- Información del país
Fuente:
IMF – World Economic Outlook Database, 2015
Nota: (e)
Datos estimados
Los
principales sectores económicos de Corea del Sur son el textil, la industria
del acero, la industria automotriz, la construcción naval y la electrónica.
Un
importante dato a considerar es el siguiente:
El ranking
de innovación de Bloomberg califica el estado de la investigación y el uso de
tecnología avanzada
Corea del Sur
obtuvo el mayor puntaje del mundo en incorporación de valor agregado, así como
en eficiencia terciaria, una
medición que comprende la matriculación
en estudios terciarios y la concentración
de graduados en ciencias e ingeniería. Si bien el puesto 39 del país en
productividad podría considerarse mediocre, el país ocupó el segundo lugar en
investigación y desarrollo, densidad de tecnología de avanzada y actividad en
patentes, además de obtener el sexto
puesto en concentración de investigadores.
- Información de la feria
Seoul
Food & Hotel es una importante feria en Corea del Sur referente al mercado
de alimentos y hotelería. Se exhiben productos agrícolas, marinos y
acuicultura, carne, lácteos, aceites vegetales, ingredientes y aditivos de
alimentos, panadería y pastelería, vinos, alcoholes y bebidas, café/té,
orgánicos, entre otros.
Para el
presente año 2016 esta feria se llevará a cabo del 10 al 13 de mayo.
- Información del consumidor en el país destino
Consumer
Lifestyles in South Korea - Euromonitor
Consumer Lifestyles | 02 Sep 2015
TOP FIVE CONSUMER TRENDS
Youth unemployment is hampering
the overall economy
Youth unemployment is at record levels – 10.2% as
of April 2015 – making it difficult for young people to buy a car or a home of
their own, and it is also affecting pensioners. Overall, unemployment is at
3.8%. Youth unemployment is disproportionately high because although the
economy created jobs, most of them went to employees in their 50s which, the
Korea Times US reports, probably means the jobs were low-quality. (Most people
retire in their 50s then find low-wage jobs to supplement their income.) Many
young adults who graduate from university and find jobs start their career
without much security, by working in temporary positions with contracts of one
year or less. Statistics Korea found that 34.8% of new workers would lose their
jobs at the end of their contracts, or continue the job as a temporary worker.
Just over 11% of workers in these conditions become regular employees,
according to the OECD. When coupled with the extraordinary amounts of time and
money Koreans sink into education, the grim job prospects become even worse.
Because of the low likelihood of landing a job,
young people increasingly do not expect to buy or rent a family-sized home. The
jeonse rental scheme mandates that renters make substantial down payments on
larger property, which is an unattainable sum for low-income earners. Not being
able to afford such down payments, many rent small accommodation by the month,
take on roommates, or live with family. Most people do not commit to such
renting or to home-buying until their 30s, though an increasing number of young
people are doubtful of their ability to afford such homes. Low employment rates
are also hindering automobile purchases amongst everyday young people. That the
country has a sophisticated public transport system – buses, trains, and
subways – could also be contributing. The number of car buyers in their 20s
fell 1.7% from 2013 to 2014, according to Yonhap News. Most car buyers are
beyond their 30s, and are people with stable jobs and families who are reliant
on a vehicle.
The national pension scheme is also in jeopardy
owing to youth unemployment, as society ages faster and people live longer.
There are fewer young people working to pay into national pension and
healthcare plans, and increasingly more people who are dependent on them.
Nearly 51% of those over 50 depend on family members and the government for
their basic expenses and needs. As the national pension plan is relatively new
(established 1988) not every retiree is eligible, because they did not pay into
the scheme. A report from Quartz suggests that there will not be sufficient tax
revenue to fund the pension scheme in the future, owing to low youth employment
and increasingly high demands for pension payments.
More reasons to buy online
Consumers are buying more and more products from
Internet retailers, both internationally and domestically. Owing to the 2015
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) scare, consumers placed more online
orders from local grocers, particularly hypermarkets; they also spent more
money per grocery order. In 2014, consumers also purchased nearly twice as many
goods directly from foreign online retailers as they did in 2013. Webpages
accounted for 48% of Internet purchases, leaving 52% for purchases made on
mobile devices – almost exclusively smartphones. Convenience and safety
concerns encouraged consumers to buy their home necessities online, while they
bought items such as clothing, household electronics and toys online both for
better prices and selection, but also for the customer service they received
from retailers such as Amazon.com.
During the MERS scare, shoppers at hypermarket Home
Plus ordered 48% more groceries online in early June 2015 than they did at the
same time in 2014. The number of online orders also increased by 37.5% over the
same period. E-Mart, another hypermarket, saw a similar increase. Online
grocery ordering is also becoming more desirable independent of reaction to
health concerns.
Consumers are most concerned with the reviews and
opinions of other consumers when buying high price items and other items online
(and in person). Whereas consumers had been “showrooming” purchases in the past
– inspecting items at a store before hunting for cheaper prices online – an
increasing number of buyers are taking part in a new trend: “malling”. Similar
to showrooming, malling involves meeting friends and family at a shopping mall
to discuss fashion trends and exchange ideas before buying online. The concept
started with younger people, although older generations also enjoy it.
As consumers are increasingly mobile, the number of
people who choose to buy via their smartphones is growing. The market for
imported luxury and consumer goods is dominated by a few local corporations,
and they are rumoured to overcharge for the same goods that consumers can get
online from foreign companies. Imported goods are also 20%-30% more expensive
from local retailers due to import tariffs which local retailers pass on to consumers.
The Korea JoongAng Daily also reported that domestic retailers are more
concerned with making a sale than with keeping customers happy; foreign online
retail outlets, according to one shopper, are more likely to correct mistakes
than are their domestic counterparts.
Goods from international retailers also function as
social capital amongst consumers, who are always looking to have the latest and
most fashionable goods, from clothing trends to mobile phones and televisions.
Since the economy is in a slump, and since consumers are more likely to
comparison shop and seek out deals on the goods they want instead of not
buying, foreign online retailers are becoming more popular.
Low-income Late-Lifers spend most
of their money on healthcare
Late-Lifers living in poverty are an increasingly
large population segment, and they spend the lion’s share of their income on
healthcare and related expenses. Many retirees are not adequately prepared for
retirement, as they spent much of their working life supporting their families,
and paying for tuition and mortgages. Those unable to save for retirement rely
on a meagre government pension (around KRW300,000 monthly), national health
insurance, and their children for help with expenses; more than half (51%) say
they need KRW1 million per month to live comfortably. Those in the bottom 70%
of income earners are also entitled to a payment called the basic pension, a
new benefit that provides between KRW100,000 and KRW200,000 monthly. Basic
pension recipients spend their monthly payment on food (40.2%), housing (29.9%)
or medical expenses (26.5%), although as income level drops, retirees spend
less of their income on food and housing and more of it on covering their
medical expenses.
Reporting the results of a government survey, the
Hankyoreh stated that low-income retirees said the most positive impact of the
basic pension was that seeing a doctor was less of a financial burden. In order
to realize the basic pension’s full benefits, a professor of preventative
medicine is calling for the expansion of the national healthcare scheme to
cover more of Late-Lifers’ medical expenses. Doing so would allow low-income
people to spend their basic pension payments and other benefits on housing,
food, and other things that increase their quality of life.
As older people live longer and younger people have
trouble finding work, the Confucian tradition of younger generations taking
care of older ones is fading. A professor who researches poverty told National
Public Radio that it is unrealistic in the current economic climate to expect
children to totally care for their retired parents. "If government helped
the younger generation to support their parents, probably the situation can
improve”, the professor said. As close to half of Late-Lifers live in relative
poverty, a report from the Hyundai Research Institute advocates the creation of
a “silver economy”, one centred on providing services for Late-Lifers.
As of 2014, Late-Lifers accounted for 35.5% of the
country’s medical expenses, despite being only 12% of the population; that
figure could rise to 45.6%, according to one lawmaker. In addition to the
ageing population, nursing homes – which are a relatively new arrival to the
country – are becoming more popular. From 2009 to 2012, the number of people
who died in nursing homes increased by 60% (36,052 in total). Of everyone who
passed away in 2013, 68.5% were in a nursing home, hospital or other
institution. The death of a family member used to be an event expressly
belonging in the home although that is changing, according to the Korea
JoongAng Daily. South Korea has more nursing homes than any other OECD country.
Income inequality rising
The widening chasm between rich and poor is a
primary factor behind many consumer trends. A group of professors profiled in
the Hankyoreh found that top income earners, the 0.01% of South Korea’s
population, earned 167 times the average income. This disparity is causing the
middle class to shrink, it is increasing the likelihood that a person will
become impoverished (and remain so), and it is leading to an increase in the
mortality rate. Income inequality’s influence can be felt in the market for
automobiles, in which young people with precarious employment cannot afford a
car, but BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes are passé amongst the wealthiest consumers
(who are instead importing Bentleys and Maseratis). The same trend emerges when
consumers shop for clothing as cheaper, trendier clothing is popular with
everyday Teens, but high-end luxury baby clothing is booming.
Social polarisation is a key issue resulting from
South Korea’s income inequality. One sociologist found that the middle class
tends to shrink as people age. Amongst people in their 40s who were in the
middle class in 2001, only 67.2% were still there by 2011. Of people in their
50s who were in the middle class in 2001, only 26.8% were still there by 2011;
70.7% of people in their 60s had unstable employment and income. Precarious
income and employment are one-half of their “double crisis”, the other being
that their children are also struggling to support them financially, as has
long been the custom. Only 12.7% of people in their 30s are in the key middle
class.
Long-term and recurrent poverty is also a major
social issue. An economist found that people who made less than the minimum
cost of living tended to stay poor for longer periods of time: 63.2% lived in
poverty for 5 years and 31.7% did so for ten years, compared to 6.2% who stayed
poor for one year, 12.5% for two years, and 9.8% for three years. The economist
found that recurrent poverty was most pronounced amongst Late-Lifers. Across
all populations, 44% of impoverished people were able to escape poverty, while
only 24.1% of people aged 65 or over improved their situation. Of them, 18.3%
fell back into poverty – more than double the average across all ages (7.3%).
The economist also found that “education as a means of upward mobility [...] no
longer works in South Korean society”, according to the Hankyoreh.
Income inequality is also behind the widening
mortality rate. A professor of public health found that men in Middle Youth
with a middle school education or less had a mortality rate 8.4 times higher
than men who graduate from university, as of 2011; that rate is an improvement
over the mortality rate of 9.6 in 2005. The mortality rate for women in the two
groups more than doubled between 1995 and 2010, from 3.2 to 8.0. “Health
inequalities occur when normally invisible social inequalities in the areas of
income, education, and employment become visible in the body”, he told the
Hankyoreh.
Media consumption is increasingly
mobile
People of all ages spend 2 hours 21 minutes per day
consuming media, according to Statistics Korea. Of that time, 1 hour 55 minutes
are spent online. As virtually everyone, from Tweenagers to Middle-Agers, and
even many Late-Lifers, is connected to the Internet and using a smartphone, the
amount of media being consumed via mobile devices is increasing. Students and
young professionals spend between 1 hour 8 minutes and 1 hour 34 minutes
commuting each, and using smartphones is a popular way to pass the time; they
also tend to be more mobile in general. The mobile lifestyle paired with a love
of visual media has given rise to both webtoons and web dramas.
Webtoons are comic strips for the mobile age and
are increasingly attracting viewers in Middle Youth as well as women. They have
long been popular with younger men, but the success of the webtoon Misaeng,
which was adapted into a television drama, has garnered the genre more
attention. The two largest Internet portals host over 4,400 webtoons, which are
designed to be scrolled- and swiped-through by readers on their mobile devices.
Many webtoons are free to access and are supported by adverts, but some fans
elect to pay for premium access to their favourite toons.
Mobile media consumers are also viewing web dramas,
the most popular of which have reported millions of views. Young people, who
watch less television and spend more time using the Internet on their mobile
devices, fuel these. Because of that, and because younger viewers tend to be
more open-minded with their viewing choices, some producers expect that web
dramas will soon be mainstream. Traditionally, Korean drama producers launch
their programmes on television following big-budget production and marketing
campaigns. Amid the success of lower-budget web dramas, big production
companies are creating content especially for web drama viewers, who can access
web dramas through apps.
In addition to changing the way in which viewers
watch the latest programmes, web dramas are also changing the way they are
produced. Making programmes for the (very) small screen is cheaper than
producing for television, and each episode is shorter and is a part of a longer
series. As the website Kpopstarz.com notes, web dramas are produced for an
audience that watches a video or two in the 10-minute intervals between classes
or during a 15-minute subway ride. Web drama creators are also less burdened by
making videos with universal appeal, freeing them to focus on niche content
that will appeal to specific audiences.
- Estadística de compra de comida y bebidas no alcohólicas en Corea del Sur
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