Park Jae-hyun, brand namist and CEO of the Korea Brand Marketing Institute, appears on the show and shares the fascinating behind-the-scenes stories of the roughly 700 brands he has created, including "Whisen," "SK Innovation," and "HD Hyundai." He defines brand naming not as mere creation but as a meticulous "act of persuasion" that moves both clients and consumers, and as a process of "Finding" value. From the essential difference between marketing and branding to his habit of collecting language for inspiration in everyday life, he offers brand insights that hold true across eras.

1. Brand Naming Is Not Creation but "a Perfect Act of Persuasion"

Announcer Kim Jae-won introduced Park Jae-hyun, CEO of the Korea Brand Marketing Institute, who has planned some 700 brand names, noting that we live in an era where survival and the chance of success can hinge on how a single name is made. Rather than defining himself as a simple "namer," Park described himself as a "brand insighter" who looks after a brand from beginning to end.

"I don't call brand naming a creative task. It's a perfect act of persuasion."

Park has created many names familiar to us, including the air conditioner brand "Whisen," "SK Innovation," "HD Hyundai," "Parnas Hotel," "NHN" (the predecessor of Naver), and food brands such as "Curry Queen (Kare Yeowang)," "Petitzel," and "Jubu Chobap-wang." He stressed that when presenting a dozen or so proposals to a client, the heart of naming is a persuasion strategy that proves "why it has to be this name," going beyond whether it simply sounds good or bad.

2. The Story Behind "Whisen": A Gem Dug Up at Reserve Forces Training

In the past, the air conditioner market was dominated by the practice of attaching the product type to the company name, as in "Samsung Air Conditioner" or "LG Air Conditioner." Then "Winia" (Wind + Utopia), a specialist brand that entered the market declaring, "No company makes every appliance well. We make only air conditioners," emerged as a strong competitor. In response, LG Electronics wanted a one-of-a-kind specialist brand that could convey powerful cooling.

By industry rule, borrowing the word already claimed by the leading brand ("wind") would get you treated as a knockoff, so Park faced a dilemma: he had to find a word that conveyed coolness while excluding "wind." Wrestling with the problem as the delivery deadline approached, he got his decisive inspiration when he was hit by a mountain breeze at reserve forces training.

"In comic books, when the wind blows, there's that sound effect, 'whee~.' I thought, 'Ah, the wind has a sound!' It would be great to use that sound as a name."

To capture the power LG had asked for, he combined it with the native Korean word "sen" (strong) and built the skeleton of the name "Whisen," spelled as it sounds. But to be adopted as a major corporation's appliance brand, it needed a global feel and a logical meaning. Park combed through a thick English-Korean dictionary and, almost miraculously, unearthed two words.

• WHI: "Whirlwind," meaning a swirling wind
• SEN: "Sender," meaning a transmitting device

With the perfect persuasive logic of "a device that sends a whirlwind" in place, plus a Northern European feel reminiscent of names like Andersen or Amundsen that evoked a pleasant, trustworthy, premium image, LG Electronics' executives chose Whisen after just a single presentation.

3. Strategy in Corporate Names: SK Innovation and HD Hyundai

Naming a company calls for an even broader perspective and bolder strategy.

In the case of "SK Innovation," the company needed a word broad enough to encompass not only its existing core businesses but also future new businesses that had not yet taken shape. The word "innovation" is commonly used, but it had never been placed front and center in a company name. Park proposed that SK boldly claim it first.

"If SK takes Innovation as its company name, Samsung won't be able to use this word, and neither will Hyundai or LG."

His persuasion, emphasizing this exclusivity effect, hit the mark, and it led to a campaign in which SK answers the customer's question marks (AS) with "Innovation," leaving a strong impression.

Meanwhile, the "HD Hyundai" project, which renamed "Hyundai Heavy Industries," was the project for which he was paid the most. As the company sought to move beyond its shipbuilding image and expand into eco-friendly and future industries, Park proposed putting Hyundai's initials "HD," which had been left unused by anyone, front and center. It was obvious that the many affiliates would push back, asking why this one company should monopolize HD, but after about a year of persuasion, it became established as a powerful brand representing the Hyundai group's current identity.

4. Marketing Is "Buy Me," Branding Is "Love Me"

After hearing the story of "Oasis," a group name Kim Jae-won came up with (for five announcers), and "Oasix," which was born when a member was added, Park explained how important a name's associativeness is. A name that lacks associativeness requires pouring in enormous costs (advertising spend) to imprint it in people's minds.

Park then laid out the difference between marketing and branding very clearly.

• Marketing: direct promotional activity that shouts, "Buy me"
• Branding: building value by forming a fandom and attachment, saying, "Love me"

"When director Bong Joon-ho was shooting <Barking Dogs Never Bite>, he hadn't been branded yet, but now world-class actors buy their own plane tickets to come and audition. That is the power of branding."

He also applied this standard to diagnose the "Madang Bak Kim Jae-won" channel. He advised that until the phrase "Madang Bak" (outside the Madang) naturally connects in the public's mind to the background asset of the existing show "Achim Madang," it is essential early on to keep explaining and reminding people of its meaning. He added that, just as he had given "NHN," the combination of Naver and Hangame, the new philosophy of "Next Human Network," the channel name should also carry a literary, layered message to win the public's empathy.

5. The Weapon of a Long-Running Creator: Collecting Language and Inspiration 💡

Asked for the secret to staying at the top of the industry for so long, Park named his habit of "collecting language" without hesitation. When a line in a movie or drama moves him, he will even run out of the theater to write it down, persistently gathering sentences from everyday life to build an archive.

"Apparently, on the window of a bar in Porto, Portugal, there was a sentence: 'You can't make friends with milk.' When I see language like that, I write it down, thinking, 'I'll definitely use this someday.' When I get stuck for ideas, I open that notebook."

Persuasion is ultimately done through "language," he explained, and the power to make the other person nod along comes from collecting language. Announcer Kim Jae-won, too, was branding his own intellectual image by answering the question "You must be busy these days?" not with a stock reply but with the sensory phrase, "My schedule is a bit tightly packed."

Park wrapped up the interview on a cheerful note, stressing that if you want to get special ideas, the most important thing is to create an environment where you frequently meet highly inspiring people.

Conclusion

Naming is not a flashy craft of creating something from nothing; it is a humanistic journey of seeing through to the essence of a thing, finding the language that proves its value, and persuading others. A single good name wields more power than hundreds of millions of won in advertising, and the careful accumulation of language in everyday life ultimately becomes the firmest foundation for building an attractive brand.