Korean Consumer Goods Appealing to Young Generation in China... Online is the Key to Success

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Chinese consumers show higher favorability toward Korean Wave and Korean products among women rather than men, and among younger age groups, suggesting that Korean companies should target the Chinese market with this in mind.

The Shanghai branch of the Korea International Trade Association conducted a survey in August targeting 1,000 consumers from 10 major Chinese cities to investigate changes in consumption trends and perceptions of the Korean Wave and Korean products. On the 21st, they released the report titled "Post-COVID-19 Chinese Consumer Trend Survey."

According to the report, more than half of Chinese consumers (54.7%) responded that they have a "good image of Korea," with women (57.8%) showing higher favorability than men (51.6%).

Furthermore, younger age groups were found to have a more positive image of Korea. Across both genders, the proportion of respondents who answered that their image of Korea was "good" or "very good" was 59.9% for those in their 20s, 58.1% for those in their 30s, 55.0% for those in their 40s, and 44.3% for those in their 50s.

In response to the question, "What Korean Wave cultural content have you experienced in the past two years?" watching "dramas" was 100% across all ages and genders, overwhelmingly surpassing variety shows (44%), songs (32.6%), and movies (29.5%). Overall, younger age groups showed higher usage rates of Korean Wave content.

Among consumers who have purchased Korean products, 78.7% of respondents had such experience, with women (82.8%) again higher than men (74.6%). Particularly, women in their 20s (89.6%) and 30s (90.2%) showed very high purchase experience. By product category, food (64.5%), beauty products (60.1%), and clothing (46.0%) were the most purchased, with online purchases accounting for 44.1%. The report stated, "This figure is slightly below the average online shopping usage rate of Chinese consumers (50.8%), indicating that our companies need to challenge the online market more aggressively."

Meanwhile, 50.9% of respondents had experience traveling to Korea, with the highest proportion among those in their 40s (58.8%), who have more economic and time flexibility. Only 31.7% of respondents plan to travel to Korea after the COVID-19 situation resolves, suggesting that even after the pandemic ends, the tourism industry may not recover immediately.

Shim Jun-seok, head of the Shanghai branch of the Korea International Trade Association, said, "The most sensitive consumer group for Korean products in the Chinese consumer goods market is women in their 20s." He added, "Moreover, the biggest competitors to Korean products are not European or Japanese products but Chinese products, which have high quality and sophisticated designs. The market should be targeted mainly at Chinese women in their 20s."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.