Seoul’s unique culture offers a marketing masterclass
Eb Yusuf, general manager of strategy, culture and insights at Yango has been captivated by Korean culture for years. What started as a casual interest quickly deepened into an appreciation for the meticulous attention to detail and a subversive edge that underpins so much of Korean pop culture. There’s a lot for Australian marketers to learn.
Eb Yusuf - author
A closed loop of culture
My most recent holiday in Seoul confirmed what I had long suspected: South Korea is a cultural and economic powerhouse, a self-sufficient ecosystem that offers a fascinating case study for marketers and advertisers.
It’s a country that runs on its own terms, from the incredible quality of its Hanwoo beef and the seasonal obsession with Jeju’s “apple-mangoes” to its homegrown tech giants like Samsung and Kakao. Forget Google Maps; in Seoul, you’re navigating with Naver Maps.
This self-reliance extends to its celebrity culture. While global luxury brands have a presence, you’ll rarely see a Hollywood star fronting a major campaign. Instead, K-celebrities are the ultimate brand ambassadors, their faces gracing everything from high fashion to banking. This cultural self-sufficiency is no accident; it’s actively reinforced by a government that invests significantly in the entertainment industry as a key driver of economic growth. It’s a closed loop of cultural production and consumption and, as I joked to my husband, the rest of the world could collapse, and South Korea might barely notice.
