Media Usage in South Korea

Most view websites in 2006

Internet Usage

Resason for Internet Usage

Population by age 

Age (yrs)	3 - 9	10-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60 & above
% usage by age range	79.5%	99.8%	99.3%	96.5%	79.2%	46.5%	17.6%
No. Of users (mil)	3.15	6.62	7.28	8.09	6.6	2.66	1.19

Political Campaigning in South Korea

President Lee Myung-Bak of the Grand National Party (GNP) in 2007 publicily campaigning in Seoul, South Korea. This is type of public relations campaign strategy is also very popular in western countries like America and Australia.

(December 18, 2007 - Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images News)

South Korean Political Structure

The political public relations environment in South Korea it is important to understand their structure. Below I have supplied a brief overview of how their system is broken down.

South Korean Government is divided into three branches; the Executive branch, the Legislature branch and the Judiciary branch.

• Executive Branch; the head of the branch is the president, who at this time is President Lee Myng-Bak. South Korea has always had a presidential system, and each president serves for a single five-year term. The president is elected directly by the people. His roles include head of South Korean government, head of state and commander in chief of the South Korean armed forces.
• Legislature Branch; consists of 273 members at a national level all elected from single member constituencies. The legislature has the power to audit the budget, review administrative procedures, and overlook the passing of legislation and the power to approve state appointments.
• Judicial Branch; is headed by the constitutional court. There are 9 justices who are appointed by the president.

South Korean Business Culture Points:

To be able to successfully operate in the South Koren business environnment, PR practitioners must be fully aware and have a good understanding of South Korean key social concepts, business practices and cultural values. Failure to understand these fundamental points could lead to miscommunication when building relationships with your client. Furthermore, it could lead to the development of incorrect messages or the use of inappropriate mediums during PR campaigns.


Social Hierarchy


• Koreans still have a great respect for anyone senior in age, and naturally establish their hierarchical position comparative to others based on age. This structure should be taken into account when dealing with clients and/or designing strategies over how to best communicate with the public.
• South Korea has a societal classification system where men are generally more respected in the business world than woman and where married woman will generally receive more respect than single women. The Western female PR practitioner should be aware that as it is very rare for women professionals to hold senior roles, this may impact on an ability to effectively communicate with their male Korean business associates and/or clients.


Greetings


• As PR is all about building relationships the Australian PR practitioner should take care to respect Korean business norms of the offering and exchange of business cards. In Korean culture, businesspeople are only truly at ease when they have an understanding of the company and the position of the person they are dealing with.


Relationships


• Before doing business in South Korea you need to be aware that personal relationships generally take priority over business. A first meeting is a 'get to know' affair rather than an occasion for focusing on business matters. It could take several business trips/meetings in South Korea to arrive at an agreement or get the go-ahead on a PR concept or campaign.


Corporate Gift Giving


• A part of conducting PR in South Korea is the exchanging of gifts. It is done to secure favours and build relationships. Appropriate gifts for first business encounters are company items with your logo on them.


Key Social Concepts


- Kibun: The key cultural imperative to consider when conducting Public Relations activity in South Korea is their concept of Kibun. Kibun has no direct English translation however it has to do with a person’s pride, face, mood, feelings, or state of mind. This concept is highly respected by South Koreans and it is at the centre of their behaviour in both their personal and working lives. Australian PR practitioners should try to stay in a constant state of Kibun during business dealings and should avoid the strategy of negatively comparing other companies/people as part of a publicity campaign.
- Concept of ‘face’: Respect and pride are extremely important in every aspect of South Korean life. Respect is always given to steer clear from loss of face. PR practitioners should avoid confrontation or criticism of others as this is severely frowned upon.

South Korean's - Most Highly Connected in the World!

South Korea has the most DSL connection per head out of any country in the world!! Thanks to a government initiative, connecting South Koreans to the internet has been a huge success! On top of this, the speed at which the internet works is the fastest, and the cost of receiveing and using the internet the lowest. It is estimated that 80% of South Korean households have a computer and a whopping 98% of those households use it for the internet.


On top of internet usage, the figure for people in South Korea who own mobile phones is 98%! The main uses for mobile phones in the country are your standed calls and texts, but also a huge amount of TV watching, gameing, instant messaging, general internet browsing and social networking is going on. Contributing to this is the huge consumer electronics companies Samsung and LG which are South Korean in origin and who often roll out their products to test on the South Korean market first up! This means South Koreans are highly technologically literate, continually upgrade their devices and learn new mechanisms and their applications quickly.


A June 2011 IDC press release revealed a recent survey showed social networking and instant messaging emerged at the top of the list of things people do on their smart phones; and the research showed in the space of a year, internet usage on smart phones in South Korea had quadrupled.


This, working in conjunction with freedom of the press and less than rigorous government censorship, means South Koreans are getting national and international news and advertising, true and fair, from loads of providers. South Koreans are the most highly connected people in the world!


What does this mean for Public Relations in the country? You guessed it - connect via the internet! Media releases reaching online newspapers (such as The Chosun Ilbo, Dong-A Ilbo, Jung-Ang Ilbo, Kyunghyang Shinkmun, The Hankyoreh, Maeli Business Newspaper and Hanguk Business Newspaper), events and brands advertised online are likely to get a wide exposure to South Koreans surfing the net. Youtube, gaming sites, social media and instant messaging providers are also powerful targets.



Case Study: Using Social Media for PR.


The Australian government is showing attention to the power and popularity of social media (and how easy it is to access with these smart phones) by considering using Facebook as a medium to execute a campaign targeted at refugees considering seeking a place in Australia. The campaign will feature videos of real footage of what the typical refugee goes through from setting out of their home country on the boat, to reaching Australia and getting sent to a refugee camp (Mashman, A, 2011). If the campaign goes ahead, it is likely to be viral on Facebook and YouTube.

South Korea's Legal Structure - "For Dummies" Part 2

So after reading my last post you should have an understanding of how the South Korean legal system is structured and operates, but it may not make any sense as to how it can be applied to you. The following podcast I have made will hopefully make the legal structure relevant to you as an individual living and working in the Public Relations industry in South Korea.

South Korea's Legal Structure - "For Dummies"

Hello and welcome to our blog! I'd like to start by asking you to excuse my cliche title "For Dummies" but we all know judicial systems can be complicated to understand for those of us in our home countries let alone trying to understand a foreign system. By the end of this post you should have an understanding of how the South Korean legal system is structured and operates, hopefully you will find this useful as you begin to operate in the Public Relations industry.

Supreme Court

• Highest court in South Korea, located in the capital Seoul
• The President appoints the Chief of Justice
• There are 13 other justices that get appointed by the Chief of Justice and President
• Each justice is assigned 3 research judges who help them research their opinions
• The supreme court has appellate jurisdiction
• It is organised into three Petty Benches, each consisting of 4 justices, they hear the cases from the lower courts and reach a consensus. However a consensus is not always reached, this leads to the Grand Bench. 
• The Grand Bench is composed of more than two-thirds of the justices and overseen by the Chief, judgements are made based on majority rather than consensus
• The Grand Bench also hears cases where it is deemed that any order, rule, or regulation is in violation of the laws or the Constitution

Constitutional Court

• Independent and specialized court whose primarily role is the reviewing of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea
• It also has administrative law functions such as ruling on competence disputes between governmental entities, giving final decisions on impeachments, and making judgments on the dissolution of political parties
• 9 justices serve on the court, all are appointed by the President - Justices of the Constitutional Court are prohibited from joining political parties and engaging in political activities

High Court

• There are six High Courts that have appellate jurisdiction over cases decided by a trial panel of three judges in a District Court or Family Court, decisions of the Administrative Court, and civil cases heard before the District Court in which one judge decided and where the amount in controversy exceeds 50,000,000 won.
• The high court essentially hears any cases that could not be solved in Municipal or District Court
• No juries exist

Municipal Court

• The Municipal Courts only exercise original jurisdiction over minor cases, such as small claims cases where the amount in controversy does not exceed 20 million won or misdemeanor trials in which the maximum possible sentence is 30 days in jail or a fine not exceeding 200,000 won.
•  There are currently 103 municipal courts in South Korea.
• No juries exist

District Court

• There are 18 District Courts that have original jurisdiction over most civil and criminal cases
• In most cases, a single judge hears the case and renders a verdict, although in particularly important or serious cases, a trial panel of three judges may hear the case and render a decision.
• No juries exist

Branch Court

• Branch Courts are organized under and considered a part of the District Courts
• There are 40 Branch Courts in South Korea
• The Branch Courts function much as the District Courts do, but lack any appellate function
• No juries exist