With a population of 50 million people, GDP of 1.13 trillion USD, strong purchasing power, low and predictable taxes and the 12th largest economy in the world, South Korea becomes a fantastic opportunity market (investinkorea, 2013). Although the global financial crisis had its repercussion, it did not affect the private consumption and the Government has been continuously engaging in efforts to strengthen the groundwork for long-term growth and boost the economy.
The economic improvement of the past 30 years highly changed Korean’s business environment: personal income together with the level of education have significantly increased consequently improving local living standards (statistics Korea, 2013). Higher levels of education, travelling abroad, international tourists and technology, have all helped to widen horizon and open the door to new products. Datamonitor shows a solid increase of the overall annual food consumption and eating out expenditure (see appendix 8), moreover it seems that tastes are evolving and consumers are becoming progressively more sophisticated and open to western influences (statistics Korea, 2013). Korea is undergoing a fast transformation, accepting numerous overseas concepts relative to life's basics such as for instance food. South Korean consumers appear now appear to be rapidly embracing international influences, particularly regarding food (market analysis report, 2011).
Korea also displays a very peculiarity culture with a mixture of traditional and contemporary elements: although it still displays a strong collectivistic nature, some individualistic features are also present due to the western influence. Collectivism is reflected in the high importance associated to the attachment to the group and the big emphasis on getting together to share food in a peaceful and comfortable atmosphere. “Eat together and you are friends”