DEVELOPING AN INTERNATIONAL MARKETING PLAN FOR BAMBOO FURNITURE PRODUCTS TO ENTER THE KOREAN MARKET

- The market share of bamboo products is not high - The cost has not been optimized, the price is still high - Marketing channel is not working effectively Opportunity - The business fi

THE FINANCIAL

UNIVERSITY OF FINANCE & MARKETING

DEVELOPING AN INTERNATIONAL MARKETING PLAN FOR BAMBOO FURNITURE PRODUCTS TO

ENTER THE KOREAN MARKET

Majors: Marketing Specialized: Marketing Management

Class: CLC_20DMA09 Course code: 2221702031209

Instrutor: Master Đặng Huỳnh Phương

Student Implementation:

Ho Chi Minh city, 2022

TEACHER’S COMMENTS

Student Implementation:

(This part is for teachers to directly guide and comment on students)

MAJORS MARKETING

MASTER ĐẶNG HUỲNH PHƯƠNG

Executive Summary

Research the furniture market, especially bamboo furniture This is one of the consumption trends in the coming time, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, especially Korea, a potential market That's why my team decided to do in-depth Korean market research to come up with a marketing plan After having data for research, the next step is to learn about issues such as culture, economy, society, etc of the land of kimchi Then identify the target customers and devise the most reasonable marketing mix strategies possible to ensure the achievement of the set goals

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: COMPANY OVERVIEW 1

1.1 C OMPANY INTRODUCTION 1

1.2 V ISION & M ISSION 1

1.3 C OMPANY C ULTURE 1

1.4 C OMPANY R ESOURCE 2

1.5 SWOT OF C OMPANY 3

CHAPTER 2: COUNTRY SELECTIVE 5

2.1 R EASONS WHY CHOOSE S OUTH K OREA 5

2.2 R ESEARCH ON WOODEN FURNITURE MARKET IN K OREA 6

2.3 O VERVIEW OF THE DEVELOPMENT HISTORY OF S OUTH K OREA 7

2.4 N ATIONAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT 8

2.4.1 P EOPLE 8

2.4.2 G OVERNMENT 10

2.4.3 G EOGRAPHY OF S OUTH K OREA 14

2.4.4 E CONOMY 15

2.4.5 M ARKET POTENTIAL AND SCALE 18

2.4.6 M EDIA & T ECHNOLOGY 19

2.5 I NDUSTRY COMPETITORS 20

2.5.1 M ARKET SHARE OF FURNITURE BUSINESSES IN S OUTH K OREA 20

2.5.2 D IRECT COMPETITOR 21

2.5.3 I NDIRECT COMPETITORS 22

2.6 P OTENTIAL OF NEW BUSINESSES ENTERING THE INDUSTRY 22

2.7 S UPPLIER STRENGTH 22

2.8 C USTOMER STRENGTH 23

2.9 R ISKS AND THREATS FROM SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS 23

CHAPTER 3: ENTRY MODE SELECTION 24

CHAPTER 4: TARGET MARKET 26

4.1 S EGMENTATION 26

4.2 T ARGETING 27

4.3 P OSITIONING 27

CHAPTER 5: EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT ISSUES 29

5.1 P OLITICAL RISK 29

5.2 D IFFERENCE IN CULTURE 29

5.3 E XCHANGE RISK 29

5.4 L EGAL AND TAX ISSUES 30

CHAPTER 6: MARKETING STRAGETY 31

6.1 P RODUCT 31

6.2 P RICING 34

6.3 D ISTRIBUTION 36

6.4 M ARKETING C OMMUNICATION 39

6.4.1 A DVERTISING 39

LIST OF TABLE AND FIGURE

Picture 1.1: Logo of Asian Craft 1

Picture 2.1: Furniture Revenuew in Korea from 2017 to 2025 6

Picture 2.2: Market size forecast 7

Picture 2.3: Korea's development 8

Picture 2.4: Korean family 8

Picture 2.5: Korean house design 9

Picture 2.6: Korean meal 9

Picture 2.7: Korean wall-street 10

Picture 2.8: OECD Ministerial Conference 13

Picture 2.9: The FDI incentives offered by the South Korean Government 13

Picture 2.10: Korea map in the world 14

Picture 2.11: Korean phone usage rate based on population 19

Picture 2.12: Most-used social media platforms in Korea 20

Picture 2.13: Furniture Market share in Korea 20

Picture 4.1 Positioning Map 28

Picture 5.1: Furniture distributor in korea 37

Table 2.1: Value of exports and imports by continent, country block and some major markets in 5 months of 2022 and compared to 5 months of 2021 5

CHAPTER 1: COMPANY OVERVIEW

1.1 Company introduction

Full name: Asian Craft Co.,LTD

Established: 11/04/2013 in Hanoi

Asian Craft is an enterprise specializing in

manufacturing, trading, and exporting

high-class handicrafts from Cao Lanh Stone,

Buffalo Horn, Fine Art Snails, and Sculpture

Products Exporting products to China and

ASEAN countries

Picture 1.1: Logo of Asian Craft

1.2 Vision & Mission

Guided by its pioneering aspirations as well as a sustainable Manufacture - Exporter - Development strategy, Asian Craft has been striving to become Vietnam’s and the regions’s leading Handicraft exporter business group, which aims to become a Group of international stature and standards.Asian Craft's aspires to establish its Vietnamese brand, demonstrating Vietnamese intellectual prominence and pride in the international arena

With the Mission:

- For the market: To provide premium products and services of international

standards that are original, highly creative and embedded with local identities In addition to its outstanding quality, each product - service contains a cultural message with a view to best cater for customers’ legitimate needs

- For employees: To develop a professional, dynamic, creative and humane working

environment, enabling high income and equal development opportunities for all employees

- For society: To harmonize the company’s and society’s benefits; to make active

contributions to community-oriented activities, and to demonstrate citizens’ sense

of responsibilities and national pride

Asian Craft's continously improves all services to respond to the credibility and expectation

of customer as well as to build prestige in the market

1.3 Company Culture

Their handicraft products are not only ordinary daily life items but also artistic works representing the culture of the nation Aslan Craft has reached the pinnacle of quality,

variety of types, sophistication in each pattern, and sophistication in each product to satisfy every choice of customers They work on the credibility and trust of our customers.

1.4 Company Resource

Financial sources: Property (year)

- Cash and cash equivalents: 16 billion VND

- Short-term receivables: VND 113 billion

- Inventory: 79 billion VND

- Other short-term assets: VND 20 billion

- Fixed assets: 38 billion VND

- Investment real estate: 51 billion VND

- Long-term financial investment: 35 billion VND

Human resources: a team of experienced and skillful artisans is selected from

traditional craft villages in Vietnam, combined with professional design experts, taking people as the central factor in their activities construction and development

Research and development

With the gideline: Customer's smile is our happiness Our company is constantly

improving techniques, production processes, and service to aim at the best product quality for customers in order to maximize work efficiency and bring great value to customers client

Their handicraft products are not only ordinary daily life items but also works of art representing the culture of the nation

Asian Craft has reached the pinnacle of quality: The variety of types, the sophistication

in each pattern, the subtlety in each product to satisfy every choice of customers We work

on the credibility and trust of our customers

Production process of products from bamboo knitting

• Step 1: Choose bamboo and rattan materials

Choose the best bamboo of Quang Phu - Quang Dien - Thua Thien Hue rattan and bamboo craft village, which is not young, not old, grows straight and has high hardness

To get the desired work, the artist must first understand the material he will make The best type of bamboo must be the one that is not young, not old, straight growing, with high hardness As for rattan, it is necessary to choose a type of sufficient size, about 5m long, straight, round, and free from pests Trees that are too old or too young are not good

• Step 2: Prepare ingredients

For bamboo materials: Bamboo is cut down and then dried again It is then treated with

anti-termite treatment There are two common ways to fight termites: it is put in the XM5 chemical bath - an easy-to-use and very safe forest product preservative for users, or it is soaked in water according to the traditional manual method

For rattan materials: Rattan has a lot of sharp thorns around, so the preliminary processing

of rattan needs to be very careful The outer thorny shell will be peeled off, revealing the white rattan flesh inside After that, rattan is also dried slightly, to move to the initial processing stage

• Step 3: Material handling

For bamboo materials: Bamboo is shaved, polished with sandpaper, then put in the oven,

using straw or bamboo leaves to smoke, which has the effect of creating color, helping to dry the material, and helping to prevent warping After smelting, the bamboo will have a western brown or dark brown color When the bamboo is cooled, it will be bent straight

For rattan materials: Rattan is dried quite carefully, both to dry the material and to get the

color When drying, if there is too much smoke or too little smoke, the clouds will turn red

As for the drying process, if it rains, the rattan fiber loses its beauty, if it is exposed to the sun, the rattan fiber loses its freshness If the cloud is not dry enough, the skin will be dull,

if the cloud is too dry, it will lose its soft shine Therefore, the process of drying rattan requires a lot of effort from craftsmen

• Step 4: Split yarn

To be able to weave rattan and bamboo, it needs to be split and spun The size and length

of the yarn will depend on the specific type of product Usually, the large yarn will be used

to knit the product, and the small yarn will be used to make more elaborate products The rattan splitting needs to be very attentive because rattan fibers often have uneven nodes, so when splitting, it must be very skillful and skillful so that the rattan fibers are even

The quality and aesthetics of rattan-bamboo fibers are one of the leading factors determining the value of traditional bamboo and rattan products

• Step 5: Construction and manufacturing of products

After the knitting is complete, the product will be dipped in glue, painted in color, glossed over the surface, and trimmed to perfection

The materials, after being processed, will be knitted and shaped by the talented and skillful hands of artisans in the village to become beautiful and attractive products

- Experienced in exporting because the company's existing products have been exported to China and ASEAN markets

- Diversified product portfolio

Weakness

- The product design stage is still limited because before the design is traditional, making items that have been used in the past based on experience, but have not yet approached or absorbed the requirements of the market world school

- The market share of bamboo products is not high

- The cost has not been optimized, the price is still high

- Marketing channel is not working effectively

Opportunity

- The business field is being expanded, there are many opportunities for

development and success in the future, especially the Korean market

- Strong growth in furniture market

- The government always encourages businesses to develop, especially products with national culture

- There are few competitors for this bamboo and rattan product

Challenge

- Meet the rules of origin and origin procedures as well as labor and environmental commitments are quite complicated

- Exchange rate risk due to selling products abroad

- Shipping costs tend to increase

- Strong competition in Korean handicraft industry

CHAPTER 2: COUNTRY SELECTIVE

2.1 Reasons why choose South Korea

Table 2.1: Value of exports and imports by continent, country block and some major markets in 5 months of 2022 and compared to 5 months of 2021

(Source: General Department of Customs)

According to the General Department of Customs, it can be seen that most countries in Asia that have large import-export activities with Vietnam such as China, ASEAN, Korea, etc., import more than they export Equilibrium occurs only in Japan In contrast to Western regions like the US or EU, we export more than we import Therefore, to be able to

balance between export and import deficit (not being assessed In short, it can be said that Korea is the perfect country for the new company to enter In addition to important trade agreements signed with Vietnam, according to a report from the Immigration Department (Korea Immigration Service) under the Korean Ministry of Justice on February 17, Vietnam

has a number of foreigners standing 2 in Korea with more than 200,000 people

2.2 Research on wooden furniture market in Korea

According to a study from Statista, the Furniture segment revenue is expected to reach 9.66 billion USD in 2022 Revenue is expected to grow at an annual rate (CAGR 2022-2025) was 4.94%, resulting in an expected market volume of US$11.16 billion by 2025 The average revenue per user (ARPU) is projected up to 617.90 US dollars Especially the living room and kitchen area

Picture 2.1: Furniture Revenuew in Korea from 2017 to 2025

Detailed market intelligence report of the Global Bamboo Furniture Market applying the best of each primary and secondary analysis to consider the competitive landscape and also the prominent players in the expected market will dominate the global bamboo furniture market for the forecast 2019– 2025

The global bamboo furniture market is valued at USD 10376.60 million in 2018 and is expected to reach USD 14895.45 million by 2025 at a CAGR of 5.30% during the forecast period Bamboo is popular for its ability to improve air quality The size of the global bamboo furniture market has been appreciated in the last few years and its value is expected

to increase in the coming years Bamboo has made a great comeback with the modern design of flooring, wallpaper and furniture, even expanding into modern bathroom accessories These materials are gaining high traction in the commercial and residential sectors because of their light weight and durability and this makes it easier to move it around Some of the popular types of furniture used are bamboo planks, laminates as well

as strips Bamboo stools currently hold the largest share of the market according to recent reports and this is due to the application of this product for both indoor and outdoor

purposes Commercial buildings such as cafes, bars and outdoor restaurants increasingly prefer bamboo stools to create a contemporary look Due to increased demand, there has been increased investment in product innovation as well as R&D All these factors are driving the overall growth of the global bamboo furniture market

Picture 2.2: Market size forecast

Asia Pacific has taken the largest share of the global bamboo furniture market recently and

it is also expected to grow at a better rate Especially Korea, due to its culture and relatively few major competitors, this will be a potential market

2.3 Overview of the development history of South Korea

“The land of Kim Chi” always surprises foreign tourists with its unique culture and art In this country, there are traditional arts that not everyone knows Among them, there is a long-developed art form called Pottery

Korean history of the Goryeo - Goryeo period (918 - 1392)

In 918, Emperor Wang Gun founded the kingdom of Goryo and took Song-ak (present-day Gaesong) as the capital The Goryo dynasty continued to follow the Buddhist trend Buddhism, the dominant religion at that time in Korea, increased the demand for celadon (cheongja) glazed porcelain, which made cheongja glaze grow very quickly, with more organic shapes and decorations , such as animal and bird motifs

History of Korea during the Joseon period (1392-1910)

Grandfather Lee Seong Gye was the founder of the Joseon dynasty, based on Confucian thought Therefore, during this period many great people of Joseon And also during this time, items such as wardrobes, chests, shelves, large and small tables, bookcases, cupboards

and items for daily living appeared stronger Joseon society only focused on academia, so trade and production were overlooked, stagnant and unable to keep up with the changing world

Republic of Korea (1945 – present)

Because the US occupied the southern half and the Soviet Union controlled the north, after being liberated in 1945, the Korean peninsula was divided into two South and North In

1948, the Government of the Republic of Korea was established, the only legal government recognized by the international community, taking Seoul as the capital of Korea

Currently, Korea still preserves the old traditional beauty through the organization of exhibitions on handicrafts

Picture 2.3: Korea's development

2.4 National business environment

2.4.1 People

2.4.1.1 Culture

Eastern culture

Picture 2.4: Korean family

South Korean culture is always oriental, family life is respected and protected Humans live

very closely and have a close relationship with nature Their houses are built to "access"

to nature as much as possible, such as: Houses are built in open space; The main building

material is wood; Furniture uses limited plastic materials, instead they will use wood, bamboo, knitting, cork, According to VIETTRADE's research, out of 3,018 respondents, 37.6% said they often buy all kinds of environmentally friendly products Among the types

of stores, hypermarkets are where South Korean consumers often go to buy eco-friendly products

Picture 2.5: Korean house design

South Korean food culture

Food culture makes up the typical culture of South Korea South Koreans often sit on the floor to eat and on the South Korean table there are many dishes and are very eye-catching

Because of this habit, almost every family has a seat cushion made from bamboo and some other products in the house such as pot lining, table mats are also made from bamboo according to a cultural lifestyle close to nature

Picture 2.6: Korean meal

2.4.1.2 Religion

In South Korea, religions from Shamanism to Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Islam all exist and live peacefully According to the 2015 census, 44% of the South Korean population is religious

Among them, Buddhism and Confucianism are the two roots of South Korean thought, more than half of South Korea's monuments and cultural heritage are related to Buddhism

or Confucianism

Just like in Vietnam, most temples and pagodas in South Korea use wood and bamboo as the main building materials and daily items Therefore, it affects 44% of the religious population here

Picture 2.7: Korean wall-street

Since then, people's demand for products made of bamboo and wood with multi-functions has increased in order to save space and be used longer

2.4.2 Government

2.4.2.1 State apparatus

Structure of local government

Capital cities and provinces under the central government.

Currently, South Korea has 6 capital cities and 1 city is the capital Seoul The standard of the capital city is that the population must reach 1 million or more, have a strongly developed industry and service industry Particularly for the capital, Seoul is a special capital city, the capital of South Korea,

placed directly under the direction of the

Prime Minister

Autonomous counties, counties

and cities

Currently, Korea has 69 autonomous

districts, including 25 districts under the

capital city Seoul and 44 districts in other

capital cities

Thanks to the autonomous system of

counties, counties and cities, each place

has different development characteristics,

creating a niche market for new businesses

to easily enter and capture small market

shares there

About organizational apparatus and operating mechanism

The National Assembly of the Republic

of Korea is the unicameral national legislature of South Korea representing the opinion of the people All the laws of the country are made by the National Assembly

The National Assembly consists of 253 patrons in local constituencies and 47 patrons through proportional representation The latter is meant as a means to bring people with specific expertise into the guild

The Council of State, commonly known

as the "Cabinet meeting", will review important policies that fall under the power of the Executive

2.4.2.2 Domestic relations

Government supervision

South Korea adopted a system of local self-government in June 1995 The head of local government and local council members are elected by direct popular vote for a four-year term

South Korea strives to promote friendly relations and cooperation with other countries As

of June 2020, South Korea maintains diplomatic relations with a total of 191 countries South Korea is committed to carrying out active activities as a member of diverse

international organizations such as UNESCO, IMF, APEC, IAEA, ILO, WHO South Korea became a member of the United Nations in 1991 and joined the OECD in 1996 It has also engaged in various activities as a member of the IOC since 1947

Picture 2.8: OECD Ministerial Conference

International cooperation

South Korea makes every effort in the field of international cooperation to match its enhanced economic strength The country participates in programs designed to provide assistance to poor countries through the World Bank, IMF and OECD

Picture 2.9: The FDI incentives offered by the South Korean Government

Most of the FDI incentives offered by the South Korean Government are provided through:

- Tax support (corporate and income tax relief, acquisition tax and property tax relief,

excluding customs duties)

- Cash allowance (land purchase cost, land rental cost, employment/ education/

training allowance)

- Industrial location support (location support, price difference allowance, rental

discount subsidy)

- Privileged domain Industrial support services, high-tech industry business, R&D

services, manufacturing, travel services, welfare facilities, etc Exclusive geographical area An industrial complex located near a port or airport, creating favorable conditions for businesses to participate in foreign and international trade

in the airport area, distribution complex or station goods, etc

2.4.3 Geography of South Korea

Picture 2.10: Korea map in the world

(Source GobalEDGE , https://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/south-korea/statistics)

Geographical location

The Republic of Korea is located in East Asia, on the southern half of the Korean peninsula, east of Asia The only country with a land border with South Korea is North Korea South Korea is mainly surrounded by sea and has 2,413 kilometers of coastline along three seas There are 70% of South Korea's territory is mountainous, the rest is plain, accounting for only 30%

Having three sides bordering the sea gives Korea a great opportunity to grow in seafood and marine economy favorable for trade exchange by sea streets Many rivers and streams

as well as many large and small islands are the huge tourism potential of the land of kimchi, famous and talked about by the whole world, possibly Jeju Island

2.4.4 Economy

People often refer to Korea's economic miracle as the "Legend of the Han River", which continues to this day South Korea's economy is the 5th largest in Asia after China, Japan, India, and Indonesia and ranks 14th in the world with GDP (PPP) in 2021 reaching 2.503 trillion USD In 2017 Korea was ranked 4th out of 190 countries according to the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business Index

Key economic sectors

Digital electronics industry; Information and telecommunications industry; Semiconductor industry; Automotive industry; Steel industry; Shipbuilding industry; Textile industry; Raw material spare parts industry

Exports (Billion USD) 552,3 729,94 660,51 606,71 512,498

Main export partners

(2019) China 25%, USA 14%, Vietnam 9%, Hong Kong 6%, Japan 5%Main products (Export)

(2019)

Integrated circuits, automobiles and vehicle parts, refined

petroleum, ships, office machinery

Import (Billion USD) 448,4 649,23 607,54 540,96 467,633

Main import partners

(2019)

China 22%, USA 12%, Japan 9%, Germany (4,8%), Saudi Arabic

(4,5%)

Main products (Import)

(2019) Crude oil, integrated circuits, natural gas, refined petroleum, coal

Gini Index - family income

Budget revenue and

expenditure (Billion USD)

Income:

357,1

Income:

428,7 Outcome:

ECONOMIC RELATIONSHIP WITH VIETNAM

South Korea continues to consider Vietnam as an important leading partner in Southeast Asia, an additional destination for the Chinese market, which has been saturated due to Vietnam's socio-political stability production costs are still relatively low, labor force and natural resources are abundant, a stable supply network has been established for the operation of enterprises, taking advantage of the market

The Vietnam-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KVFTA) that came into force at the end of

2015 plays an important role in strengthening and further expanding bilateral trade and investment relations, and at the same time enhancing improving the effectiveness of the legal framework and implementing trade policies, improving the process of economic restructuring, especially the business environment and competitiveness of the two economies of Vietnam and Korea

Currently, South Korea is the leading economic partner of Vietnam as it is the largest FDI investor in Vietnam with the accumulated investment capital by the end of February 2022 reaching more than 75 billion USD South Korea is also Vietnam's third largest trading partner after China and the United States In the opposite direction, Vietnam is the focus of South Korea's southward policy in the ASEAN region when the two countries' trade turnover accounts for more than 40% of the total trade turnover between Korea and ASEAN

According to the Ministry of

Industry and Trade, in the first two

months of 2022, bilateral trade

turnover continued to grow

strongly when the total import and

export turnover of Vietnam and

South Korea reached 13.8 billion

USD, up 19.03% compared to the

previous year with the same

period in 2021 In which,

Vietnam's export turnover to

South Korea reached 3.7 billion

USD, up 15.7% and imports from

Korea reached 10.1 billion USD,

up 20.3%

Important agreements signed

- Agreement on Technical and Economic Cooperation (February 1993) Investment Guarantee Agreement (May 1993)

- Agreement on Avoiding Double Taxation (May 1994) Cultural Agreement (August 1994)

- Tariff Cooperation Agreement (March 1995)

- Vietnam - Korea Free Trade Agreement VKFTA (May 2015)

2.4.5 Market potential and scale

The infrastructure

South Korean traffic is considered as a modern transportation system in the world's traffic systems with a variety of vehicles Korea's strength is its transportation system, especially road, air and sea traffic The quality of roads, bridges and tunnels here all ensure the best technical standards

Road Traffic

The road transport system of South Korea is divided into two main types: highways, national roads and many others According to statistics, the total length of roads in South Korea is approximately 60,000km

Especially in Korea, the 428 km long Seoul - Busan expressway helps bring people to all regions of the country in just one day, connecting the two economic centers of the country The route has opened up concentrated economic projects along the Seoul-Busan corridor, making Busan the busiest seaport and at the same time developing Seoul into the economic center of the country The route also makes a big contribution to Korea's export industry by cutting logistics costs and transportation time, thereby reducing production costs

Waterway

The waterway system of Korea includes 3 main types: ferries, piers and ports, and commercial shipping Each vehicle will have its own strengths This is the world's largest shipbuilding industry traffic road

With a favorable geographical position connecting the oceans and continents, Korea's arterial ports can anchor large tonnage import and export container ships and optimize efficiency of high-speed boat lanes The competitiveness of logistics infrastructure is measured by the capacity and speed of freight

In particular, the port of Busan in South Korea is ranked 5th in the world in terms of freight volume and is considered the main important shipping route connecting the world and providing the best logistics services to the main cities of Northeast Asia The port of Busan

is one of the largest cargo ports in the world and also the largest port in Korea, accounting for 66% of Korea's total import and export volume

Airline

There are 7 international airports in Korea Busan (Gimhae Airport), Cheongju, Daegu, Jeju, Muan, Seoul (Gimpo Airport and Incheon International Airport) The two main airlines in Korea are Korean Air and Asiana From Vietnam, it is easy to travel to Korea by either Korean Air or Vietnam Airlines

Incheon has maintained an average annual growth rate of 6% and has become the 2nd largest cargo airport and 8th largest passenger airport in the world

It is also quite easy to transport goods to Korea in the current era of integration These can

be mentioned as Bestlogistics' air freight service to Korea

2.4.6 Media & Technology

According to Hootsuite's statistics, Korea currently has nearly 40 million mobile phone subscribers out of a total of 49 million people, so the percentage of people using mobile phones is up to 78% More than 11 million South Koreans subscribe to 3G services, which allow telephony, movie and music downloads, and online games Besides mobile phones, Koreans use most other new technologies More than 92% of homes have computers and South Korea is the world leader in high-speed internet with more than 80% of homes connected

In which, 97% of Koreans are internet users, along with 45.79% of active social network users, accounting for 89.3% of the total population

Picture 2.11: Korean phone usage rate based on population

On average, Korean citizens spend 5 hours and 37 minutes on the internet every day, with

2 hours and 51 minutes watching videos (broadcast and online) and 1 hour and 8 minutes using social networks

In South Korea, online video consumption has long surpassed traditional TV channels, with more than half taking place on mobile devices The study also found that 20 times less video viewers may be more distracted from watching videos on their phones than on television, and are more inclined to look for product information after watching an ad videos on the phone

The Most Popular Social Networking Platforms in Korea

According to the Most-used Social Media Platforms ranking, Korea's most used social media platforms are Youtube, with 85.9%, followed by KakaoTalk (80.1%), Instagram (57.5%), and Facebook (57.5%) 55.4%

Picture 2.12: Most-used social media platforms in Korea

Source: Hootsuite

2.5 Industry competitors

2.5.1 Market share of furniture businesses in South Korea

Picture 2.13: Furniture Market share in Korea

According to a survey among South Korean consumers in February 2022, the most preferred brand of furniture was Acebed with a 14.9 percent response share Following were Hanssem and Swedish furniture brand IKEA, with 13.6 and 12.9 percent of respondents answering that way respectively