An American branding expert suggested that Korea needs to build up a stronger nation brand to give momentum to business powerhouses and let products of other Korean companies benefit from the brand power.

Peter Hanlon, CEO and founder of THINKTOPIA, wrote in his column for Forbes magazine that Korea needs to reinforce the nation brand’s power.

“Having a national brand matters, because it makes products emerging from that nation more meaningful. It gives them a context, and makes them part of a continuing legacy of quality, design, smarts, whatever. Rather than coming from nowhereland, these products resonate with consumers and become meaningful within the surround of the national brand,” he wrote.

He pointed to “Italian designs,” “French fashion,” “German engineering” and “Apple of America” as successful models of value-added strategy in nation branding.

Despite the remarkable success garnered by Korean business groups, the country still lacks something extra that will enhance the image of the companies as well as their products, he said.

“Korean exports are crazy successful. Meanwhile, Korea, the country exporting these esteemed brands, is best known for kimchee (pickled cabbage) and its annoying northern neighbor,” he wrote.

“If the country of Korea had more national brand luster, not only would products from Hyundai, Samsung, LG have more momentum, but products from other Korean companies would also benefit,” he wrote.

According to Samsung Economic Research Institute, the nation brand of Korea ranked 13th last year, up two spots from the previous year. U.S. topped the chart followed by Germany, France, the U.K. and Japan.

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)