The lights that added to the excitement of the Games at the Paris 2024 Olympics—they were none other than Team Korea’s official digital flags, also known as light sticks. From producing light sticks for K-pop artists to designing one for the athletes representing the country, we asked LEE Jungmin from HYBE BRAND SYNERGY (HBS), Kim Minjong from Brand Business Strategy Team, Choi BoYoon and Kim HyeongGu from IPX Product Solutions team, and Seo GyuJin from IPX Product Development team about the special project.
The Korean Sport & Olympic Committee reached out to HYBE in the run-up to Paris 2024 and you proposed the idea of an Olympics-exclusive light stick. How did you come up with the idea?
HBS: HYBE has been strategically preparing for an outbound business opportunity to apply its light stick technology (HYBE OLS) to a wider range of the fandom-driven industries, going beyond making light sticks for K-pop artists. In today’s world, numerous fandoms exist, including sports, games, movies, animated movies, and theme parks to name a few. At the heart of these fandoms lies the desire to cheer for what one loves and supports. And because of this core sentiment, we believed HYBE OLS could be introduced to different markets.
However, convincing the sports industry, where light sticks are an unfamiliar concept to most people, was not an easy task. We needed an opportunity to stamp the light stick on the minds of sports fans across the world and we thought the Olympics, as a global sporting event, could provide the answer. Then, we had the chance to discuss collaboration with the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. During the meeting, we endeavored to emphasize the significance and importance of the light stick. While it seemed unexpected for the Committee at first, it turned out that they felt a need for a new cheer culture and innovation. And that’s how the light stick project for Team Korea began.
What were some of the design elements you considered when creating the light stick for Team Korea?
IPX: For K-pop artists, the light stick must represent their identity. Each artist or group has distinct and detailed traits, so we focus on highlighting those elements in a way they resonate with fans most intuitively. When designing the Olympic light stick, however, we were handling a symbol as significant as the Korean national flag, so we had to approach it with extra caution. We needed a design that could be developed and manufactured within the given timeline while harmonizing with the Team Korea uniforms and embodying both a restrained aesthetic and the identity of the Olympics. The final design preserves the unique shape of a light stick while incorporating the motifs of the Olympic torch and stadium. The colors that change with each press of the button—blue, red, yellow, and green—were inspired by the Olympic rings. The black, which is challenging to represent with light, was replaced with white, the background color of the rings. We also added a touch of gold, one of the colors for the Paris 2024. We explored many other design options as well. We thought about incorporating elements like the collar of the hanbok jeogori or the shape of the trophy, as well as an open-style design. Sadly, only one of them made it to the world stage.
What was the atmosphere like at the Korea House in Paris, where everyone cheered for the Games with their own light stick?
HBS: It couldn’t have been better. The pep rally we organized took on so many variables. From the weather and sunset timing, which we could only leave to fate since the event was held outdoors, to synchronizing the light stick performances with a sports game that had no fixed cue sheet, and coordinating with the Paris-based production team—nothing was easy. But as they say, fortune favors the diligent. As soon as we started distributing the light sticks at the Korea House, the rain that had been pouring all afternoon stopped. And with Team Korea putting on a great performance, the excitement started building. Notably, IPX Product Solutions team did a great job of creating a perfect sporting event that is very different from an artist's performance, and helped to keep everyone focused on the game.
IPX: As it was an outdoor event, there were technical limitations in creating the desired effects. The need to quickly respond to the flow of the game made it particularly challenging. To address this, we focused on using few simple yet striking effects to create impact and prioritized unity over extravagance by using color-centered visuals. We pre-coordinated various scenarios with the local production team in Paris, ensuring that the light stick effects would seamlessly integrate into the live sports event as if they were part of a stage production. Most importantly, we were thrilled to see that our strategy paid off. Seeing the iconic K-pop light sticks unite sports fans in their shared love for the teams was priceless.
The response to the Team Korea light stick was overwhelming, both domestically and internationally. What were some of the most memorable moments?
HBS: The Team Korea light stick was unveiled at the inaugural meeting for Team Korea. Many athletes liked it so much that they took photos and posted them on their social media accounts. One of them even reached out to see if they could get additional light sticks for their family members coming to Paris to support them. We were deeply touched by the fact that an athlete specifically wanted to be cheered on with the Team Korea light stick. Many international spectators also found the light stick fascinating and reacted positively, saying things like, “This is awesome,” “I wish we had something like this for our country,” and “It’s amazing how Korea has created a new cheer culture.” We were very pleased and impressed. On August 11, the Korean athletes waved Team Korea light sticks during the closing ceremony, marking the end of the Paris 2024 Olympics. We look forward to more great performances from Korean athletes and the evolution of cheer culture at future Olympic Games.