'Hexagonal humans' and 'homo promptus': Key consumer trends for 2024

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'Hexagonal humans' and 'homo promptus': Key consumer trends for 2024

Published: 05 Dec. 2023, 19:16

SARAH CHEA
[email protected]

Dr. Lee Soo-jin, a research fellow at the Consumer Trend Center at Seoul National University (SNU), talks during the 2024 Consumer Trend Insights, a forum hosted by the Korea JoongAng Daily, with Park Eun-jee, left, the newspaper's business desk chief and Yim Seung-hye, culture desk chief, in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Tuesday. [PARK SANG-MOON]

While the entire world is concentrating on the expanded roles of AI, Dr. Lee Soo-jin, a research fellow at the Consumer Trend Center at Seoul National University (SNU), focuses on the capacities of humans as an examiner of AI.

Lee, co-author of the annual “Trend Korea” book series, presented next year's key consumer trends in the country at a forum hosted by the Korea JoongAng Daily on Tuesday. Nearly 200 people including 22 from embassies attended the forum.

“The scopes of AI are expanding, but all the results have to go through final touches by humans," Lee said during the 2024 Consumer Trend Insights held in western Seoul. "A human’s final touch is crucial in deciding whether the result produced by AI is correct or wrong,”

Lee emphasized the “time-efficient society” as one of the most critical consumer trends in 2024.

“Korean consumer's cognitive unit of time is shifting from hours to minutes and seconds,” Lee said. “It’s no longer ‘cost-effectiveness’ but ‘time-effectiveness.’”

A concept of half-half-day-off, or quarter-day-off, was introduced which has been popular among young Korean office workers. It is simply workers taking two hours off from a working day.

On top of the popularity of the food delivery app Baedal Minjok, apps that queue for popular restaurant cafés like Tabling and Catch Table have also grown in appeal.

Lee also shared “Hexagonal human” as the next consumer trend in Korea, which represents human’s desire for perfection in all aspects such as appearance, education, wealth, occupation, background, personality and special talents.

“Six out of 10 were optimistic about the social mobility change back when Korea was dynamic in the 1960s and 1970s,” Lee said. “But after the pandemic, people realize the polarization.”

A chart that went viral on social media shows the car brands that people can afford on their range of salary. People with the lowest range should not buy a car but walk, but if they earn a certain amount, they can afford a Mercedes, it read.

Attendants listen to the 2024 Consumer Trend Insights Tuesday. Nearly 200 people from embassies, corporations and universities attended the forum. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Young Korean consumers are also accepting of viable pricing systems, Lee suggested. The strategy of proposing various prices is a win-win strategy for both consumers and suppliers.

A six-hole golf course with no caddie system is an example. While some cannot imagine a golf course without a caddie, some consumers praise it for having a more reasonable price some 70 percent lower than a usual round.

“Breaking down the service into segments, prices are lowered and additional charges could be applied for specific elements,” Lee said. “This strategy is about having a balance between suppliers and consumers.”

Another keyword shared was “Millennial hubbies,” which represents a change in gender roles. Men are breaking away from old-school norms while women are going out for work, with both equally taking care of their children.

Lee explained an example of a location with a “Mom’s station” banner, a waiting area for their children’s shuttle bus in an apartment complex. It received harsh backlash from the public by limiting parenting roles to women.

The trend is quickly changing with more dads doing house chores and taking paternity leave to take care of children

Some other concepts such as “Homo Promptus” was shared to explain skillful ways to interact with AI.

Lee's lecture was outlined by Cheong Chul-gun, CEO of the Korea JoongAng Daily, during his welcome speech, who also emphasized the role of humans in better using AI.

"AI is limited as it is based on existing ideas rather than creativity," Cheong said. "The main subject is humans who must be smarter to properly utilize AI."

"Hexagonal human is a very interesting concept that is specifically common in Korea, but with the popularity of K-contents, the concept will likely spread all over the world," Cheong added. "Rather than being positive or negative, it is essential to respond with preventive measures."

From left, Executive Editor of the Korea JoongAng Daily Choi Ji-young; Uruguayan Ambassador Pablo Scheiner; Argentine Ambassador Emiliano Gabriel Waiselfisz; Korea JoongAng Daily CEO Cheong Chul-gun; Dr. Lee Soo-jin, a research fellow at the Consumer Trend Center at Seoul National University; Korea JoongAng Daily’s culture desk chief Yim Seung-hye and business desk chief Park Eun-jee; spouse of Czech ambassador Andrea Jancarkova; and Slovenian Ambassador Jernej Muller attend the 2024 Consumer Trend Insights hosted by the Korea JoongAng Daily in Seoul on Tuesday. [PARK SANG-MOON]

A lecture by Yim Seung-hye, chief of the culture desk at the Korea JoongAng Daily, then followed, who shared how the “Old money,” a common trend in fashion, spreads its influence to lifestyle and art. The fashion style is a way of dressing that’s inspired by the inherited wealth of yesteryear’s most famous family dynasties that focus on quality and logo-free designer pieces.

“Young people have these ‘old money’ aspirations,” Yim said. “Travel habits show a clear difference from squeezing in multiple locations to relaxing in one location instead.”

“For their eating habit, they are all about healthy eating lifestyle like sugar-free and less carbs,” Yim added.

Park Eun-jee, chief of the business desk at the Korea JoongAng Daily, spoke about how a new trend blends into the fabric of Korea.

The Covid-19 pandemic brought a big concept, e-commerce shopping, into the market. While major department stores overseas like Macy’s and JCPenney experienced a drop in sales, Korean stores grew.

“Korean retailers perceive property not as a place just to sell goods, but rather a place selling experiences,” Park said. “Pop-up stores and Christmas-themed events are the prime examples.”

Ambassadors, executives and general consumers who attended the Korea JoongAng Daily’s Tuesday forum described the event as “insightful” and “distinctive.”

"The seminar was thought-provoking. The concept of hexagonal human was very interesting and how it relates to Korea’s fertility rate dropping to 0.78 and its impact on the labor market,” said Zondi Chilembo, first secretary of Zambia in Korea.

“In my view, these are some of the issues that have to be addressed more, because they are all correlated with education, competition and what you prioritize as a nation, as a community, and as a family."

For corporate executives, the forum was insightful enough to analyze consumer sentiment and suggest direction.

“As an employee in a beauty company, which is very sensitive to trends, I was able to gain insights that we have to offer products and services that consumers value to spend their time and money,” said Kim Mina, a manager at Amorepacific’s PR team.

“It was great to explore the latest trends with news articles, which enhanced my understanding of them," said Jeon Soo-kyung, head of communication for corporate and electronics at Merck Korea. "The content was distinctive compared to other trend seminars and forums since it gave fresh ideas and insights."

Manaswini Sharma, an SNU MBA graduate student from India, said the session was informative to gain the trends as a person who seeks to get a marketing job.

"It was insightful and informative, they gave a whole perspective in every aspect, the trends in what's happening and what's going to happen,” Sharma said. “I am currently searching for marketing positions in Korea, so today's sessions were spot-on in terms of what I needed to know about the market and its trends here."

BY SARAH CHEA [[email protected]]