Nguyen Quang Hao
International
Markets
Bureau
MARKET ANALYSIS REPORT | MAY 2011
Source: Shutterstock
Source: Shutterstock
The South Korean Consumer
Behaviour, Attitudes and
Perceptions Toward
Food Products
The South Korean Consumer
Behaviour, Attitudes and Perceptions Toward Food Products
OVERVIEW
The lifestyle of today‘s sophisticated South Korean consumer blends both traditional and contemporary elements. Traditionally,
South Korean consumers were homogeneous in nature, however they now appear to be rapidly embracing international influences, particularly with respect to food. Higher levels of education, travel abroad, international tourists, and technology, have all helped to broaden horizons and open the door to new and innovative products. In fact, Zagat has noted this expanding diversity by adding South Korea to its list of surveys and remarking on the diverse range of popular cuisines available in Seoul, in addition to its traditional Korean cuisine. South Korea is only the third Asian country to be covered by Zagat, after Japan and China (see sidebar ―Zagat‖, page 17).
The Republic of Korea, more commonly referred to as South
Korea, is divided into nine provinces, of which Jeju Province is a special autonomous region. The other provinces are: South
Chungcheong, North Chungcheong, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, South
Jeolla, North Jeolla, South Gyeongsang and North Gyeongsang. In addition to the nine provinces are major administrative districts consisting of a special city – Seoul – and six metropolises: Busan,
Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon and Ulsan (Statistics Korea
2010).
Population demographics are expected to have an impact on the nature of food consumption in the coming years. One-person households are expected to represent one in every five households by 2015. As well, South Korea‘s population is aging rapidly.
Coupled with increased life expectancies, seniors are expected to account for over 20% of the population by 2026
Markets
Bureau
MARKET ANALYSIS REPORT | MAY 2011
Source: Shutterstock
Source: Shutterstock
The South Korean Consumer
Behaviour, Attitudes and
Perceptions Toward
Food Products
The South Korean Consumer
Behaviour, Attitudes and Perceptions Toward Food Products
OVERVIEW
The lifestyle of today‘s sophisticated South Korean consumer blends both traditional and contemporary elements. Traditionally,
South Korean consumers were homogeneous in nature, however they now appear to be rapidly embracing international influences, particularly with respect to food. Higher levels of education, travel abroad, international tourists, and technology, have all helped to broaden horizons and open the door to new and innovative products. In fact, Zagat has noted this expanding diversity by adding South Korea to its list of surveys and remarking on the diverse range of popular cuisines available in Seoul, in addition to its traditional Korean cuisine. South Korea is only the third Asian country to be covered by Zagat, after Japan and China (see sidebar ―Zagat‖, page 17).
The Republic of Korea, more commonly referred to as South
Korea, is divided into nine provinces, of which Jeju Province is a special autonomous region. The other provinces are: South
Chungcheong, North Chungcheong, Gyeonggi, Gangwon, South
Jeolla, North Jeolla, South Gyeongsang and North Gyeongsang. In addition to the nine provinces are major administrative districts consisting of a special city – Seoul – and six metropolises: Busan,
Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju, Daejeon and Ulsan (Statistics Korea
2010).
Population demographics are expected to have an impact on the nature of food consumption in the coming years. One-person households are expected to represent one in every five households by 2015. As well, South Korea‘s population is aging rapidly.
Coupled with increased life expectancies, seniors are expected to account for over 20% of the population by 2026
References: On February 25, 2010, the eyes of the world were trained on Vancouver‘s Pacific Coliseum as Yu-Na Kim captured South Korea‘s first ever Olympic figure skating title (AFP, February 25, 2010) short ribs and pot stew made with kimchi (Kim, Tae-gyu, 2010) PAGE 13 In its Global Consumer Trends: Comfort survey, Datamonitor (September 2009) also found (Datamonitor, September 2009). somewhat trustworthy, lower than the overall global average of 24% (Datamonitor, September 2009). and consumers can access this information through a state-run website (Abey, 2010)