西洋오랑캐

As 2004 comes to a close, a lot of newspapers, programs, human, websites, ect. are begining to look back at the year that was. The good folks at The Chosun Ilbo bring us this allegedly scientific analysis of the top Korean products of 2004.

Cyworld.com was named the hit product of the year by Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI). Cyworld, a personal Internet homepage service provider, created new terms such as “cyholic,” and has acquired over 10 million registered users within its first three years.
Multi-purpose mobile phones with multiple functions like digital cameras, MP3 players, blood sugar testers, mosquito repellent and urgent message senders were ranked second.

Kwangdong Pharmaceutical Co.’s health drink “Vita 500,” which has been recording 100 percent annual sales growth since it was launched in February 2001, came in third. Fourth place went to the stars of the Korean wave, including “Yonsama” Bae Yong-joon, and fifth place went to large-capacity MP3 players, which have assumed a leading role in mobile audio entertainment.

Cosmetics at knockdown prices manufactured by brands such as “Missha” and “The Face Shop” were at sixth, and a soap opera, “Lovers in Paris,” which enjoyed enormous popularity with viewer ratings over 50 percent, came in seventh. Eighth place was the “Magic Thousand-Character Chinese Classic,” an educational comic book for children. Korea Housing Finance Corporation’s long-term loan program for buying houses came in ninth, and hot and spicy foods like “Peppered fire chicken” (Korean: hongcho buldalk) came in tenth.

The results of an online poll of SERI Internet members and the opinions of outside experts were reflected on the ranking.

(Choi Hong-seop, hschoi@chosun.com )

My favorite “product” in that list would have have to be your buddy and mine, ヨン様(Yonsama). How can a person be a product you ask? Yonsama is big business. The ammount of Japanese tourists he pulls in and the sheer number of products which feature his likeness are insane. So yes, he is a product.