I own a TV from LG Electronics. I had not set out buying a Korean-made TV, but I wound up with one.
When we first settled in Tokyo back in January, we bought a set from Sharp Corp. Aside from its reasonably pleasing design, the biggest attraction was the price. At less than 30,000 yen ($250), the TV was dirt cheap.
We enjoyed it for about a week before it mysteriously broke down.
Sharp’s headquarters eventually got a call from one very angry Korean consumer demanding a refund for a product that obviously had defects from the start. The people on the other end were very apologetic, but they politely said no, as the TV was a part of a promotional campaign where they handed out sets for almost nothing. In return, customers forfeited their refund rights.
But I did not want a new TV. What if it broke down again? I was having enough trouble as it is, talking with these people in my halting Japanese.
To make a long story short, they eventually won. The TV is now back in its cardboard wrapping and perched on a chair in our tiny storage closet.
The following week I placed another call, this time to LG Electronics. The verdict? So far so good.
When I relayed the story to some of my Japanese friends here, they said it was unheard of for a Japanese brand. I guess this was to be expected, since Japan is still a force to be reckoned with in the world of electronic appliances.
My friends also subtly implied that Japanese brands are a notch above their Korean rivals.
I had nothing to say because I had secretly thought that the same, which was why I had not gone out of my way to get a Korean brand TV.
However, soon I slipped into a deep sense of self-loathing after discovering that the defective TV had not been from a Japanese brand. I had mistakenly ordered a knock-off.
The incident made me think about the perception of Korean brands by some Japanese people ― and Koreans like myself.
For them, Sony and Panasonic are still symbols of credibility and durability, while the same cannot be said for products made by Korean companies.
According to sources in Japan, when consumers contact Korean electronics makers such as Samsung or LG to make purchases or issue complaints, their disdain is palpable. The basic premise they have is that these brands are substandard.
This was a true shocker. Statistics clearly show that Samsung and LG are the world’s top two television makers. Yet they are on a precarious footing in Japan, accounting for meager market shares in areas such as TVs and mobile phones.
All of this was hardly a new revelation, but it was still a slap in the face for a newborn patriot like me.
Why can’t Samsung and LG enthrall the Japanese as “hallyu” has? What are they doing wrong?
On the other hand, Japan loves everything else that comes from the West. When Apple’s iPhone 6 made its splash here, people patiently stood in lines for hours at Ginza in the hopes of being among the first few hundred to get the phone.
Why this love affair cannot happen with Korean products beats me. Is it really about credibility or is it about something else?
As many already know, the unique political relationship the country has with Japan is probably one major factor.
Regardless, Korean firms need to work harder to figure out why it is so hard to woo Japanese consumers and how to get them on the hook.
Korea cannot afford to leave this market out ― with a population of just 50 million, it is still heavily reliant on exports for economic growth, and Japan is a major partner.
If relations improve on the business front first, perhaps politics will follow suit.
The writer is the Tokyo correspondent of The Korea Herald. She can be reached at jemmie@heraldcorp.com. ― Ed.
