Over 80% of foreigners have positive image of S. Korea
So with many foreigners visiting Korea in recent years... what are their perception of the country.... and what could be the first thing that pop up in their heads when they think of Korea?
Here's our Won Jung-hwan with some answers to those questions.
More than eight out of 10 foreigners have a positive national image of South Korea.
According to a survey released by the government on Tuesday,… 80-point-3 percent of online foreign respondents evaluated South Korea's national image positively.
Foreigners gave the country better grades than local respondents, as only slightly over half of South Koreans surveyed had a positive image of their own country.
As for the factors that have a positive effect on South Korea's image,… more than 35 percent cited contemporary culture such as K-pop as the main factor,… followed by the economy.
"Korea's national image seems to have become prominent due to not only the recent spread of K-pop around the globe,… but also economic development such as the growth of Korean-made smartphones and TVs."
Last year's PyeongChang Winter Olympics and the Inter-Korean summit also seem to be significant factors that have led to Korea's positive image among foreigners.
And for the image that best represents the country,… Korean cuisine or 'hansik' came much higher than other images such as K-pop, K-culture and K-beauty.
Hansik has drawn worldwide attention in recent years thanks to awareness of its health benefits and an increase in Korean cooking TV shows.
By country, more than 90 percent of respondents from Southeast Asia assessed South Korea's image positively, but for Japanese respondents, that figure was a mere 20 percent.
Won Jung-hwan Arirang News.
Here's our Won Jung-hwan with some answers to those questions.
More than eight out of 10 foreigners have a positive national image of South Korea.
According to a survey released by the government on Tuesday,… 80-point-3 percent of online foreign respondents evaluated South Korea's national image positively.
Foreigners gave the country better grades than local respondents, as only slightly over half of South Koreans surveyed had a positive image of their own country.
As for the factors that have a positive effect on South Korea's image,… more than 35 percent cited contemporary culture such as K-pop as the main factor,… followed by the economy.
"Korea's national image seems to have become prominent due to not only the recent spread of K-pop around the globe,… but also economic development such as the growth of Korean-made smartphones and TVs."
Last year's PyeongChang Winter Olympics and the Inter-Korean summit also seem to be significant factors that have led to Korea's positive image among foreigners.
And for the image that best represents the country,… Korean cuisine or 'hansik' came much higher than other images such as K-pop, K-culture and K-beauty.
Hansik has drawn worldwide attention in recent years thanks to awareness of its health benefits and an increase in Korean cooking TV shows.
By country, more than 90 percent of respondents from Southeast Asia assessed South Korea's image positively, but for Japanese respondents, that figure was a mere 20 percent.
Won Jung-hwan Arirang News.