Market Research in South Korea
Market Overview of South Korea
South Korea once suffered great poverty due to the Korean War, where the economy was in a very dire state. However, it has since transformed into an affluent country very rapidly to become a well-developed economy, and is well known for its entertainment and music industry. With its rapid growth, South Korea is an attractive economy for foreign investors.
Economy
The services sector is the largest contributor to South Korea’s GDP, where it accounts for about 54%, and employs about 70% of the active workforce. The economy is dominated by chaebols, or family owned conglomerates. The entertainment industy, fuelled by the K-wave, also contributes significantly to the economy.
Consumers
South Korean consumers are well-educated with its high literacy rates. With its development in IT infrastructure and high-speed internet, South Koreans are also very tech-savvy, where consumers have high reliance on social media when making a purchase decision. Consumers also trust brands endorsed by a social media influencer.
Market Research in South Korea
South Korea has a strong culture of collectivism and seniority. They are more likely to submit to collective ideas, and juniors are more likely to defer to the opinions of their seniors. Hence, this affects the accuracy of the results in focus group discussions. South Korea is also a relatively homogeneous country with minor regional differences. Therefore, it is possible to just do fieldwork in the metropolitan Seoul.
Case studies
- CCD Imagers Study was conducted in Japan and South Korea for the lab equipment industry using an online study
- Viewers Study was conducted in South Korea for the movies streaming industry using mobile ethnography
- Autoworkshops Study was conducted in South Korea via mystery shopping to find out prices of different car parts of 13 different car models