By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
A recent survey shows that the Korean government's image reflected in the international community falls dim compared to citizen and corporate appearances.
In a Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) survey conducted by the Institute for Industrial Policy Studies (IPS) from last November to January of 21 countries, covering 2,809 respondents, the Korean government's image scored an average 3.31 points out of 5, which is lower than the citizen image at 3.62 points and corporate image at 3.55 points.
``The frequent media exposure of North Korean missiles, demonstrations, strikes and the long lasting image as a divided country are some of the reasons we see for the lower impression on the government,'' said a KOTRA official working with the national brand management.
The results go along the lines of a similar 2005 KOTRA survey, where 5,287 respondents in 70 countries rated Korea's political stability level at 49 points out of a maximum 100. The country's openness to foreigners also scored low at 49.1 percent, which implies that outsiders evaluate Korea as exclusive and unwelcoming.
The most recent poll interestingly shows that countries, including Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia, and the Philippines, that local tourists frequent rated Seoul much lower than the fast growing BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, China).
Violence at golf courses, sex tours and obnoxious visitor behavior may be some of the obvious reasons of why Malaysia, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Philippines don't favor the Korean government.
``Just because the Southeast Asian countries look up to the Korean economy's progress doesn't mean they will accept our inappropriate behavior,'' said Kim Jae-shin, director-general of the Asian Affairs Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. ``If visitors and residents overseas do not act elegantly, we might face trouble in the future.''
Some of the countries that measure both Korean products and Korea as good are India, China, France, Brazil and Italy, and those that rate the country higher than its products are the U.S., Canada, Germany and Vietnam.
Russia, the U.K., Thailand and Japan relatively favored Seoul, but downgraded the national products.
The results call for a more tailored image campaign for countries since each sees the country from a different perspective.
``If a particular country has a poor impression on the Korean government, then that's something to be worked on, while homegrown products should be promoted better for countries that rate the industry lower,'' said the KOTRA official.