The purpose of this study was to propose effective marketing communication strategies for overseas Korean restaurants through a multilateral comparison analysis of American, Chinese, and Japanese consumers' attitudes towards communication media and Korean restaurants. The survey was written in English, Chinese, and Japanese, with guideline for surveyors, and conducted using both online and offline methods. Samples were collected from five major cities - Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, Beijing and Shanghai, which are the foothold for the globalization of Korean food. When it comes to attitudes towards communication media, word-of-mouth showed a high mean value, indicating it as the most useful and reliable media recognized by consumers who visited Korean restaurants. Furthermore, the necessity of recognizing the importance of visual communication in the physical environment of Korean restaurants and specialized websites, featuring restaurants and gourmet food, was observed. Consumers in all three nations chose word-of-mouth as the most useful and reliable media for learning about Korean restaurants. In addition, American consumers highly depended on signage and restaurant exteriors. Chinese consumers highly recognized the usefulness and reliability of offline media, such as newspapers, magazines, and events, while Japanese consumers considered online media, such as gourmet websites, blogs and social networks, as useful and reliable sources. A significantly positive attitude and high value was observed in all who had visited Korean restaurants. American and Japanese consumers had a significantly higher rate of intention to visit Korean restaurants in the future and to tell others about their satisfaction with Korean restaurants. Meanwhile, the average rate of prior preference for Korean restaurants (when choosing restaurants) was the lowest in all three countries. This study is useful for both the Korean government and food enterprises abroad to plan and develop marketing communication strategies properly for overseas Korean restaurants.

The aim of this study was to compare the American, Chinese, and Japanese consumers` usage behavior of marketing communication towards overseas Korean restaurants. The survey included both on and off-line method and self-administered questionnaires were written in three languages- English, Chinese and Japanese. The sample was collected from 5 hub cities for globalization of Korean food- LA, New York, Tokyo, Beijing, and Shanghai. The most important factor of searching for Korean restaurants-related information was ``the interaction`` and the least one was ``the diversity``. The most commonly informed Korean restaurants-related content through the on and off-line media was ``the general information, such as location, telephone number, and operation hour``. Korean restaurants-related content that the respondents` most interested in was ``the information of menu and price``. Results of this study can expectedly be used from a practical point of view by providing empirical data of foreign consumers for effective marketing communication strategies of overseas Korean restaurants.

The purpose of this study was to analyze methods and contents of global Korean food marketing. In-depth interviews were conducted from July to October in 2010 using a qualitative research approach. Government agencies and restaurant companies emphasized well-being and healthy aspects as a Korean food identity. Regarding the marketing contents, government agencies commonly included standard loanword orthography and recipes. On the other hand, restaurant companies contained their own contents differentiated from other brands. Government agencies used CF, video, book and newspaper as communication channels but restaurant companies did not have systematic communication channels. Government agencies attempted to use holding, supporting and participating expositions as communication methods, whereas restaurant companies mainly used sales promotion and point-of-purchase as communication methods.