Marketing guru Philip Kotler, in his book ``Marketing Places,'' tells us how we can gauge the success of a place's marketing efforts. ``Place marketing… succeeds when citizens and businesses are pleased with their communities, and meet the expectations of visitors and investors.''

Visitors and investors develop their image of a place from their interaction with local people and organizations. If people living in that place aren't pleased with their communities, they won't make a favorable impression on others. Efforts to improve Korea's global brand must therefore start at home.