title: Perspectives on the Market Globalization of Korean Herbal Manufacturers: A Company-Based Survey.
abstract: The growth of herbal markets has increased substantially in South Korea, but the worldwide market share remains small despite significant governmental efforts. This study aimed to characterize manufacturing employment and identify employees' general perceptions of market expansion. A survey study covering 567 companies was conducted using face-to-face interviews in 2012. Data were analyzed using comparisons among three manufacturing groups (i.e., the herbal dietary supplement manufacturing group, the herbal medicine manufacturing group, and the personal care product manufacturing group) or among the manufacturers themselves. We found that the majority of the manufacturing employee respondents were regular permanent and production workers. The domestic distributors were primarily chain stores/direct outlets or retailers/wholesalers, and the dominant product was red ginseng (hongsam). Although the responding companies exhibited a variety of perspectives, "advertisement/public relations" was cited as the most important factor in the development of the herbal industry. In contrast, "low manpower/seeking business partners" were the most crucial limiting and challenging factors for market globalization. Our results can be used to design a proper national plan by reducing the gaps in perspective between herbal product producers and policy makers.
authors.affiliation: Policy Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseongdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea ; School of Korea Medicine, Pusan National University, Yangsan 626-870, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dongsu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Policy Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseongdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Miyoung
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseongdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jeeyoun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Policy Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseongdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Soohyun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Department of Convergence Technology Evaluation Researcher, Korea Technology & Information Promotion Agency for SMEs, 593 Daedeok-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 305-340, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eun-Ji
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Policy Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseongdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ki Hoon
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Koo
authors.affiliation: Policy Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseongdae-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-811, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Woo