Nation or country branding is about using strategic marketing to promote different aspects of a country’s identity. Country branding implies that countries behave in many ways like commercial and corporate brands.

It’s been a big week for dog and pony shows, particularly in Yokohama and Seoul. As both cities wheeled out their best tricks for regional and global leaders – and international media – for the Apec and G20 summits, it was the Koreans who pulled out all the stops to show that Seoul is now a proper rival to Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. Well, almost.

Currencies, cars and cows all blocked U.S. administration goals in bilateral meetings ahead of the Group of 20 summit of the world's top economies that kicked off Thursday night in the South Korean capital.

The relationship between public diplomacy and nation branding is not always clear. I get the impression that a lot of PD practitioners and academics like to draw a clear division even though there are many overlaps between the activities.

With the G-20 Summit officially starting tomorrow, chairwoman of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding Lee Bae-yong unveiled an ambitious plan to upgrade the value of Korea’s national brand. Lee, former president of Ewha Woman’s University, said she will evoke Korea’s culture and history to enhance the nation’s brand value.

Koreans, both individually and collectively, have lingering concerns about their country’s international image. Their national identity is blurred by the existence of two larger neighbors whose culture and history are better known to the world.

The Republic of the Maldives is set to undergo a comprehensive destination branding evolution. Set to launch next year, the Indian Ocean island nation is to develop a new strategy including a new logo, slogan, advertising and worldwide campaign.

The fifth annual G20 Summit, taking place next week in Seoul, will aim to impress the Group of 20 world leaders and delegate with the country's high-tech advances — ultra-fast communication, portable broadband, Web-connected mobile television and other futuristic technologies — "that have become rather humdrum for Koreans," in one assessment.