By Paul Stevens

I read Korea Times article on chief editorial writer Lee Chang-sup’s National branding is not a big thing on July 23rd. I 100 percent agree with the article. I am in the United States of America. There is a very big Korean-American population here. I also lived in Korea for two years. What I noticed about Korean culture is that Koreans are too tight knit. They are too much into their own groups. Koreans need to branch out or spread out instead of being so close together all the time.

Also, Korean immigrants need to learn how to localize their food when they sell their food.

Too many Korean immigrants open Japanese restaurants and dress up in Japanese clothes. People get tired of Japanese food and want to try something new.

Korean food is still unknown. Korean food can be popular.

To Western people, the best cuisine to introduce Korean food would be Korean Barbecue such as galbi, bulgogi and samgyeoosal. If Korean food became popular, it would raise Korea's brand a lot. If Korean food became popular, it would also help Korea's economy more because many people will buy Korean food.

The food industry is big business and Koreans do not use it. If Thai and Vietnamese food can be popular, so can Korean food. Koreans do not use their biggest asset to make Korea well known.

I wish the Korean government would work harder on marketing Korean food all over the world. Koreans waste their energy on useless stuff like their relationships with neighboring countries.

More education and energy should be spent on making Korea better. For example, Hyundai cars are very HIGH in quality. In the new Hollywood movie, ``Inception’’, Leonardo DiCaprio is driving a Hyundai Genesis.?

Samsung, LG, Pantech, Hyundai IT, Daewoo Electronics, Kumho, Hankook, and Kia are all doing great and are very well known all over the world. Why not make Korean food popular?

Korean food companies will make more money, create more jobs and develop Korea's economy even more.

Koreans should also work on making their country as clean as possible. Littering is still a big problem in Korea. I hope my perspectives give new insights on how to brand Korea.