astonishing. Within one day of release, the video reached 1.2 million views, and 99% of the viewers were young people from outside the region with no ties to Geoje. This signifies that the potential of the "Geoje" brand was effectively imprinted on the younger generation, confirming the possibility that the city's name alone can generate a powerful promotional effect.

The personal narrative of Woni, a member of RESCENE, also served as an important foundation for this success. Born and raised in Geoje, Woni approached fans with her unadorned dialect and honest demeanor, and the production team focused on highlighting the charm of her as a person rather than what she was doing. Woni’s genuine affection for her hometown, as she traveled between Seongsu-dong and Geoje, conveyed a sincerity distinctly different from the existing exaggerated "MZ generation idol" image. This content strategy went beyond simple promotion, successfully forming a popular consensus by offering nostalgia for home and warm comfort to many young people living away from their hometowns.

In addition to promotion through idols, Geoje City is also making efforts to preserve and modernize the region's unique historical value. The 64th Geoje Okpo Great Victory Festival, held from the 12th to the 14th, was planned as a national defense culture and arts festival that reinterprets the history of the first victory of the Imjin War with a modern sensibility. Pre-events such as the "Okpo Naval Battle Exploration Road" and the "Hanwha Ocean Yard Tour" played a role in fostering local pride by allowing citizens to experience the region's history and industry firsthand. This is evaluated as a balanced strategy by Geoje City to connect the short-term interest gained from memes to the region's deep-rooted history and industrial competitiveness.

Of course, there are challenges that Geoje City must solve. Unfortunate incidents such as maritime safety accidents or ship collisions occurring around the festival period remain key issues that the local community must manage. As the number of tourists increases, it is essential to build a tighter safety net and expand infrastructure that makes tourists who were drawn in by memes want to visit Geoje again. To maintain the brand value of "a Geoje people want to visit again" rather than ending as a temporary buzz, administrative management capabilities must be combined with the mature awareness of the citizens.