Korean brands benefit from worldwide cultural exposure

Along with the growing popularity of Korean culture overseas, Korean multinationals’ products and services are enjoying a better positioning in the global marketplace.

The findings emerged from a recently conducted survey by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), on the role of Korean culture and its impact on putting the country on the brand map of the world, under the auspices of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Presidential Council on Nation Branding. The poll results were collected from 28 of Korea’s major trading partner nations with the participation of sample populations of 15,070 overseas consumers across all five continents.

According to the survey results, 55.3% of foreign participants replied that they have experienced Korean culture more than once in the past year. Korean film (39.7%) was the most exposed medium among overseas audiences, followed by TV dramas (37.2%), traditional culture (33.1%), and K-pop (30.3%). Positive replies tended to express a favorable response to the image of Korea’s national brand alongside “Made in Korea” products and services.

Over the last decade, Korea has grown into an emerging cultural exporter of transnational pop culture, beginning with Asian countries including China, Thailand and Vietnam. The proliferation of Korean culture overseas has soon expanded beyond Asia, reaching as far as Latin America and the Middle East, gaining momentum worldwide. More recently, the surge of Korean pop culture has begun to attract European and North American audiences.

The research demonstrated high potentials for growth of Korean cultural inroads in nations like Kazakhstan, Russia, UAE, Brazil, and Mexico, which showed above average interest in traditional Korean culture with a lower experience ratio.

Foreign audiences in the 10-to-30-year-old age group were reported to have the highest exposure to Korean culture. Male participants were more experienced in terms of traditional culture, while females were preeminent among the group identified as enthusiasts.

When asked about the country of origin of kimchi, Samsung, and the capital city Seoul, the number of respondents who gave correct answers to all three questions increased from 34% in 2009 to 43.6% in 2011.

More than half of the poll participants have replied they get information about Korea through traditional media such as TV, magazines, and newspapers.

The rise of the national brand through culture has led to an increase in preference for Korean products and services as well. One of the major beneficiaries of cultural diffusion is cosmetics industry, which outpaced retail sales and the GDP overall in terms of growth. Other industries catching on in other countries, leveraging the so-called Korean wave, also include beauty services, cosmetics, and accessories, alongside food, medical services, and design products.

Global consumers’ perceived price level for Korean electronics has enjoyed a 10.3-point increase compared to 2006, when KOTRA began to release the annual report on the nation brand map.

The annual report analyzed that such findings derived from multiple, timely initiatives that jointly orchestrate the nation’s branding campaign, including the advent of the Korean wave, Korean multinationals’ active overseas expansion supported by its cutting-edge technology and modern design, and the successful hosting of international events such as the G20 Seoul Summit.