• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.31 no.2 s.161
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• pp.189-196
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• 2007

The purpose of this study was to find out the purchasing practices and consumer's needs for pet dog apparel to provide useful information for the manufacture of pet dog's apparel. Data were obtained from 203 consumers who have purchased dog apparel(55 male, 148 female). 57.9% of them were 20-30 years old, 27.9% were living in houses, 54.3% were apartment residents. The kinds of dog included were Shihtzu, Martise, and Yorkshireterrier, and 2/3 of the respondents own a single dog, the remainder have at least two dogs. The most important factor to consider when purchasing dog apparel was size, followed by comfort, design, and materials in that order, Most of the apparel was purchased with convenience as the primary consideration, and the average price was 10-30 thousands won, and the items were purchased at pet beauty shops or specialty shops. For materials, it showed that the majority preferred cotton or a cotton mixture which was woven or woven with knit. The survey revealed that the main purposes for the apparel were, in order, to protect the dog from cold weather and direct sunlight, to be good looks and to memorialize a special day. Consumers put the apparel on their dogs 1-3 times per week, on average, and also when they went out for a walk. They were satisfied with the design, color and quality of the material now on the market, but unsatisfied with size and price. They have a preference for cute, but simple designs and a functional style. The respondents wanted to have material that was mild or neutral, stain-resistant, and something that would repel insects.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Costume
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.63-75
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• 2011

The purpose of this study were to investigate influences of perceived value and perceived risk on purchasing behavior for imported apparel from official dealer and unofficial dealer in internet shopping mall. A total of 363 female subjects with ages ranging between 20's and 30's completed the questionnaire. The results of this study were as follows. 1) Imported apparel through official dealer had no influence by impulse buying for convenience and efficiency value, information value, after-purchasing value. On the other hand, imported apparel through unofficial dealer had a negative influence by impulse buying for convenience and efficiency value. 2) Imported apparel through official dealer had a negative influence by impulse buying for function and service risk. But for imported apparel through unofficial dealer, not only function and service risk but also private information risk were influenced by impulse buying. 3) All of imported apparel through official dealer and unofficial dealer had no influence by flow for convenience and efficiency value, information value, after-purchasing value. 4) All of imported apparel through official dealer and unofficial dealer were influenced by flow for function and service risk. That is to say, when consumer find satisfaction about quality of products, whether real thing or not, guarantee of quality, consumer's purchasing behavior will be enhance.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.70-79
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• 2010

There has been some research conducted that addressed immoral consumer behaviors in Korea; however, most of this research focused on purchasing counterfeits or shoplifting. High return rates of apparel and used apparel returns have been acknowledged as problem areas within the fashion industry. However, very few researchers have addressed this issue. Therefore, the goal of this research was to explore consumer's retail borrowing experience using a mixed methods approach. In study 1 Korean consumer's retail borrowing experiences was explored through focus group interviews. Findings informed study 2 an examination of apparel consumers' attitudes toward retail borrowing behavior via an online survey. Findings assist both researchers' and practitioners' understanding of retail borrowing behaviors and provide insight into retail borrowing issues in the apparel retail industry. For study 1, five focus-group interviews were conducted with seven panels of individuals that had retail borrowing experience within the past year. Thirty-five Korean consumers who lived in a metropolitan area participated in the focus group interviews. Most of consumers were in their 20's (n=21) and were women (n=24). Most participants purchased apparel items from a retail store and returned the worn items for either a full refund or exchanged the worn item for another item. Motives underlying retail borrowing behavior included social needs, job-related needs, fashion needs, and "smart shopping." Similar to existing research findings from other countries, social needs were the most frequently mentioned cause of retail borrowing in fashion stores. Consumers' moral values, attitude toward large corporations, and prior retail borrowing experience were mentioned as possible factors affecting consumers' retail borrowing behavior. For study 2, the questionnaire used to gather the data was developed based on the findings of part I and existing research. Questions concerning consumers' moral beliefs, sensation seeking tendencies, self-worth, past retail job experience, retail borrowing experience, and some demographic characteristics were included in the questionnaire. The data were collected via an online survey using an online panel provided by a commercial online research company located in Seoul, Korea. In order to obtain various consumers, a quota sample was (male: female=1:1, 20's:30's:40's=1:1:1, retail experience: no retail experience=1:3) obtained from the company. A total of 401 consumers who had shopped for apparel items during the prior 6 months participated in the online survey. The results indicated that 19.7% of the respondents reported they had experience borrowing fashion merchandise. Among these individuals, male borrowers (57%) outnumbered female borrowers. In terms of age distribution, x2 revealed that there was a statistical difference between respondents with and without retail borrowing experiences: 41.8% of the respondents with retail borrowing experience were in their 40's, while respondents without retail borrowing experience were evenly distributed between their 20's to 40's. There was also a significant difference between respondents with and without retail borrowing experience in terms of income: respondents with retail borrowing experience tended to have higher incomes than those without retail borrowing experience. T-tests were performed to compare respondents' fashion shopping behavior, moral beliefs, sensation-seeking tendencies, and attitudes toward retail borrowing behavior between participants with and without retail borrowing experience. As compared to those with no borrowing experience, respondents with experience tended to shop for fashion items more frequently and spent more on shopping for fashion items. Consumers with experience borrowing tended to have higher sensation-seeking tendencies than consumers without retail borrowing experience. A regression analysis revealed that attitudes toward fashion retail borrowing were negatively related to consumers' moral beliefs, but positively related to monthly fashion shopping frequency, sensation-seeking tendencies, and past fashion retail borrowing experience. Among these variables, past retail borrowing experience was the most significant predictor, followed by moral beliefs. This research serves as an initial attempt to address the motives that underlie retail borrowing behaviors and the factors affecting those behaviors. The findings of this study may facilitate an understanding of the consumer's retail borrowing, which will provide a basis for approaches that may help decrease retail borrowing and inappropriate returns at fashion retail stores. The findings may also provide materials for consumer education over the long term. In order to better understand fashion retail borrowing behavior, more research is needed in the future.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.370-379
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• 2018

Objectives: Bisphenol A (BPA) has been extensively used in a variety of consumer products, resulting in widespread non-occupational human exposure. It is often detected in the human body. Studies have reported many health effects associated with endocrine and metabolic disruptions, including obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. This study was performed to explain the relationship between BPA exposure and obesity in the Korean adult population. Methods: The second stage of the Korean National Environmental Health Survey (KoNHES) was conducted from 2012 to 2014 with 6,478 persons participating. Using the results of the survey, we analyzed the exposure levels for BPA and the influence on obesity of BPA. Results: In model 1, the volume-based measure concentration of BPA, total, female and the 30s to 60s age group were positively related with BMI. In model 2, creatinine adjusted as a covariate and positive associations for BPA with BMI were observed in the female group and was marginally significantly associated in low body weight group. In model 3, creatinine adjusted (g/g-creatinine), BPA exposure, and BMI were positively related with sex, in females, and there was a marginally significant association with the low body weight group in the BMI categories. BMI was significantly associated with BPA in the female group in all three models. Conclusion: This study added further evidence that exposure to EDCs, include bisphenol A, is related with obesity among the general population. Given the environmental health concerns over BPA, it is necessary to develop comprehensive measures to reduce BPA exposure.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.271-283
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to provide information on how to improving wearing sensation and fit of boots-cut jean through analysis of the actual wearing conditions and dissatisfaction. In order to compile the information about dissatisfaction with the appropriateness of the fit of boots-cut jean, a questionnaire was administered to 150 females(between the ages of 20 and 39) living in Gwang-ju, analyzed using the SPSS WIN 12.0 program. Also, 6 blue jean manufactures were investigated, the study method was a interview about company present status, sizing system and pattern of boots-cut jean. The result of this study were as follow: 1. In wearing conditions, the 20's(51.6%) to 30's(69.1%) is found the best preferred jean is boots-cut style. The reason why consumers prefer boots-cut jeans with wearing fit does to seem charming bodyline of the adult female. 2. Body type groups by drop was classified with the usual waist, the thick waist, the thin waist. The differences among age groups, body type and so on were compared using the chi-square test. Dissatisfaction of the fit of the thick waist and the thin waist was higher than the usual waist. 3. Research on the production sizing system of 6 blue jean brands showed the total sizing system of each manufacture were $3{\sim}9$, they were reflected the sizing system of the korean Industrial Standards(KS K 0051). Therefore, it is considered necessary for boots-cut jeans pattern and sizing system for Korean consumer's body shape.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.599-613
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• 2023

This study investigated female consumers' attitudes toward the general and fashion-specific climate environments and analyzed the relations between the attitudes and the variables such as values, knowledge, and climate cognition. The data was collected from a sample of 450 women in their 20s, 30s, and 40s via quota sampling from a selfreported online survey in 2023. The measurement comprised the attitudes toward the general and fashion-specific climate environments, Rokeach's 18 terminal values, Holbrook's 8 consumer values regarding fashion products, climate environmental knowledge related to fashion, the cognition concerning the climate crisis, and several demographic variables. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, reliability analysis, and correlations were applied to the data using SPSS. As a result, two factors were determined for the attitudes toward the general and fashion-specific climate environments, respectively: social and personal. Family security, happiness, and self-respect were identified as important terminal values. Quality, efficiency, aesthetics, and ethics were considered important when the current sample group purchased fashion products. The mean score of climate environmental knowledge related to fashion was lower than neutral; however the cognition of the climate crisis was considerably high. Attitudes toward the general and fashion-specific climate environments showed positive relations with values, knowledge, and climate cognition. The results were discussed to provide some insight and suggestions to carbon neutrality and the related studies.

• Journal of the Korea Fashion and Costume Design Association
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.173-184
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• 2015

This study examined the impacts of the cultural proximity of Chinese consumers on the image of both country and product, and investigated how they are related to purchase intention of Korea fashion. Subjects were Chinese female consumers in their 20s and 30s, living in Yangtze River delta and Seoul. The results of the study were as follows: 1) The cultural proximity had a significant influence on the country image and fashion product image. Chinese consumers with more emotional proximity had more positive attitude towards country image, such as politics, economics, technology, cultures and people image. And consumers who had higher interest in Korea and Korean culture evaluated the quality, design, value and reputation of Korean fashion more positively. 2) Chinese consumers with positive attitude towards people, technology and culture image seemed to prefer fashion product. Specifically, the dimensions of country image had a different influence on the fashion product image such as product quality, design, value, reputation. 3) The Korea country image and fashion product image had also affected on purchase intention of Korean fashion products. Consumers with positive attitude towards people and technology image had higher purchase intention of Korea fashion products. And consumers with positive attitude towards reputation, value and design of fashion products had higher purchase intention of fashion products.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.65-77
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• 2020

Objectives: This study investigated the average number of drinkers in Korea, the number of high-risk drinkers, the average amount of alcohol consumed by high-risk drinkers, and the types of alcohol consumed according to the characteristics of the group of dependent drinkers. Methods: The results were obtained by analyzing the following data: The Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health; Country Profile 2014; WHO Country Profile 2014; Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2014, Korean Statistical Information Service; National Tax Statistics-Liquor Tax; Gallup Drinking Frequency Survey 2015 Results: This study found that a large proportion of drinkers in Korea are already high-risk drinkers, and even among drinkers, alcohol consumption was highly biased. It was reported that 49.8% of men in the problem, abuse, and dependence groups accounted for 92.4% of total alcohol consumption among the male population. Notably, the 9.6% of men making up the dependent group consumed more than 30% of the alcohol ingested among males. Women had significant variations within groups that were considered high-risk and exhibited a large share of alcohol consumption in the problem (10.0% of the female population), abuse (1.8% of the female population), and dependence (1.5% of the female population) groups, constituting 72.8% of total alcohol consumption. The average amount of alcohol consumed by drinkers in Korea seems to have exceeded the level of intake by high-risk groups. Alcohol-dependent groups consumed 900.7 mL of soju, 405.2 mL of table wine, and 2,043.8 mL of beer, which is very similar to the consumption average of 2,031 mL of beer and 895.2 mL of soju in the drinking group. Conclusion: It has been shown that men's dependence on alcohol is serious, and it is possible to infer that alcohol consumption in some vulnerable groups is very high. As the average alcohol intake among alcohol-dependent groups and ordinary drinkers is very similar, it is highly likely that the drinker is an alcohol-dependent consumer in Korea.

• Korean journal of food and cookery science
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.547-555
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to understand consumer awareness and preference regarding rice cakes by surveying the awareness, preference, and consumption behavior of college students regarding rice cakes, and to survey their perception and usage of rice cakes, thereby using the results as basic data to establish measures to develop Korea's rice cakes. To sum up the study's results, the survey included both male (54.5%) and female (45.5%) subjects. Those aged "20 to 23" accounted for the largest share (67.9%) of total respondents, and those majoring in "humanities and social studies" comprised the largest portion (47.8%). A majority of the respondents resided in "small and medium-sized cities", and most either lived at home or lived away from their families. A majority of the subjects received monthly allowances ranging from 200,000 to 300,000 won. In order of awareness, the most well-known type of rice cake was "injeolmi (rice cake made from glutinous rice and coated with bean flour)", followed by "songpyeon (half-moon-shaped rice cake)", "garaeddeok (bar rice cake)", and "baekseolgi (steamed white rice cake)". The women were better aware of "injeolmi", "baekseolgi", and "garaeddeok" than the men, and "soemeoriddeok" was not commonly known among either gender. In terms of preferences for rice cakes, overall, the subjects liked "injeolmi" and "songpyeon" the most. However, certain differences were found in preferences for rice cakes between the men and women. The women exhibited higher levels of preference for "injeolmi" and "songpyeon" than the men. On the other hand, the men revealed higher levels of preference for "baekseolgi", "jeolpyeon", and "garaeddeok" than the women. The most common answer to important factors for popularizing rice cakes was "a diverse assortment of rice cakes", followed by "the development of creative technologies" and "the taste of rice cakes reflecting consumer needs", in order of importance. Among the important factors to popularize rice cakes, "the development of unique packaging containers for rice cakes" (p<0.05) and "the development of proper packaging materials" (p<0.05) showed statistically significant differences. In the survey of consumption of rice cakes, the most frequent answer to the question "why do you like rice cakes? was "their tastes are good" with 146 respondents, followed by "I have been eating them for long" with 115 respondents. To the question "when do you use rice cakes", the most frequent answer was "I use them in daily life" with 133 respondents, followed by "I use them at special events" with 115 respondents. The women were found to use rice cakes frequently in daily life, whereas the men used them frequently at special events. When asked whether they had the intention to use rice cakes as a meal substitute, 100 men answered that they had no intention, whereas 96 women answered that they had the intention. When asked about the type of rice cake considered suitable for a meal substitute, the most popular answer was "injeolmi" with 108 respondents, followed by "baekseolgi" with 106 respondents.

• International Journal of Costume and Fashion
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.19-36
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• 2015

The purpose of this study is to research the purchasing behavior according to the pursuit benefit for outdoor wear and to present a direction to outdoor wear. Questionnaire survey was administered to 533 male and female adults in their 30s to 40s living in Seoul and Gyeonggido from May 1 to 15, 2014. Concerning the statistic treatment for data analysis, SPSS for Window 18.0 was used to carry out frequency analysis, factor analysis, reliability test, cluster analysis, ANOVA and Duncan test as post-test. Benefit was drawn out as 4 elements including 'showing off & brand benefit sought', 'fashion benefits sought', 'functionality benefits sought' and 'economic benefits sought'. Group analysis according to benefit showed that it was materialized to 'multiple benefit sought group', 'unconcern group', 'showing off & brand benefit sought group' and 'utility benefit sought group'. There is an academic significance in that this research found out the level of benefit in purchasing outdoor wear and the difference of purchasing behavior by consumer groups according to benefit. This result might be used efficiently by marketers in outdoor clothing industry in classifying consumers and establishing the marketing strategy to deal with it.