ABSTRACT
The growth of herbal markets has increased substantially in South Korea, but the worldwide market share remains small despite significant governmental efforts. This study aimed to characterize manufacturing employment and identify employees' general perceptions of market expansion. A survey study covering 567 companies was conducted using face-to-face interviews in 2012. Data were analyzed using comparisons among three manufacturing groups (i.e., the herbal dietary supplement manufacturing group, the herbal medicine manufacturing group, and the personal care product manufacturing group) or among the manufacturers themselves. We found that the majority of the manufacturing employee respondents were regular permanent and production workers. The domestic distributors were primarily chain stores/direct outlets or retailers/wholesalers, and the dominant product was red ginseng (hongsam). Although the responding companies exhibited a variety of perspectives, "advertisement/public relations" was cited as the most important factor in the development of the herbal industry. In contrast, "low manpower/seeking business partners" were the most crucial limiting and challenging factors for market globalization. Our results can be used to design a proper national plan by reducing the gaps in perspective between herbal product producers and policy makers.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Traditional Korean medicine (TKM) is acknowledged to be prevalent among the Korean public, but few follow-up studies are available to confirm this commonly held belief. Whereas most survey studies have focused on the demographic factors influencing the usage of TKM, only a few studies have conducted a pattern or trend analysis over time. The purpose of this paper is to observe and document recent trends in the usage of TKM in South Korea and to compare overall patterns of TKM use over a period of several years. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2011 to assess TKM usage patterns and public perceptions regarding TKM. An online questionnaire was administered to consenting respondents that focused upon individual preferences between TKM and current Western medicine, respondents' reasons for using TKM, the frequency of respondents' visits to TKM clinics, the reasons respondents visited TKM clinics, and respondents' perceived satisfaction. RESULTS: The results revealed that 66.6% of the respondents showed a positive attitude toward TKM. In addition, 69.3% of the respondents had visited TKM clinics one to four times during the previous year. Patients used TKM with the intentions of receiving acupuncture (95.3%), moxibustion (40.1%), and cupping (36.0%) treatments or to take herbal medicines (35.7%). Most respondents who had visited TKM clinics were largely satisfied with the clinics' effectiveness (56.1%). The factors most commonly associated with TKM usage included sex (female), age (50s), and education (college or higher), but the within-factor differences were not significant. Compared with a previous survey of other groups, TKM usage was found to have increased from 45.8% in 2008 to 69.3% in 2011. With the exception of acupuncture and physical therapy, most usage doubled or more than doubled. CONCLUSIONS: The attitudes toward and usage of TKM in South Korea have improved between 2008 and 2011. This result will be used to explain outcomes of certain social phenomena and to argue for national support in the promotion of TKM.
