Kyobo Life Insurance Launches 14th Selection Committee for 'Gwanghwamun Geulpan' Slogan

Singer Yojo Newly Joins

The Kyobo Life Gwanghwamun Billboard, which has been communicating with citizens and delivering gentle emotions for 34 years, has newly reorganized its phrase selection committee to welcome spring.

On the 9th, Kyobo Life announced that singer and writer Yojo (Shin Sujin) has joined the Gwanghwamun Billboard phrase selection committee. She will serve from this summer edition of the Gwanghwamun Billboard phrase selection committee, succeeding essayist Lee Seul-ah.

This phrase selection committee consists of novelist Lee Seung-woo (professor at Chosun University), poet Kim Haeng-suk (professor at Kangnam University), poet Jang Jae-sun (deputy editor of Munhwa Ilbo), poet Kwak Hyo-hwan (director of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea), and essayist Yojo.

Jang Jae-seon, Deputy Director of Munhwa Ilbo and member of the Kyobo Life Gwanghwamun Billboard Text Selection Committee (from left), singer and writer Yojo, poet Kim Haeng-suk, novelist Lee Seung-woo, and poet Kwak Hyo-hwan are posing.
[Photo by Kyobo Life]

Kyobo Life has been selecting phrases for the Gwanghwamun Billboard on its own since 1991, and from December 2000, it formed a phrase selection committee to communicate and interact more with citizens. The committee is composed of 4 to 5 external members including poets, novelists, critics, professors, copywriters, and journalists, along with the secretary-general of the Daesan Cultural Foundation and a Kyobo Life public relations executive.

They discuss and vote on submissions from citizens posted on the Kyobo Life website and recommendations from the phrase selection committee members to decide the final phrase. In this process, they thoroughly review whether the message conveys hope and comfort well, how much it reflects contemporary concerns, whether it fits the season, and if the meaning is easily conveyed. Citizen submissions reach 1,000 to 2,000 entries each quarter.

The phrases, selected through a strict process, change once each season: spring, summer, fall, and winter. Past phrase selection committee members include poet Jeong Ho-seung, novelist Eun Hee-kyung, poet Ando Hyun, novelist Han Kang, copywriter Yoo Je-sang, and poet Jin Eun-young. The term for phrase selection committee members is two years, with the possibility of one renewal.

A Kyobo Life official said, “The Gwanghwamun Billboard has always offered hope and comfort to citizens with timely and heartfelt phrases,” adding, “We will continue to listen closely to citizens’ voices to approach them more familiarly and elicit empathy.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.