Telecom World attracts phone industry

HONG KONG ― The International Telecommunication Union Telecom World 2006 meeting runs through Friday, and Korean information technology companies are here in force. LG Electronics is enjoying a response from its “hallyu” marketing, promoting Korean celebrities and culture with its electronics products. For instance, in Causeway Bay, a popular shopping area, the company has set up a huge outdoor advertisement depicting the actress Kim Tae-hee and LG’s Chocolate phone.

The company has also put up many ads in crowded subway stations, targeting young consumers, especially because Ms. Kim stars in the television drama series “Love Story in Harvard,” which is popular in Hong Kong these days. “Thanks to hallyu marketing, cell phone sales in the Hong Kong market are increasing and recognition of the LG brand has gone up 2.5 times compared to last year in consumer surveys,” said Park Ki-bo, a senior executive at LG Electronics Hong Kong. Samsung Electronics is focusing its efforts on promoting three cell phone models, the Ultra Music F300, Ultra Video F500 and Ultra Messaging i600. The Samsung Ultra Messaging i600 is the first smartphone in Europe or the Asia-Pacific region to support a third-generation network technology, transferring data at faster speeds. It also supports Web applications such as podcasting, and has two built-in camera phones in the front and back that enable video conferencing. Advertisements for these phones have been wrapped around trams and can be also found in many areas downtown and at the airport. by Suh Kyoung-ho