How the Korean Fashion Industry is Viewed by WWD USA

Abstract

Although we know that images of a country or an industry are influential factors in product evaluation, there has been little discussion about the channels through which consumers form a country or an industry image. Guided by the assumption that the image of the Korean fashion industry conveyed through U.S. media will likely affect the evaluation of Korean fashion products, we decided to examine articles published between January 1998 and June 2008 in Women's Wear Daily(WWD), a prestigious U.S. daily trade newspaper covering all aspects of the national and international fashion business. By using the keyword "Korean", we found 329 relevant articles. Through content analysis, we identified the aspects of the Korean fashion industry that have been considered salient to U.S. fashion media professionals. We set up categories based on the contents of the articles that discussed segments of the supply chain of the fashion industry. We found more comments on the Korean fashion industry as fiber and fabrics supplier or apparel manufacturer than in any other categories, which reflects that South Korea has been traditionally one of the most attractive sourcing countries for the U.S. fashion business. We identified significantly less coverage on the designing, branding, marketing, and retailing aspects of the Korean fashion industry. Due to economic boom in Korea, the country's fashion industry is recognized as having a highly fashion-conscious market that can afford the world's premium brands. However, the industry is viewed as being rather vulnerable to changes in the macro economic environment.