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Korea produces the 8th most competitive product design of 17 countries, including Italy, France, the United States and Japan, surveyed by the Korea Institute of Design Promotion.
Polling agency Metrix Corporation and Professor Chung Jai-hak of Sogang University were among the 2,210 people who took part in the month-long international design survey on designers in the government, industrial and consumer sectors.
Design powerhouse Italy ranked first, followed by France, the United States, Germany, England and Japan. In terms of numbers, Korea has caught up with the world's advanced design nations. But in terms of individual indicators, many areas need improvement, such as expanding investments and becoming more international.
¡ß Skilled designers but insufficient investment
The prognosis is that Korea has talented designers, but lacks the infrastructure to support them. Korea ranked among the best in terms of the numbers and skill levels of its designers.
Designers accounted for 10 percent of total staff at Korean companies. This is proportionally second highest after Sweden (15 percent), while 59 percent of total staff are designers at Korean design agencies, the highest proportion in the world.
In the category of "designer quality," based on the number of RedDot and IDEA global design award winners, Korea was first. But it ranked 15th of the 17 surveyed countries in terms of investments into design by Korean companies, which amounted to US$243,264. Japan, which ranked first in that category, invested an average of $1.77 million, which is seven times higher than Korea.
¡ß Design awareness high but not enough PR
The Korean public has a sophisticated sense of design, according to the survey. Korea ranked highest in terms of the ratio of customers who prioritize aesthetics when buying a product, with 25 percent saying their purchases were based on good design. That was more than twice the average 11 percent among the other surveyed countries. Korea also ranked highest among East Asian countries in terms of the time and money spent on design considerations when buying a new product.
Foreigners do not know Koreans have such an eye for design. Respondents ranked Korea among the group of countries, including China and Taiwan, that invest the least into design and whose designs were not recognized for their aesthetic beauty. In contrast, Italy, France and Japan were included in the group of countries renowned for their design. Those findings showed the need for Korea to publicize its product design.
¡ß Seoul ranks near bottom
Over the last several years, Korean cities have cited the importance of design in public facilities and have become competitive with each other. But there have been few visible achievements, according to the survey. Only 8 of 2,210 respondents selected Seoul as a city known for its beautiful design. Korea ranked 15th out of the 17 countries surveyed.
This is a poor showing by a city that has vowed to become the world's "Design Capital" by 2010. Seoul ranked even lower than Shanghai (12th) and Taipei (14th). Paris topped this category, followed by Rome and New York City. Korea ranked 11th in terms of the country possessing the most number of beautifully designed cities.
Lee Il-kyu, president of the Korea Institute of Design Promotion, said the problem is that the level of design is high among individual Koreans, but there is a weak support system, with not enough money being invested by small and mid-sized companies in product design.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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