In 2024, Hankook Tire launched a new culture brand, ‘DRIVE’. This brand is an upgraded and renewed version of the company’s previous culture brand, ‘MADE IN HANKOOK’. ‘DRIVE’ embodies Hankook Tire’s ambition to promote its unique heritage and identity more effectively.
DRIVE logo BI. The brand logo reflects the track's skid marks to emphasize the mobile concept.
‘DRIVE’ project promotional video. Hankook Tire’s cultural brand ‘DRIVE’ plans to unveil a journey toward the future by collaborating with subculture people.
Hankook Tire is Korea's leading tire brand. For over 80 years, the company has steadily built its competitiveness as a global tire brand, and this strength is shining even brighter as it enters the electric vehicle era. In fact, Hankook Tire was the first among global competitors to launch tires specifically for electric vehicles. Thanks to such a strong performance, the company is expected to enter the global top 5 in sales by 2026.
As a mobility brand active in the global market, what vision does Hankook Tire have for the future? Hankook Tire envisions leading a ‘valuable journey toward the future,’ akin to a tire that travels the world powerfully and swiftly. This vision has always been at the core of Hankook Tire’s mission. ‘DRIVE’ is Hankook Tire’s new culture brand created to share these values with the public.
‘MADE IN HANKOOK’ launched in 2021
Mobility brands have long since shed their identity as merely a ‘means of transportation.’ Today, individually owned mobility exists as a lifestyle brand that reflects personal tastes and preferences. Hankook Tire is adopting a multi-dimensional approach to become a beloved brand across various fields. Collaborations with other brands is a key part of this strategy. With the launch of the culture brand ‘MADE IN HANKOOK’ in 2021, Hankook Tire has metaphorically expressed the values that Hankook Tire has by partnering with innovative and creative people, conducting dessert pop-up stores with F&B brands, and launching collaborative clothing lines.
A ‘HAHA’ pop-up store introduced in collaboration with Halff Coffee, a premium coffee and dessert brand.
A sweatshirt made in collaboration with ‘HALSBANA’, which expands the comfort of sportswear into lifestyle.
A pop-up store operated in collaboration with the restaurant brand ‘Jangseoneunnal’ and the craft beer brand ‘The Booth’.
Among the various activities of ‘MADE IN HANKOOK,’ the most memorable is definitely the creation of ‘Peaches. D8NE.’ Located in Seongsu-dong, Seoul, known as the mecca of hipsters in Korea, “Peaches. D8NE” boasts a high population density and has emerged as a globally noteworthy automobile culture brand. How did Hankook Tire and Peaches come up with the idea to create a car culture space in Seongsu-dong?
The ‘MADE IN HANKOOK’ event was held at ‘Peaches. D8NE’ in 2021 and 2022 to share and communicate the values of Hankook Tire.
The California-based brand ‘Peaches’ needed a place to freely display the ‘street car culture’ they pursue. Hankook Tire sympathized with this vision and decided to invest in it. ‘D8NE’ is a platform that combines automobiles, fashion, and street scenes, relocating tuning shops that existed on the outskirts of Seoul to the heart of the city to foster a vibrant mobility culture. This venue includes a variety of spaces such as ‘Garage’ for vehicle styling, a gallery for vehicle exhibitions and performances, a select shop, a skateboard park, and a cafe.
Subculture innovator which will lead ‘DRIVE’
Hankook Tire’s newly launched culture brand is ‘DRIVE.’ What does ‘DRIVE’ mean? Tires symbolize the physical movement from ‘here’ to ‘there.’ In contrast to spatial movement, there is the concept of time shift —the transition between past, present, and future. Although invisible, time is a powerful concept that drives the real world. Hankook Tire reveals the value of ‘DRIVE’ by combining the spatial movement of tires with the passage of time. This brand embodies the will to ‘drive’ the flow of time from the present to the future.
Hankook Tire New culture brand ‘DRIVE’
‘DRIVE’ sheds light on subcultures and people within them. Consider those who changed history: artists, adventurers, and inventors. These individuals, who led the world in a positive direction with new ideas and technologies, often came from the non-mainstream instead of the mainstream. These are people who challenged conventional beliefs and made the impossible possible. Who is changing the world today? Hankook Tire finds inspiration in cultural revolutionaries who foster strong emotions in people. These people are coloring the world by creating new aesthetics in the areas of art, music, fashion, and F&B. While ‘MADE IN HANKOOK’ embraced retro trends, ‘DRIVE’ will focus on subcultures, highlighting the current trend of the times that respects individual creativity and taste.
The first project of ‘DRIVE’ is ‘mind of supporting artists’
On March 15th, artists with a significant presence in the Korean art world gathered for the ‘Hankook Hyper Collection’ exhibition. This is a group exhibition which features 25 artists, ranging from art masters such as Nam June Paik, internationally known as the founder of video art, to emerging artists in the Korean art world.
Hankook Tire invited artists without providing any specific keywords, conveying a message simply through their selection of artists and works. What might this message be? By carefully looking at the list of participating artists, one can infer the message. From artist Hwanki Kim, who has been active since the 1940s, to modern artists representing Korean art, the exhibition showcases the history of Hankook Tire, founded in 1941, through the words of artists from each era.
In the 1940s, artist Kim Hwan-ki created paintings deeply rooted in Korean traditions, nature, and moon jars. It was the time he spent in Korea that perfected his sense of aesthetics, leading to his masterpiece dot paintings in New York in the 1960s. This exhibition showcases the growth history of Hankook Tire through the works of artists who devoted themselves to their work while overcoming Korea's turbulent modern history.
‘Hankook Hyper Collection’ exhibition view
Why is Seongsu-dong’s culture complex so crowded? Starting on March 23rd, a solo exhibition by Kian84, Korea’s leading webtoon writer and renowned contemporary artist, was held. ‘Kiando’ is another art project sponsored by Hankook Tire. The exhibition features ‘Cloud 2,’ an acrylic work that captures ‘movement’, the concept behind Hankook Tire’s brand ‘DRIVE,’ represented in the form of flowing clouds. In addition to the pictures, a car wrap design caught the attention of visitors as the ultra-expensive car Bugatti was presented. The Bugatti on display is used by Hankook Tire for high-performance tire research, and is said to have been completed in close collaboration with Kian84, who has a great love for cars .
The wrapping design is themed around Hankook Tire’s brand slogan, ‘Driving Emotion’. It features the facial expressions of ‘Woo Ki-myeong,’ the main character in Kian84’s webtoon series, expressing his joys and sorrows. Another notable work is ‘Hantas,’ an homage to the famous candy, which visualizes tires in a unique form to provide a distinctive and enjoyable experience.
Meanwhile, Hankook Tire has announced a collaborative collection with ‘Superfast,’ Korea’s leading street fashion brand. Superfast, whose motto is ‘Sounds like Thunder’, captures the excitement felt when hearing an engine roar like thunder and translates it into fashion. With this collaboration, the two brands go beyond just visuals and express their common passion for ‘motor culture’ with a hip and excellent aesthetic.
Kian84's wrapping design video
The first collaborative collection features four types of short sleeve t-shirts, with designs that reinterpret the logo of Rothman Racing, a legendary F1 sponsor in the 1990s, and a signature label that allows you to feel Hankook Tire's heritage. These t-shirts will be sold at the official online stores of ‘Cream’ and ‘Superfast,’ both limited edition trading platforms. Fall and winter season clothing will also be introduced in the second half of this year.
‘Superfast’ and Hankook Tire collaboration t-shirt
Why are mobility brands serious about culture?
Mobility is a technology-oriented industry, there is a somewhat maniacal aspect to it. This is why it is crucial to convey corporate values that are approachable to the general public and beneficial to the world. Hankook Tire has consistently worked to integrate various fields such as art, music, and fashion with mobility. Now, with ‘DRIVE,’ the company plans to go one step further and solidify collaborations with subculture leaders.
Following its ventures into art, Hankook Tire is now expanding into the fields of fashion and music. As mentioned earlier, the company has released fashion items in collaboration with ‘Superfast,’ a brand with a racing motif, and is also producing music optimized for driving. In addition, the planned mobility complex cultural space, part of the space marketing strategy, is envisioned as a ‘universe’ type space that integrates all of Hankook Tire’s projects. Scheduled for completion next year, this brand flagship space will embody Hankook Tire's cultural code and include car washing, car maintenance, a showroom, F&B, and fashion.
