New Jersey restaurateur Robert Egan barbecues meat for a living, except when he acts as a self-appointed, unofficial conduit between the United States and North Korea.

With less than two weeks to go before the start of the World Expo Shanghai, the Korea Business Pavilion showcasing 12 major conglomerates was unveiled yesterday.

Actor Lee Junki has been chosen as the Korean ambassador for the 2010 Shanghai Expo.

We at Branding Korea believe this awareness-raising approach is a sound starting point since it resonates with the need for Korea to be known as a country before being a tourist destination. If the desire to travel is materialized, then the Korea brand promise can be experienced while the tourist is in Korea and may be inspired by intangible assets and values such as spirituality, dynamism and friendliness.