1 = METHOD
Grounded Research with Analysis.
Everyone does focus groups and surveys.
We do real, qualitative market research using real ethnographic data and consilient analysis.
Creation with Curation.
Agile inhouse creative services.
We're who gets called to get it done.
2 = PORTFOLIO
When Google, Inc. needed to know how chat applications were bring used in by South Koreans to share news information, the normal blunt tools of the survey and focus group were inadequate. For this, one needs a trained sociologist. So one of our in-house academics became lead researcher and led deep-dive ethnomethodologically-oriented close studies of consumer behavior that drove conclusions that Google could take to the bank.
Mafia Entertainment debuted a girl-group called WASSUP. We offered concept and market consulting and style direction.
When the dog and cat rescue NGO Yuhaengsa needed more effective image creation and curation to get their animals adopted, we planned a truly original exhibition of portraits of the animals in need of adoption at local cultural hotspots. @yuhengsarang
Mutzine magazine presents beautiful fashion trends and pop culture from South Korea. Through the stylish approach and the atmospheric photos, the reader discovers the South Korean lifestyle. After reading this zine, K-pop won’t be the only thing you love about Korea. @mutzine
Spring/Summer 2018 Fashion campaign promoting modern Korean menswear designers Munn and Ordinary People and cultural heritage sites.
When tasked with promoting Korean traditional dress to the international market, we didn't just waste money on the few exiting stock images of them or hire an expensive photographer, we used our own in-house skillsets in creative industries to create magazine-level images to go into a site that is poised as a marketing channel for the item and idea itself. The Baby Got Bok project mixes nation branding with client needs (of the designer) through strong content marketing by creating that compelling content ourselves, in-house.
When Samsung released the Galaxy S6 phone, they wanted a trendy promotional strategy. We teamed Samsung up with Seoul Fashion Week and produced a fashion show to showcase.
K-STYLE was a TV show on CJ E&M's Onstyle network. Hosted by two American women, the show introduced fresh perspectives on Korean fashion & lifestyle.
We produced gaze magazine a publication dedicated to feminist critiques of popular culture in Korea.
Our clients:
Besides Kimchi
Google
Institute for The Future
Jameson Whisky
Stoneship Music
The Future Laboratory
TF1
Tremors TV
Makers.
P&G
Pinterest
Plisse
3 = TEAM
We think, live, and create in Korea.
Dr. Michael Hurt _ SSK Research Professor, University of Seoul. Michael is a visual sociologist and photographer specializing in documenting Seoul street fashion since 2003. He has previously led media and photography classes at Hongik University, Korea University, and Busan University of Foreign Studies. @kuraeji
Gissella Ramirez-Valle _ Founder & Director of MUTZINE. Gissella works as a freelance consultant, producer, art director and stylist for global & Korean brands. She is also an anthropologist and consultant of new media, youth culture and consumer trends in South Korea since 2011.
Soo-hee Kim_Founder of Gaze Magazine. Soo-Hee is a student of Media & Communication and Sociology at Korea University. Her work offers further insights on media and culture from a feminist and LGBT perspective. @gaze_magazine
Sarah Kate Watson Baik_Style Director, TV Host. Trained as a photographer, industrial designer, and urban sociologist at London’s famed Central St. Martins School of Art & Design and Goldsmith’s College, she works as a director in multiple mediums focusing on the convergence between art, design, and culture. @urbanwit
Charlotte Gryson_ Press & Communication Assistant Manager of the Korean Cultural Center of Belgium and the European Union. Charlotte is a Koreanist and also works as a freelance journalist, translator and interpreter. Her main fields of interest lay in sociology, consumerism, and gender studies especially in the context of comics, art and fashion.
We are always searching for researchers & creators.
Contact Iconology Korea to join the team!
4 = SCALE
Iconology Korea is ready to take on your project.
Brand Platform, Strategy, Brand Development, Event & Experience Production, Product Development, Content, Community Development, Marketing, Creative Direction, Influence, Social, Design, Market Research, Production.
iconologykorea@gmail.com