Korea`s Image in the World

Overseas consumers were found to buy Korean products primarily because of product quality and design rather than cheap prices.

It was also found that the 2002 FIFA World Cup enhances Korea`s national image on the global market.

KOTRA, a prominent trade promotion agency in Korea, released the findings of the survey on Korea`s national image of 12,793 consumers on June 6. The survey was conducted through 98 overseas trade centers in 72 countries in mid-May.

According to the findings, Korea`s national image received the average point of 77.2, while the least development countries and advanced economies received the score of 50 and 100, respectively.

33% of people surveyed said that the first image about Korea that comes to the mind is a divided country, followed by the 2002 World Cup with 29% of respondents. The finding shows that the World Cup has contributed to enhancing Korea`s national image in a short period of time.

As for impression about Korea, answers such as "positive" with 42% of respondents and "very positive" with 9% outnumbered "negative" with 5% and "very negative" with 2%. The other answer was "neither good nor bad" with 42%.

Regarding reasons for buying Korean products, good quality took the first place with 38% of respondents, followed by low prices with 35%, good design with 20% and other reasons with 7%.

Regarding the question of whether they purchased Korean products, 71% of them said "yes", while 29% said "no." And 40% responded that they don`t have experiences in buying Korean products in West Europe and Oceania, indicating that there is room for exploring markets in the regions.

When it comes to the question of `Korean companies or brand name you know about` for multiple answers, Samsung ranked first with 27% of respondents, followed by Hyundai with 23%, Daewoo with 18%, LG with 14%, Kia with 10% and KAL with 3%. In Japan, Lotte ranked first with 20.9% of respondents, followed by Hyundai with 40% and Samsung with 38.4%.

As for Korean products they would like to buy, electronic products took the first place with 31% of respondents, followed by cars with 21%, IT products with 16%, presents with 13% and clothing with 12%. The finding reflects the order of major Korean products for export. Given the finding that a mere 12% of respondents bought Korean cars, the recognition of Korean cars is sharply rising.

kkh@donga.com