Marking the 91st anniversary of Korea's Independence Movement Day, New York's Times Square will feature a 30-second promotional video of Dokdo starting from Mar. 1st. Dokdo is a Korean island located off the eastern coast of the peninsula that has often been a source of vibrant nationalism whenever Japan challenges its ownership.

The latest Dokdo advertisement, highlighting Korea's unyielding claim to the island, is organized by Seo Kyoung-duk, a Korean PR expert, and Kim Jang-hoon, a well-known Korean singer.

“The ad will be featured in between the CNN news, twice per hour, 48 times a day,” Seo said. “We made a four-month contract first. Depending on the feedback we may extend it.”

As the scale of this promotion is bigger than previous advertisements, Seo tried to attract donations from local businesses at first. Things didn't go too well and at the end it was singer Kim who stepped in to shoulder all the expenses for the video, from production to display. “I believe companies were reluctant to get involved in such sensitive issues like territorial rights. But in New York's Times Square we are free to advertise our culture, food, history and just about everything about our country. I hope this advertisement can be an inspiration to others," Kim said. 

“With the concept of ‘island' at the center, we made this ad simple and easy to follow,” Seo said, explaining the idea behind the video. Seo and Kim went on to say that they're planning many other steps to promote not just the issue of Dokdo but also the name of the East Sea and all other matters regarding Korea.

Korea is also waging an uphill battle to restore the original name of the body of water that divides Korea and Japan, from Sea of Japan to East Sea.

“When we refer to Dokdo, we usually think of a rocky island in the sea but the new advertisement Seo showed me in advance really caught me off guard,” Kim wrote on his personal website after being one of the first to see the completed piece before its premiere. “It did cross my mind that it may not be such a bad idea to go beyond territorial issues to introduce Dokdo and the East Sea in terms of culture and tourism,” he added, further hinting to the upcoming contents.

“Seo said he received some help from people of two famous advertising companies who took two months to come up with the concept. I clapped after watching the finished film. I'm so grateful to Seo and his network,” Kim said. 

The same ad will also be screened on an outdoor billboard located next to Korea Town in Manhattan on Mar. 1.

This is not the first time Seo and Kim have teamed up to promote crucial issues about Korea. Some of their works include production of the documentary film “Forgive us, Dokdo,” as well as numerous advertisements regarding Korea's territorial issues in big papers like the New York Times, the Washington Post and the Wall Street Journal.

The Independence Movement Day, known as “Samil-jeol” (March 1st Day) in Korean, is one of the Korea's favorite national holidays, commemorating the country's effort to demonstrate its will to be liberated from Japan. Korea was colonized by Japan from 1919 to 1945.