Authenticity in traditional culture marketing: consumers’ perceptions of Korean traditional culture

In an age of globalization, culture, and especially traditional culture, has received increased attention because it can produce authentic value for a nation and can be useful for corporations. The marketing literature is undergoing a period of major reassessment in terms of the projection of traditional culture to global consumers as a consumable good. Adopting an indepth interview method, this study investigates global consumers’ perceptions of traditional culture, focusing particularly on authenticity. This study also provides implications for positioning and globalizing traditional culture, including artifact culture (lifestyle culture) and mentifact culture (cultural values). In this paper, Korean traditional culture is examined by considering the recent diffusion of Korean culture worldwide. This article contributes to the marketing literature through its novel study of traditional culture and focus on authenticity; it may also enrich the tourism literature. The results of this study contribute to understanding consumers’ perceptions of traditional culture, including effective factors, and to identifying the marketing implications of positioning and globalizing traditional culture.

Authenticity in traditional culture marketing: consumers’ perceptions

of Korean traditional culture

传统文化营销的真实性：消费者对韩国传统文化的感知 Eunju Ko*, Seulgi Lee and Haesung Whang Department of Clothing & Textiles, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea (Received 21 February 2013; final version received 8 March 2013)

In an age of globalization, culture, and especially traditional culture, has received increased attention because it can produce authentic value for a nation and can be useful for corporations The marketing literature is undergoing a period of major reassessment

in terms of the projection of traditional culture to global consumers as a consumable good Adopting an in-depth interview method, this study investigates global consumers’ perceptions of traditional culture, focusing particularly on authenticity This study also provides implications for positioning and globalizing traditional culture, including artifact culture (lifestyle culture) and mentifact culture (cultural values) In this paper, Korean traditional culture is examined by considering the recent diffusion of Korean culture worldwide This article contributes to the marketing literature through its novel study of traditional culture and focus on authenticity; it may also enrich the tourism literature The results of this study contribute to understanding consumers’ perceptions

of traditional culture, including effective factors, and to identifying the marketing implications of positioning and globalizing traditional culture

and mentifact; global marketing

全球范围内，传统文化不再是国家传承下来的简单的民间风俗，而是在增强国家竞争力和企业 竞争优势方面也起着重要作用。特别是最近韩国流行文化的传播—韩流，增加了韩国文化的全

球意识和兴趣，并创建了传统文化的额外需求内容。

因此，本研究主要目标是：1 调查全球消费者对韩国全通文化的真实感觉；2 为韩国传统 文化中的手工艺文化提供了市场定位和全球化的现实意义。第一项研究对有形传统文化进行 了分析，包括韩服、韩食、韩屋。第二项研究则针对无形的传统文化，综合多方面的文献总结 出了三个无形的韩国传统文化价值，包括和谐、象征主义哲学和乡情。

此研究中采用深入访谈的方法，使用图片刺激的方式，更好的理解参与者对韩国传统生活

方式和文化价值的感知。最初的数据来自10位时尚营销专业的研究生。韩国传统的生活方式

中，图像根据真实性、价格被分为四个维度，检查每个维度的元素构成，并且进一步掌握全球 化定位的洞察力。参与者主要在韩国居住，年龄在20至30岁之间，通过滚雪球技术选取。访谈

全程录音，然后分析。

本研究主要发现如下：首先，第一项研究引出了真实性的五个标准，“独特性和创意”、“文化

和历史完整性”、“手工艺”、“美学”、“使用功能”。然后，真实性的不同属性。 第二项研究根据 消费者感知的文献，确定了文化价值（例如：“和谐”、“象征主义哲学”和“乡情”）。此外，针对全

球传统文化的战略，我们需考虑真实性、实用性和亲密性。

本研究提供了传统文化市场的实证结果，有助于更好的了解全球消费者对韩国传统文化的 感知。此研究结果还为韩国传统文化营销战略的制定和全球消费者细分，提供了宝贵的信息。

q 2013 Korean Scholars of Marketing Science

*Corresponding author Email: ejko@yonsei.ac.kr

Vol 4, No 2, 93–111, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20932685.2013.793513

调查。此外，定量研究对跨文化进行了调查，为传统文化的全球定位提供市场洞察力。

关键词：传统文化营销; 真实性; 消费者感知; 生活方式和文化价值; 全球营销

1 Introduction

The advent of a highly globalized world has led to active exchanges in the political, economic, and cultural sectors (Ko & Jo, 2002) The business environment has evolved into an intensified international competition with no boundaries between countries (Mower, Pederson, & Jai, 2013) This transformation has increased the importance of local culture, which can create a competitive edge based on distinctive cultural authenticity in the global market Local culture can add value to businesses through cultural content, which has a significant ripple effect on increasing national awareness and improving the national image (Ko & Lee, 2011; Rowan & Baram, 2004; Stewart-Allen, 2002; Urde, Greyser, & Balmer, 2007)

South Korea has long been identified as a country that has witnessed stunning economic growth but has insufficient cultural power (CIA, 2011) However, with the recent boom in Korean pop culture, or “Hallyu” (韓流) – exemplified by Psy’s Gangnam Style – Korean culture in general is now receiving worldwide attention This recent diffusion of Korean culture has led to the creation of additional opportunities, as well as

a greater demand for traditional culture According to Korea’s National Statistical Office, Korea now receives 10 million tourists a year, a number that is substantially influenced

by Hallyu (Korea National Tourist Organization, 2012, p 11) Governmental bodies have also attempted to promote the national Korean culture The “Han brand” (Han style) is a representative project seeking to promote and globalize Korean traditional culture

In light of this trend, academic studies on traditional culture have received increasing attention Previous studies of traditional culture have focused on examining values from a folkloristic perspective, developing designs with traditional motifs, or identifying the general implications of globalizing traditional culture However, few studies have examined traditional culture in relation to the marketing literature Moreover, few studies have attempted to understand consumers’ perceptions, which can provide basic guidelines for establishing marketing and positioning strategies

This study has the following aims: first, to investigate global consumers’ perceptions

of traditional Korean culture, focusing especially on authenticity; second, to provide implications stemming from the positioning and globalizing of traditional Korean culture, including artifact culture (lifestyle culture) and mentifact culture (cultural values)

2 Conceptual background

2.1 Global culture marketing

2.1.1 Culture marketing

Cultural theorists have generally considered the word “culture” to have a “poly-vocal sense” (Edgar & Sedgwick, 1999, 1 – 2) In general, culture can be defined as a total way of life – a total entity including knowledge, belief, technology, morality, law, custom, tools, and other elements related to ability and customs learned from society (Ahn, Shim, & Lee, 2006; Raymond, 1958; Tylor, 1871) UNESCO-UIS (2005) suggests a definition of

“culture” as a set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features of a society or a social group

From a marketing perspective, the term “culture” is often regarded as a cultural product itself (Ahn et al., 2008; Han, 2008; Lee et al., 2008) The concept of culture marketing can be divided into two categories: “culture for marketing” (marketing through culture) and “culture of marketing” (marketing for culture) “Culture for marketing” (marketing through culture) is mostly used by corporations that utilize culture as a means

of marketing to improve the image of a brand, corporation, or product ‘Culture of marketing” (marketing for culture) focuses on applying marketing practices to cultural content and considers culture a commodity (Han, 2008; Kim, 2010; Lee, 2006; Park, 2010; Sung, 2006) Diverse cultural content exists, and the “culture of marketing” involves museums (Kotler, Kotler, & Kotler, 2008; Mottner & Ford, 2005; Rentschler, 1998), place marketing (Kotler & Gertner, 2002; Page & Hardyman, 1996), the food service industry (Lee & Kim, 2008, 2009), and the tourism industry (Appiah-Adu, Fyall, & Singh, 2000; Pritchard & Morgan, 2001)

2.1.2 Traditional culture marketing

This paper focuses on the latter concept of culture marketing, particularly marketing for traditional culture In marketing discourse, the term “traditional culture” has not been standardized, and its use in various academic fields has become increasingly complex The word “tradition” is defined as a ritual, belief, or object that is passed down within a society and is maintained in the present, with origins in the past (Green, 1997) In this paper, the term “traditional culture” is defined as distinctive cultural characteristics, such as spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features passed down within a society to the present day, including the historical origins of the past Further, traditional culture focuses especially on traditional lifestyle culture, including such aspects as clothing, food, and housing These elements are the fundamental basis of human life, which builds upon matters such as the natural environment, national policy, social institutions, historical experience, philosophy, and individual taste In other words, lifestyle culture can indicate the distinctiveness of specific ethnic groups or countries The production of clothing, food, and housing is influenced by various social customs of the natural environment (Bae, 2007)

Traditional culture marketing involves a series of activities to commodify traditional cultural resources, create value, communicate, and promote products effectively to consumers (Lin et al., 2007; Shin, Cassidy, & Moore, 2011) Cultural products include both tangible and intangible products that are produced in combination with the cultural and economic utility values of a nation or a society (Ahmad, 2006) People who seek authenticity attempt to experience artifacts (i.e., clothing, food, or housing) and mentifacts (i.e., art, beliefs, and values) Therefore, it is crucial to include both artifacts and mentifacts when researching traditional culture marketing

Successful marketing of traditional culture rehabilitates cultural roots (Rowan & Baram, 2004) whose authenticity cannot be imitated (Urde et al., 2007) Accordingly, the marketing of traditional culture involves the traits of non-exclusivity and non-rivalry (Hutter, 1996) Accordingly, marketing practice of traditional culture can render incredible possibilities for cultural industry agencies who are interested in carving market niches (Gupta & Miller, 2010) In addition, traditional culture marketing has high network externality; despite increased use of a product, the product’s value and life cycle increase (D’Auria, 2001) Furthermore, due to a high window effect, an original form of a cultural

product can produce a variety of high-value products to create economic effects such as activation of the tourism industry (Ko, Chun, & Lee, 2011)

Previous work in this field has focused on the study of souvenir purchase behaviors

in cultural tourism (Anderson & Littrell, 1995; Gordon, 1986; Kim & Littrell, 2001; Turner & Reisinger, 2001), the development of cultural design, products, and content by reinterpreting traditional culture (Caffyn & Lutz, 1999; Park & Park, 2012; Shin et al., 2011; Thompson, 2004), analysis of the characteristics of cultural products (Littrell

et al., 1993; Shin et al., 2011), and the definition of concepts and value based on traditional culture (Kim, 2011; Ko et al., 2011) Few studies, however, have examined consumer behavior in relation to traditional cultural products Therefore, this study aims

to explore consumers’ perceptions of traditional culture, focusing particularly on authenticity

2.2 Consumers’ perceptions of authenticity

The initial debate over the concept of authenticity has evolved to include the tourism literature One of the generally accepted definitions considers authenticity a grounded concept in which modern tourists seek to escape from their daily lives, which may have little meaning, to a simpler life that involves rich meaning (MacCannell, 1976) Authenticity, which can be defined as feelings of specialness and self-conceptual distinctiveness, can be obtained through the acquisition of authentic products (Spooner, 1986) Any object created for a traditional purpose and by a traditional art that conforms to traditional forms can generally be considered an authentic product (Cornet, 1975) Such a product is expected to provide elements of uniqueness in consumers’ lives Littrell et al (1993) identified five major characteristics of an authentic product: uniqueness and originality, workmanship, cultural and historic integrity, aesthetics, and function and use

Authenticity is closely related to the concept of cultural commodification (Cole, 2007) Cultural heritage, as an interpretation of traditional culture passed down over time, is open

to appropriation (Waitt, 2000) The process of commodification may reduce authenticity but may not necessarily destroy the meaning of the cultural product (Cohen, 1988) From this perspective, authenticity is socially negotiated and is constructed according to different clienteles and their perspectives (Cohen, 1988) Hence, the concept of authenticity can be used to provide criteria for the evaluation of cultural products, defined

by modern consumers as observers (Cohen, 1988) According to Burgess (1989), people differ in respect of the elements that they consider necessary to authenticate a cultural product, and their ability to discriminate between elements varies according to their tourist-related motivations and experience, exposure to mediating information forms, and socio-demographic traits (e.g., age, gender, education, and locality) Hence, to effectively globalize traditional culture, modern consumers’ standards for authenticity should be explored from the perspective of consumers, including local residents as well as tourists Commoditization is the process of evaluating goods and services primarily in terms of their exchange value in the context of trade, in which the exchange value is stated in terms

of prices formed in a market (Cohen, 1988) This study adopts two criteria for analyzing consumers’ perceptions of authenticity (high/low) and price (high/low) The four dimensions involved in these criteria are modern high-end (MH), modern low-end (ML), traditional high-end (TH), and traditional low-end (TL; see Figure 1) By using the consumer perception matrix, this study aims to understand the characteristics involved in consumers’ perceptions of traditional cultural products and to determine whether

consumers’ evaluations differ in accordance with the level of authenticity and the exchange value

2.3 Korean traditional culture

2.3.1 Artifact culture: lifestyle culture (clothing, food, and housing)

This study examines Korean traditional culture, including both artifact (material) and mentifact (symbolic) culture The terms artifact and mentifact were coined by Huxley (1955) to describe how cultural traits take on a life of their own; they span generations and can be understood as objects in themselves In terms of artifact culture, this study considers traditional lifestyle cultures, including clothing, food, and housing Lifestyle cultures correspond to the traditional Korean concepts of “Hanbok,” “Hansik,” and

“Hanok” (see Figure 2) Conceptualizing traditional culture is troublesome because it

TH

TL ML

MH (Modern High-end)

(Modern Low-end)

(Traditional High-end)

(Traditional Low-end)

Low (modern)

High (traditional)

AUTHENTICITY

1 Traditional clothing

(Hanbok)

2 Traditional food

(Hansik)

3 Traditional housing

(Hanok)

author

changes over time; therefore, the definition and the scope of traditional culture differ in different historical periods With this in mind, in this research, the definition of each category was constructed from multilateral literature reviews

Hanbok is defined as traditional Korean clothing in which is embedded social customs, philosophy, technology, and activities The basic form of men’s wear consists of an upper garment (Jeo-go-ri) and pants Only people of higher classes wear a vest (Ma-go-ja) on top The basic form of women’s clothing is a combination of an upper garment (Jeo-go-ri) and a skirt Rich people wear a vest or outer coat called a Durumagi In addition to everyday wear, there is also ceremonial clothing, which differs by occasion and social status Other than wedding garments, most ceremonial clothing belongs to the aristocratic class The color and detailed decorations differ by status (www.han-style.com) Unlike men’s style, the design of women’s upper garments has tended to be oriented toward trends For instance, the length of the clothing has differed during different periods Korean traditional food, Hansik, generally refers to food that uses traditional ingredients and is made with traditional methods (Ministry of Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 2008) Because Korea is surrounded by oceans and mountains, various recipes have been developed using the abundant seafood, meat, and vegetables available Moreover, because Korea has four distinct seasons, fermented food has often been used Hansik consists of both main and side dishes, and Hansik seasonings and spices are used delicately and applied similarly overall (www.han-style.com)

Finally, Hanok involves a structure or an attached building in the traditional Korean style, with pillars and beams made from timber and a Korean form of roof truss that is finished with natural materials, such as rice straw, soil, and wood (Building Act Enforcement Decree Article 2 – 16, http://www.law.go.kr/lsInfoP.do?lsiSeq=136099#

floor heating system), “Ma-ru” (flooring), and kitchen (Jeon, 2006) Further, the structure

of Hanok differs according to social class, geographical position, and environmental attributes Because natural substances obtained locally are utilized, the design differs regionally Tile-roofed houses have traditionally only been available to the upper classes (www.han-style.com)

2.3.2 Mentifactculture: value of traditional culture

Mentifact, also referred to as “psychofact,” involves the symbolic traits of a culture, such

as beliefs, values, and ideas Multilateral literature reviews have been conducted on ideological theories such as yin-yang and the five elements, shamanism, and Feng Shui theory (Kalton, 1979; Robinson, 1986); religious backgrounds such as Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Han-ism (Hyun, 2001; Kim, 2000); and the aesthetic perspectives

of Korean traditional culture (Kim, 1990; 1994; Ko, 1941; Muneyoshi, 1996) Three values of Korean traditional culture have been identified: “harmony,” “intrinsic semantics” (symbolism), and “Heung” (Ko et al., 2011)

The value “harmony” reflects the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature

as well as the harmonious coexistence of different entities In terms of naturalism, the eco-friendly features of Korean traditional culture have developed from an emphasis on harmony with nature, which was particularly influenced by ancient shamanism and Feng Shui theory (Shim, 2006) Historically, the creation myths of the nation involve harmony between the sky, the earth, living creatures, and parents and children These myths represent co-existence rather than fusion, as two very different entities become one, but continue to exist as two distinctive originals (Hwang, 2002)

Second, symbolism refers to the abundant symbolism in Korean traditional culture that provides inherent meaning to physical objects or phenomena Symbolism involves the spiritual values of Korean shamanism as well as yin-yang and the five elements theory (Choi & Kim, 1993) For example, specific colors are considered to have meaning and have been believed to be helpful for specific organs Spiritual values primarily signify an emphasis on current life, longevity, wealth, or health rather than life after death, which emerges from the guidance of Confucianism (Pyo, 2004) This characteristic considers the vitality and energy with which an object is infused

Finally, “Heung” is a Korean word referring to the indigenous sentiment of Korea, which is depicted as having dynamic, versatile, and entertaining features Similar to the origin of the ancient Greek word “Choreia,” which is a circle dance accompanied by singing (Shin, 2010), the concept of Heung represents the optimistic and dynamic side of Korean traditional culture Heung is closely linked with the concept of “Pungryu,” which

is the lifestyle or attitudinal behavior of Koreans who attempt to sublimate a situation by taking pleasure in nature and the arts (Hong, 2006) It also relates to “Haehak,” which is difficult to define but refers to a healthy way of expressing the resentment that emerges from suppressing unhappiness with a situation through humor (Hwang, 2001)

3 Methods

In-depth interviews were adopted as the main methodology in this study The in-depth interview method has the advantage of collecting direct responses from participants and freely transformable data (Lee, 2004) The interviews were presented in a semi-structured form with an interview guide method As naı¨ve subjective personal introspection can be vulnerable to weak validity of explanations for one’s attitudes and behaviors (Do & Lee, 2013), the interviews included reflexive interviewing techniques, such as restating the interviewees’ comments and summarizing to ensure comprehen-siveness (Athos & Gabarro, 1978; Roger & Farson, 1984) A snowball technique was used to identify 24 interviewees between the ages of 20 and 30 (see Table 1) Interviews were conducted between 10 October 2012 and 18 January 2013 Each interview lasted between one hour and 90 minutes The orders of the sub-sectors of artifact culture (i.e., clothing, food, and housing) and mentifact culture (i.e., harmony, symbolism, and Heung) were counterbalanced to eliminate the influence of extraneous variables due to the order of the interview With the participants’ permission, the interviews were audio-taped, transcribed, and used for analysis The data were first transcribed by recording the exact expressions of the respondent, and then coded with keywords using line-by-line analysis Finally, the analyzed content was categorized by specific concepts to construct prominent themes

This study employed image stimuli to better understand the links between consumers’ mental structures (thoughts, feelings, knowledge) in relation to the object of inquiry The image stimuli were collected by the researchers prior to the interview, first to limit the scope and ambiguity of the subject and second to ensure that the images matched the four dimensions based on authenticity and price positioning (i.e., modern high-end, modern low-end, traditional high-end, and traditional low-end) The procedure and standards for collecting the image stimuli are shown in Figure 3 The standards were developed based on definitions taken from official governmental documents and other academic literature Because awareness is one of the most important factors in consumers’ perceptions (Swarbrooke, 1996), an individual must be properly aware of a subject to interpret and perceive its meaning (Bockstein, Bennett, & Uken 1991; Solomon, Bamossy,

& Askegaard, 1999) Therefore, we chose non-Korean respondents who were staying in Korea for more than just brief travel purposes

4 Results

This paper aims to address two main objectives Study 1 concentrates on consumers’ perceptions of artifact culture in terms of traditional lifestyle culture (i.e., clothing, food, and housing), whereas Study 2 focuses on perceptions of mentifact culture

4.1 Study 1: Consumers’ perceptions of artifact culture

4.1.1 Perceived authenticity of artifact culture

Based on the in-depth interviews, attributes of authenticity were categorized into five aspects: uniqueness and originality, workmanship, cultural and historic integrity, aesthetics, and function and use This approach supports Littrell et al.’s (1993) study, which identified the components of authenticity in cultural tourism “Uniqueness and originality” is related

to the rarity and “one-of-a-kindness” held by an artifact “Workmanship” refers to the craftsmanship or handmade quality of products “Cultural and historic integrity” illustrates the cultural/historic ties that a product represents “Aesthetics” signifies aesthetic appeal in design, color, shape, and style Finally, “function and use” indicates a product’s practicality and accessibility in relation to individuals’ daily lives

Of these five attributes, cultural and historic integrity was perceived to be most important in all three lifestyle culture dimensions In contrast, workmanship was found to

Korean traditional

artifact culture

Korean traditional

mentifact culture

be less important in terms of authenticity Uniqueness and originality were mentioned most frequently by non-Korean respondents, who acknowledged their won culture in comparison to the Korean culture Non-Korean respondents mentioned how easily items could be found in their home country, which influenced their perception of the authenticity

of the products The finding that non-Koreans give greater importance to uniqueness and originality than do locals indicates a low level of experience with traditional culture and an increased emphasis on uniqueness (Littrell et al., 1993) That is, non-Koreans, who have relatively lower knowledge and experience of Korean traditional culture, are more likely

to sense difference and uniqueness (Pearce & Moscardo, 1985)

In terms of differences among the lifestyle culture categories, some attributes were emphasized more than others In the case of Hanbok, due to the traits of the clothing itself, interviewees frequently recognized the attribute of aesthetics In this category, elements

such as shape, drape, color, design, pattern, silhouette, or color tone were frequently noted Hansik elicited “cultural and historic integrity” and “uniqueness and originality” more often than the other categories The perception of “cultural and historic integrity” indicates that most participants knew what traditional Korean food was; local respondents identified the elements that were traditionally Korean, whereas the non-Koreans identified the elements that were not traditionally Korean For Hanok, the feature of “function and use” was most frequently considered because modern housing facilitates more advanced technology, such as electricity and advanced home appliances, resulting in the perception that old residences are inconvenient

4.1.2 Consumers’ preferences according to the perception matrix

Respondents’ personal preferences for Korean traditional culture were analyzed on the perception matrix (authenticity x price positioning) Overall, the high-end sector showed higher preferences: high authenticity (traditional) x high-end sector was favored more than low authenticity (modern) x high-end dimensions The analyses of consumers’ preference based on more detailed authenticity attributes and artifact culture categories are schematized in Figure 4 First of all, a different orientation in authenticity criteria is induced for each different perception dimension Generally, preferences in high-authenticity (traditional) dimensions are related to the perception of “cultural and historic integrity” and “uniqueness and originality,” whereas the low authenticity (modern) dimension is more relevant to perceptions of “aesthetics” and “function and use.” Respondents’ personal preferences varied with traditional culture category In the case

of clothing, respondents preferred the high-end sector, while differences appeared between Koreans and non-Koreans in relation to authenticity level This difference involves a discriminant perception of authenticity: that is, the high tendency of Koreans to prefer high-end “traditional” clothing involves a perception of “cultural and historic integrity.” Korean respondents evaluated artifacts based on their knowledge of their representation of