First thing that comes to your mind when you think of "KOREA"

Europeans' first things that come to their mind when they think of "KOREA"

General Public

1st place - Samsung (20.9%)

2nd place - North Korea issues (11.6%)

3rd place - Korean Music / Kpop - Psy, horse dance, Gangnam Style (9.2%)

4th place - Seoul (7.6%)

5th place - Technology (6.4%)

6th, 7th place - Hyundai, Kia motor / Korean food - Kimchi, Bibimbap (5.6%)

8th place - Olympics (3.6%)

9th place - Mobile, Smart phone (2.4%)

10th place - Drama (soap opera) (1.2%)

Specialist

1st place - Samsung (12.9%)

2nd place - North Korea issues (11.2%)

3rd place - Seoul (9.1%)

4th place - Hyundai, Kia motor (8.6%)

5th place - Technology (7.8%)

6th place - Korean food – Kimchi (5.2%)

7th place - Korean Music / Kpop - Psy, horse dance, Gangnam Style (3.9%)

8th place – Good quality products 2.6%)

9th place - Olympics (2.2%)

10th place – Tae kwon do (2.2%)

1st place - Samsung (20.9%)

Samsung, Korea’s largest conglomerate, is the first thing that comes to mind for many Europeans when they think of South Korea, according to the state-run Korea Investment Promotion Agency on Wednesday.

In a KOTRA survey of some 480 Europeans in seven countries, including Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, Samsung topped the list as the most recognized item associated with Asia’s fourth largest economy.

KOTRA surveyed 249 ordinary European citizens and 232 professionals, including journalists, executives and professors.

About 20 percent of the citizens and 13 percent of the professionals surveyed picked Samsung in connection with South Korea’s national image, KOTRA noted.

Samsung Group’s flagship Samsung Electronics will aim for 20 percent growth in smartphone sales globally next year, the most conservative figure set since it started the business, as it seeks to focus on the growing tablet market, according to industry sources.

The Korean tech giant’s information technology and mobile communications division reportedly set next year’s sales target of smartphones at 360 million units, a 20 percent increase from this year. Its tablet PC sales are expected to jump to 100 million from this year’s estimated 40 million units.

2nd place - North Korea issues (11.6%)

Issues concerning North Korea, including its nuclear weapons development and the Korean War, followed Samsung as the item second-most commonly associated with the South for the two groups of respondents.

3rd place - Korean Music / Kpop - Psy, horse dance, Gangnam Style (9.2%)

European citizens’ next choices of things that best represent Korea’s image were Psy’s “Gangnam Style” and his horse dance, the capital of Seoul and Korea’s technological competitiveness.

4th place - Seoul (7.6%)

5th place - Technology (6.4%)

6th, 7th place - Hyundai, Kia motor / Korean food - Kimchi, Bibimbap (5.6%)

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors, and Korean food such as the mixed rice cuisine bibimbap followed in the survey of non-professional respondents.

European professionals, meanwhile, picked Seoul, Hyundai-Kia and Korea’s technology as the next best items expressing Korea’s national identity.

Kimchi

Bibimbap

8th place - Olympics (3.6%)

Shin A-lam after losing to Britta Heidemann of Germany in the women's epee individual fencing semi-finals.

The South Korea fencer Shin A-lam was in floods of tears at the ExCeL Arena night after arguably the biggest controversy the sport has ever seen.

The 25-year-old thought she was through to the final of the women's épée when, to her horror and that of her coach, Shim Jaesung, the clock was reset from zero to one second. The score was 5-5 at the time, but that would have been good enough for her under the rule where one fencer is awarded "priority" when a contest goes into sudden death. When the action resumed the German Britta Heidemann, gold medallist four years ago, scored a do-or-die hit that eventually put her in the final against Ukraine's Yana Shemyakana.

South Koreans were furious with Sochi judges over Yuna Kim silver medal.

That left many South Koreans furious over what they saw as questionable judging. Local TV replayed her performance repeatedly, likening Kim's performance Thursday with that of Sotnikova's. Commentary was shown in several languages, including some that had predicted gold for Kim.