Golf was only “discovered” in Korea during the 1988 Olympics. Its popularity has surged there ever since. Cheil Worldwide has used the nation’s newly popular sport to promote life lessons

Golf is often seen there as a business tool for fathers on weekends while its inherent sportsmanship goes unnoticed. Korean gold distributor, Orient Golf, was looking for a corporate social responsibility program to change this perception and to position itself as a leading brand in people’s minds.

Cheil Worldwide had an idea.

The agency created a children’s book that teaches the virtues of life and will be used in the Golf Daddy Class, an educational program sponsored by Orient Golf in which golf-playing adults get to share their life lessons from playing the sport with the younger generation. It’s a 10-week curriculum with 10 sessions. 20 students are taught by two professional golf trainers from Orient Golf, two teachers from the NGO for children’s education, We Start, and golf daddies who are willing to become mentors. The program was pilot-tested in two middle schools in Korea, and will launch officially in ten middle schools from 2017.

“Golf is the only sport that the player gives a penalty to him/herself,” explained Jongchul Jang, creative director at Cheil Worldwide.

“We believed that a good golfer can become a person of good manners, so we created Golf Daddy Class by bringing golf and education on life virtues together.”

The illustrated book consists of 10 chapters based on the Golf Daddy Class curriculum. Its topics include an introduction to golf, lessons to learn from game rules and golf-related proverbs and a guide to golf course field trip.

The virtues to be learned by playing golf are threaded through these. For example, children learn honesty as the player keeps the scores and composure as the player needs to focus on him/herself and not the competitor in order to win the game. Or patience as the golfer has to keep playing even when faced with obstacles such as bunkers or water hazards.

The books are given to kids at the beginning of Golf Daddy Class, hidden inside special green boxes to spark their interest. Inside the green box, are the book and other tools and souvenirs to help them complete the class, such as a golf ball, T-shirt, canvas bag, photo frame and character stickers.

“Adolescence is an important period for developing your dreams and ideals,” stated Junseok Park, account manager at Cheil Worldwide. “By opening the green box, students begin their journey in search of future life.”

Cheil Worldwide worked on the book and campaign with Dr. Dongil Kim, professor at College of Education, Seoul National University; illustrator, Jam Kim; space designer, Sangjun Park; book designer, Moojung Park, and film director, Sungho Han.

Credits:

Agency: Cheil Worldwide

Creative director: Jongchul Jang

Associate creative director: Jaehee Shim, Meehyun Song & Jihyun Kim

Art directors (freelancers): Jam Kim, Sangjun Park, Moojung Park, Sungho Han & Myeongmahn Jeon

Account executives: Jaehwan Lee, Byeongho Chy, Seungeun Lee & Yujin Jung

Account manager: Junseok Park