Foreign consumers think Korean products have improved. KOTRA announced its survey titled '2009 national and industrial brand map report', which shows the improvement of Korean products. According to the survey, the image of Korean products is 71.5 percent, which is an increase of 3.3 percent from a year ago. It signifies, if the products from advanced nations which include U.S.A, Japan, and Germany are priced at US$100, then Korean products are US$71.5. KOTRA said, "A 3.3 percent increase is phenomenal, comparing to past years change, of 1.4 percent in 2007, 0.5 percent in 2008."
KOTRA surveyed around 8500 people (groups of students, general citizens and business men) in 31 countries this time; the research has been ongoing since 2006. Besides the nation image, KOTRA analyzed six other industries including electric home appliances, automobiles for increasing export rate through managing brand's vision. The survey is composed of the overall impression of Korea, representative items and businesses.
The question related to Korea's image was "what pops in your head when you think of Korea" Apparently, foreigners see Korean food as the most "Koreanish" followed by technology and economic development. However, students and general citizens answered negatively with the "Korean War" and "North Korea's nuclear issues". Thus, by building a positive national image could affect the export rate.
Around 59 percent of foreigners knew that Samsung is Korean, 25.9 percent think it is Japanese and 10.4 percent said it is Chinese. People who already knew Samsung is a Korean corporation have high preference to Korean products and Korea itself. This shows how important the brand value is and how much it influences's national value.
Furthermore, the most famous Korean enterprises among foreigners are Samsung, followed by Hyundai, LG, KIA, and Daewoo. Even some people thought Sony (Japanese) is Korean as well. The industries that represent Korea are automobiles; home electric appliances, mobile phones, and the rest have low recognition. Apparently various export item development and overseas marketing are irresistible to establish a better image of Korea.