Korean firms in Vietnam are riding high on increasingly friendly relations between the two countries, amid the football boom in the Southeast Asian nation led by a Korean coach, according to company officials Thursday.
According to a report by Nam Hyun-woo on KoreaTimes, Vietnam’s U-23 football team, headed by Park Hang-seo, outperformed most analysts’ expectations by reaching the semifinals at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, marking one of the best campaigns in the country’s national team history.
Park has been praised as a national hero in Vietnam, when he led the team to a runner-up finish at the 2018 AFC U-23 Championships in January.
Park’s continued magical spell is providing a huge marketing opportunity for Korean firms in the country whose people are fans of the sport.
“Football is the culture and life of Vietnamese,” said Lee Joo-hyun of Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency’s Vietnam office. “Vietnam firms are using football as their marketing tool and Park’s recent popularity provides a huge opportunity for Korean firms in Vietnam.”
After the runner-up finish in the AFC tournament, VPMILK, a Vietnamese dry milk manufacturer, has hired Park as a promoter, while Vietnam Airlines supported the U-23 team members and their families air tickets and accommodation expenses.
Thaco, which manufactures and retails Kia Motors cars in Vietnam, also provided Park an Optima sedan in a show of gratitude to him.
After the semifinals, companies say Park’s popularity is helping their businesses in Vietnam and they are regarding this as a great marketing opportunity they must grab.
“So far, there have been difficulties in starting businesses with new clients, but it became a lot easier,” said Chung Jae-woo at POSCO Vietnam. “Even in the first meeting, clients first say ‘Thank you’ which makes business a lot easier.”
Hyundai Motor is also seeking to maximize the so-called “Park effect.”
“Hyundai Motor already has a solid market status with the joint company of Hyundai Thanh Cong, which manufactures passenger and commercial vehicles,” a Hyundai Motor official said. “To add more momentum, the company is planning to bolster sports marketing, including pitches by sponsoring Park, because this is an opportunity can’t be missed.”
Samsung Electronics, which has a strong foothold in Vietnam, has already hired Park as its model and is airing TV commercials featuring him. The tech giant has also loaned a futsal field in its Indonesia plant to the Asian Games team.