Drones on April 29 display the Seoul Metropolitan Government's new brand slogan for the capital, "Seoul, my soul," above the Hangang River at the Hangang Drone Light Show held at Ttukseom Hangang Park in the city's Gwangjin-gu District. (Yonhap News)

By Jung Joo-ri

The new brand slogan for the nation's capital is "Seoul, my soul."

The Seoul Metropolitan Government on April 28 said it selected the phrase after it topped the final round of voting. 

Meaning a city that can fill people's soul, "Seoul, my soul" was inspired by the similar pronunciation of the terms "Seoul" and "soul." 

The municipal government from Dec. 28 last year to March 16 this year conducted an online public vote on the slogan on both Koreans and non-nationals. 

The first round of voting saw "Seoul, my soul" earn 37.3% of the combined 397,721 votes, beating out runner-up "Seoul for you," which means "Everything is prepared for you in Seoul," with 34.9%. The former claimed victory in the runoff with 63.1% of 260,513 votes including from city residents and expats, easily topping "Seoul for you" with 36.9%. 

"Seoul, my soul" is thus the capital's third slogan in 21 years after "Hi Seoul" was designated in 2002 and "I Seoul U" in 2015. 

etoilejr@korea.kr