TechnoKimchi

I predicted back in February that Apple will soar in Korea while Google will not in 2010. If you read various reports, I was pretty right on the nail. Literally, Apple is still soaring while Google is not. Now a question: then, which global brands do well in Korea and which ones don't?

Louis Vuitton. BMW. Apple. Chanel. Starbucks. Nike. In Korea, they are wanted.

Google. Walmart. Colgate. Sorry, no room for you, Mr. global giants.

What's the difference? Why do some global brands do so well while others simply miserably fail? I just came across an article last week that Google barely claimed 2.5% search market share in Korea, happily surpassing Yahoo! Korea for the first time (Yahoo! Korea marked 2.4% market share) Walmart went out of business. The majority of people in Korea don't even know what brand "Colgate" is.

While this might be completely oversimplified, here's my answer to the question: the ones in the first group make you look g-o-o-d. When you wear them or consume their products/services, you feel g-o-o-d. You feel even upgraded. Especially, to other people.

In Korean culture, which gives lots of weight and value to interdependence as well as harmony with others, your relationships matter more than anything. Most of the time, people just wanna look good to others. It's not just outer appearance I'm talking about, but also your "social status." You want to look good only if you can actually look "BETTER" than others. It's rather difficult to find Korean native brands in this industry sector where Korean brands do tremendously well. Korean brands, somehow, can't exert as much "class" power to Korean consumers. Many Korean brands in these industries even try to hide that they're Korean companies.

What about Google, Walmart and Colgate? Replace them with Naver, Emart, and Perio. What's the difference? These are brands for your everyday life and actually living it. Now, Korean people have our our own ways of living life; food, apartments, cars, streets, grocery shopping experience, etc. After all, this is a country with 5000 years of history. It's pretty darn difficult for global brands to penetrate into the more "real" lifestyles of Korean people because their global edges can't be precisely customized just to fit Korean consumers' tastes. When it's about living life, people want something that's "just about right."

Now, the dichotomy on global brands brings up an interesting question to the tech world: How will Android phones fare in Korea? We all know how Apple has swept through the Korean smartphone market and has generated some wild wakeup calls across in the entire industry. Now, with Google mightily struggling, does Android have any chance at all?

Possibly yes because Samsung and SKT are behind. It was KT that launched iPhone in Korea; ever since then, SKT has formed a strategic alliance with Samsung (both no.1 in Korea) to start an Android-based smartphone war in Korea. Samsung has already come out with Galaxy A and is coming out wit Galaxy S soon.

A new chapter in history? We'll see. Samsung is one of the best localized brands in Korea while Google is not. How would the hybrid work? I don't know.

Actually, I'm open to discussion here. What do you guys think?

It was KT, the no.2 mobile carrier in Korea, that launched iPhone 2 months ago. Obviously, SKT needed counterpart smartphones of its own and decided to launch 15 Android phones in 2010 alone. The Asia-adapted model of Motorola's Droid, named MOTOROI, was the first Android phone introduced in Korea. Today, Samsung finally made an announcement about Korea's second Android phone.

Samsung had already launched 2 Android phones in the U.S last year: Galaxy and Behold 2. In the new model, Samsung completely localized the product for Korean consumers. What message do I get out of this? Samsung IS indeed very serious about the smartphone market. Samsung wants the smartphone phenomenon to happen in Korea.

Samsung's Omnia sold more than iPhone in January. Hey, does that mean Samsung easily beat Apple? Not so quick. According to an article published by Donga Daily, iPhone is far more popular than Omnia among smartphone users (link in Korean), but Samsung exerted more "local player" power on the retail side. The article even goes on to say Samsung knows such a move is nothing more than a bandaid. Samsung very much needs to start producing better smartphones.

Either way, I'm happy. As I keep saying, the Korean digital market has been dark, if not dead, for years. Now the wind of change is blowing strong and more competitions and even "confusion" are being spotted across the field. All the better for us consumers :)

Korea's two heavyweight mobile champions, Samsung and LG, will (have to) learn a lot this year, competing against Apple. It ain't just about technology no longer. It's about design, culture, ecosystem, and most importantly people.

The magical, but most obvious formula: Technology empowers and enables. Culture gives comfort. Design moves the hearts.