Korea's brand image

The Korea Herald, Asia News Network, Seoul

In this era of global economic competition, national image is important, not only because it helps boost national pride and prestige, but also because it influences the value of commercial products. There is no doubt that the product image of our automobiles and cell phones in overseas markets is improved when clients can associate them with Korea's good image.

In this regard, the latest opinion poll conducted abroad to discover Korea's national image should serve as a wake-up call for our policymakers in overseas public relations, as well as the news media. The nation needs well-thought out, long-term plans to promote its image, regardless of skepticism about the effect of such efforts.

Korea is most well known in Vietnam and China, among the 11 countries around the world where some 3,000 people were asked what image they have of Korea. There is nothing wrong in the fact that we are most widely known and even considered "a role model for economic development" by our neighbors. The problem is that the nation remains little known, much less makes a good impression, in other countries outside Asia, such as the United States and Britain.

Korea still reminds most Americans of the Korean War, half a century after the war ended, according to the survey conducted by a research institute into the national image at Sungkyunkwan University, commissioned by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. In a similar vein, a French diplomat here made an even more "stunning" comment at a recent government-organized symposium: he said "there is nothing distinct about Korea in the minds of the French."

In the meantime, a majority of people in China and Southeast Asian countries said they associate Korea with its culture, such as food, movies and television dramas, as well as World Cup soccer games. These images have apparently been created by the "Korean wave," which needs to be more actively promoted.

"Dynamic Korea - the Hub of Asia," the popular slogan created ahead of the World Cup, also deserves to be further developed and incorporated with Korea's older symbolic images, expounding the nation's energy as an emerging economic powerhouse as well as its outstanding cultural legacies.