The article presents the results of a field study of South Korea’s model of functioning of public service advertising, conducted with the support of the Korea Foundation in March-July, 2013. The article describes the main structural, processual and phenomenological characteristics of the model. The researchers review key organizations involved in creating and placing public service advertisements, frameworks for developing and evaluating PSA, and strategies of relaying social messages to the public. Practical recommendations for applying this experience in Russia are put forward.

1. Gladkikh N., Vayner V.
PECULIARITIES OF SOCIAL ADVERTISING FUNCTIONING MODEL IN SOUTH
KOREA
Annotation
The article presents the results of a field study of South Korea’s model of functioning of public
service advertising, conducted with the support of the Korea Foundation in March-July, 2013.
The article describes the main structural, processual and phenomenological characteristics of
the model. The researchers review key organizations involved in creating and placing public
service advertisements, frameworks for developing and evaluating PSA, and strategies of
relaying social messages to the public. Practical recommendations for applying this experience
in Russia are put forward.
Key words: public service advertising [PSA], South Korea, model of functioning, state, mass
media, NGO, KOBACO.
Gladkikh Natalia Yurievna, Ph.D in Psychology
Russian State University for the Humanities
n.gladkih@gmail.com
Vayner Vladimir Leonidovich,
Russian State University for the Humanities
vovainer@gmail.com
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE ADVERTISING MODEL IN SOUTH
KOREA
Public service advertising (PSA) is one of the instruments for solving social problems. As
any other instrument, it requires a special mechanism of functioning which would ensure the
achievement of the goals – to change attitudes and behaviors of specific target groups. With regard
to this, one can point to distinctive, unique PSA models in many countries. The most popular
among them is the model in place in USA and Japan – it has a special independent agency in charge
of PSA, called Advertising Council, which unites all players of the PSA market, including the state,
nongovernment organizations (further referred to as NGOs), businesses and the media. This model,
which is the oldest among its counterparts, has been emulated by many nations. One of them is
South Korea, whose government in 1980 resolved to set in place a PSA model that would
incorporate the current experiences of Japan and US and be able to efficiently tackle challenges

2. related to the implementation of government policies. Today, we have the unique South Korean
experience in PSA to learn from if we want to broaden our knowledge of viable development
options for a system of creating and placing PSA.
Analyzing the situation we describe above we found the angle at which to study South
Korea’s PSA model. We set about to describe key characteristics of the model with respect to their
applicability in Russia. This study is important because the PSA market in Russia is growing – its
natural infrastructure is crystallizing, key players emerging, new services and technologies
developing, and many new actors – the media, NGOs, federal and local governments – becoming
involved. Since 2008 Russia’s federal legislative and consultative bodies, such as the Duma,
Federation Council, Public Chamber and others, have been actively looking for ways to develop
and support PSA. Thus, at the end of 2011, with the support of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of
Economic Development, Federal Anti-Monopoly Service and NGOs, the federal Law on
Advertising and the Tax Code of the Russian Federation were amended to provide for new
opportunities to conduct public information campaigns [10]. However, the key questions pertaining
to the functioning of PSA remain unanswered: who and how can categorize a message as a PSA,
how topics are to be chosen and the content of PSA evaluated, how PSA financing should be
secured, as well as many other questions which require thorough scholarly exploration taking into
account international practices in the area.
The main methods used in our study were interviews with experts (representatives of the
Korea Broadcasting Advertising Corporation, Korea Commercial Film Makers Union, advertising
agencies, and researchers of history of advertising in South Korea), analysis of publications (South
Korea’s laws and regulations governing the placement of PSA, as well as academic articles), an
analysis of South Korea’s PSA.
Methodologically the analysis was based on the paradigm of systemic approach. Therefore,
the category of the model of functioning of PSA is explored through its structural, processual and
phenomenological characteristics. In keeping with Victor Shtoff’s definition, we mean by model an
ideated system which “mirroring or reproducing the object of the study can substitute it so that an
exploration of [this system] can give us a new information about this object” [6, p. 19]. First of all
we want to construct an interpretative model to give us a general understanding of the category of
PSA in South Korea, in terms of fulfilling its functions, as this experience can be applicable in
Russia. The analysis of the structural aspects is focused on key organizations involved in the
creation and placement of PSA. The analysis of the processual aspects is focused on frameworks for
development, placement and evaluation of PSA. The analysis of the phenomenological aspects is
focused on strategies of relaying the message that are used in PSA in South Korea.

3. Main findings of the study
Speaking about structural aspects of PSA market, it is usual to distinguish between two
types of organizations: the ones that create PSA and the ones that place them. South Korean model
stands apart because within it both functions are vested in one agency – Korea Broadcasting
Advertising Corporation (KOBACO). Since its inception in 1981 and to this day this organization
has been the most important player on PSA market in South Korea. Its main responsibility is selling
commercial slots on TV and radio. However, its second important function is developing and
implementing PSA campaigns. These responsibilities are handled by the PSA Bureau, a division of
KOBACO to which the Advertising Council reports. The Council’s membership is comprised of
advertising professionals, academics and public figures. The Council is responsible for making key
decisions in the area of PSA production, including the development of terms of reference (creative
briefs) and selection of contractors among advertising agencies in accordance with the tendering
regulations.
Interestingly, NGOs, which in many countries are active participants of PSA markets, in
South Korea have to buy slots for their PSA. The exception from the rule are campaigns which do
not acknowledge their sponsors but address a social problem this sponsor(s) deal(s) with.
Usually, in other media PSA are placed on equal terms with commercial ads. However,
several initiatives have taken a different approach. An example of this is a new policy recently
adopted by municipal authorities in Seoul, to grant, free of charge, 9,000 advertising spaces in
public transportation for PSA. One can also point to several private initiatives launched by actors of
the advertising market. The most noteworthy among them are the ones of the advertising agency
JESKI, called so after its founder, for whom PSA became a life-long commitment [12]. It should be
pointed out that JESKI’s campaigns are more like public service installations than PSA. The agency
deliberately avoids using mass media, preferring to use the environment instead – buildings, trees,
bridges, urban furniture, etc. The agency’s projects have come to prominence lately due to
numerous prizes it received at international advertising festivals.
So, the modern model of PSA’s development in Korea comprises a key state-run organization
responsible for creation and dissemination of PSAds, advertising agencies contracted by this
organization and selected by tender, and private initiatives by media organizations as well as
advertising agencies.
This structural framework undoubtedly has also an impact on the processual aspects of PSA
market in South Korea. Whereas the production of privately sponsored advertisements is regulated
by general rules and regulations applicable to the advertising market in general, KOBACO’s
activities have several specific features.

4. First, KOBACO is mindful of current social trends, seeking to identify social problems that
are important at a particular moment. This focus is conditioned first of all by KOBACO’s primary
objective to select social problems for coverage heeding the state’s demands. For instance, during
the first decade of its existence, KOBACO implemented campaigns focused on ecology and
environmental protection (when government undertook to clean up the Han River in 1986), the
Olympic Games (in connection with the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988), the problems of
violence and drug addition (1989), assistance to the disabled, the problems of poverty, and crime
(1990) – all these campaigns were launched to facilitate the relevant government policies.
Remarkably, messages in the advertisements were prone to change radically as the social situation
and governmental policies changed. For instance, in 1983 South Korea implemented a PSA
campaign “One is enough”, aimed at stabilizing the demographic situation and admonishing South
Korean families to limit their childbearing to one child only. Exactly 20 years later, when the nation
found itself in dire straits demographically, 2013 saw a campaign “We are getting old, South Korea
needs children” [13].
Now, as before, South Korea’s PSA is firmly entrenched in the ethos of engaging with
social problems of the day. Thus, themes for each succeeding year’s campaigns are selected on the
basis of analysis of public opinion polls, as well as expert opinions of organizations, which deal
with the relevant social problems. The selection is based on several criteria, including such as the
balance and the state’s interest in solving a particular social problem, importance of the problem as
revealed in public opinion polls and surveys, the presence of interested organizations willing to
support a particular campaign together with KOBACO, as well as expert opinions of members of
the Advertising Council. The Council, meanwhile, has agreed-upon restrictions on the selection of
topics for PSA: the messages should be free of political or religious content, as well as non-
commercial and socially important; they should display neither political partisanship or
endorsement of any political party; they also have to be applicable to society in general; and these
advertising campaigns should not duplicate campaigns contemporaneously carried out by other
organizations.
Another processual characteristic is mandatory evaluation of effectiveness of PSA
campaigns implemented by KOBACO. Surveys are undertaken to establish whether exposure to a
particular advertisement changed the audiences’ perceptions, attitudes, preferences. These surveys
are conducted annually, in five biggest cities of the country, using a sample of at least 1,000. The
evaluations of effectiveness of PSA campaigns include 12 key criteria to measure a campaign’s
creative strength: persuasiveness, empathy, easiness of understanding, importance of the topic,
easiness of recall, the topic’s significance for its target group, attractiveness and quality of the text,
accuracy of presentation of the information in the text, emotionality, usage of music, color scheme,

5. accessibility of the characters’ motivations. Besides, public opinion polls to identify socially
explosive issues are conducted annually.
So, our analysis of the processes of PSA has brought out the following characteristics of
South Korean model: alertness to current social realities – attention to those social problems that are
high on the public’s agenda at a given moment; a custom-designed system of selection of topics,
based on data from surveys and research; mandatory evaluation of effectiveness of all implemented
campaigns.
The characteristics of the PSA model reviewed above, its processual aspects undoubtedly
have an impact on its phenomenological “manifestations” – style and character of the
advertisements. Thus, because the use of logos and other forms of sponsors’ identification is
forbidden, PSA in Korea is dominated by adverts without sponsorship acknowledgement. A
different tendency can be observed, for instance, in US, where most advertisements acknowledge
their sponsors – a specific nonprofit or charitable organization dealing with the problem in question.
And we can safely say about the South Korean approach that it can call into existence a “vogue” for
a certain behavior. Undoubtedly, an important factor accounting for successful application of this
approach is culture – in particular, such cultural characteristics of South Korea as high levels of
distancing from the authorities and high level of collectivism, in Geert Hofstede’s classification; a
tradition of Confucianism; willingness for collaboration, mutual assistance and respect – all of
which is reflected in the advertisements [2, 5].
Another phenomenological characteristic is the use of soft approach, as it is called in
English-language literature on PSA. This approach consists in describing positive changes when the
social problems are solved, rather than negative consequences when they are not, as well as using
symbols, advertisement characters and other allegorical devices for the purpose of softening
negative emotions that can be aroused by a disturbing content.
So, the main phenomenological characteristics of South Korean PSA model arguably
include, on the one hand, absence of sponsorship acknowledgement in advertising messages, and on
the other, the soft approach involving description of positive changes after the problem is solved
and the application of allegories in order to “soften” the edge.
In an interview taken in the course of this study Kim Min-ki, a professor at Soongsil
University, who pioneered the PSA development at KOBACO, claimed it was impossible to
definitely tell whether the country’s interests were best served by the chosen development strategy
of PSA with government in charge and in control. The nations whose experience in the area of PSA
South Korea has sought to emulate have chosen a different model, with campaigns initiated by the
public and businesses, without the state’s participation. But this distinctiveness is precisely what
makes South Korean model of PSA development interesting. We believe that in terms of potential

6. application of this experience, and with a view to the current state of PSA regulation in Russia, the
following aspects seem to be the most interesting and important.
First, applying this experience to the current efforts to improve the PSA legislation. Russia
has seen in its recent history attempts to promote the model of “structural” domination akin to
South Korean model. The first attempt in this direction was the establishment of a self-regulatory
body for the advertising market (Union of PSA Producers, USSR), the second, the legislators’
proposal to make the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service solely responsible for regulating and
controlling PSA [14]. However, presently neither self-regulation nor government control have been
effectively implemented in Russia, despite a host of initiatives aimed at strengthening the role and
broadening the functions of the state in the PSA market [8]. South Korea offers a good example of
both positive and negative features of a PSA model based on state control, if you take into account
both positive and negative experiences accumulated over the 30 years that this model has existed.
Second, the approach to evaluating efficiency of PSA applied in South Korea, too, can be
used as a model for devising strategies of PSA development in Russia. Adhering to the principle of
measurability of the effects of PSA, monitoring socially explosive issues and annually setting
priorities as to which social problems to address – all these measures, actively applied in the South
Korean model, have not been incorporated into the practices of development and implementation of
state-sponsored advertising campaigns in Russia. Considering that, according to expert estimates,
the government spends on PSA campaigns more than 4 billion roubles [11], the question of
effectiveness of such investment is vital. When one looks at other nations’ experience, the
“convenient” belief that effectiveness of PSA cannot be measured, popular in our country [1],
appears to be unfounded and in need of re-consideration – development of mechanisms and
technologies for introduction of instruments for evaluating effectiveness of state-sponsored
campaigns is the order of the day.
Third, the South Korean experience of financing PSA with profits from commercial
advertising has no precedent in the world. We believe that this strategy – “intramarket” taxation of
advertising, with the revenues channeled to players who produce and place PSA – also deserves
consideration with a view to potentially applying it in Russia.
Fourth, active application of PSA for solving urgent problems. The South Korean model of
monitoring and evaluating effectiveness of PSA not only bespeaks accountability and control over
the results but also affords opportunities for quickly responding to new social challenges.
Fifth, the experience of using the soft approach is important in Russia in academic and
practical contexts of PSA. The question of advisability of “shock effects” in PSA has been one of
the key issues discussed at academic conferences and advertisers’ forums over the last five years.
Governmental agencies, first of all the Traffic Safety Inspection [GIBDD], Ministry of the Interior

7. [MVD], Drug Control Service [FSKN] and others, believe that PSA with frightening messages are
the most effective ones [9]. The current belief that positive change cannot be achieved with adverts
using allegory rather than shocking imagery and scares has been proven wrong by academic
research time and again [3]. Yet, in spite of this, PSA campaigns in Russia, especially the ones
implemented by governmental agencies, continue to abundantly feature “frighteners”. With regard
to this issue as well, the South Korean experience can provide an example of an opposite strategy to
drive home to the public messages in PSA – a strategy which can be equally or may be even more
effective.
Obviously, if we are to gain a holistic understanding of possible models of PSA
development in Russia, devise an efficient framework for it and get the return on the investment, we
should understand and learn not only from the experience of US and Japan, but also from the
experience of other nations, which too move forward by trial and error. Detailed analysis of the
results of such experiments and systemic study of the models of PSA development in other
countries will undoubtedly facilitate the development of the institution of PSA in Russia while the
efficiency of a model built with reliance on this analysis will allow to make a significant
contribution to solving social problems. As a result, one can expect that ultimately the efficient PSA
model in Russia will bring along considerable positive changes in the society, which can be difficult
to achieve through other forms of public communication.
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