Cross-Cultural Understandings of “Face” and their Influence on Luxury Brand Consumption: A Comparison of British and Korean Attitudes and Practices

East Asians show high interest in luxury brand goods, and Asia is now the world’s largest target market for luxury brand goods. South Korea is no exception to this luxury fever, and some Koreans even fall into debt to participate. Why are Koreans so attracted to luxury brand goods and their cachet? This paper seeks an explanation for this phenomenon by drawing on the concept of “face” and chemyon (the Korean notion of social face) and the idea of “face consumption.” The author investigates the differences between face and chemyon, as well as the differences in the degree of face consumption through luxury brand goods in British and Korean consumers. This study uses the first two terms distinctly when discussing their salient differences but combines them when they are being used more generically. Even though face is a universal phenomenon, it is an especially important concept in a collectivist culture. British consumers are unlikely to relate face to their social worth, and even the concept of (social) face may be unfamiliar to them. However, Korean consumers deal with face-related issues almost every day because chemyon is pervasive in the Korean culture. Furthermore, the specific characteristics of face differ from one culture to another. While the Western notion of face is oriented towards an independent self, chemyon is more closely linked with social status and position. Thus, Korean consumers show their social status and maintain chemyon by wearing or purchasing luxury brand goods. Among British consumers, however, purchasing luxury brand goods has little to do with preserving face. Face consumption is similar to conspicuous consumption as they both involve luxury brand goods. However, face consumption differs from conspicuous consumption in that not all face consumption is intended to show off and that the possession of luxury brand goods feels necessary to keep up with others in the practice of face consumption. Furthermore, face consumption inhibits the consumption of too many luxury brand goods because the Eastern notion of face emphasizes frugality and modesty. The questionnaire containing the face consumption scale was administered to British and Korean undergraduate students. Luxury brand goods were limited to bags, purses, watches, and shoes because brand logos are sufficiently revealed in these items allowing others to recognize their presence. Questions regarding the number of luxury brand goods possessed and the individual economic status were also included in the questionnaire. Data from 100 Korean and 152 British respondents (252 total) were used for data analysis. Principal component analysis using varimax rotation was conducted to figure out the properties of face consumption. The face consumption scale contained two dimensions: “face consumption in pursuit of distinction and acknowledgement” and “conformity face consumption.” Both factors had high internal consistency as Cronbach’s alpha was .851 and .868. The result of the independent samples t-test indicated that Korean consumers show a higher degree of face consumption in pursuit of distinction and acknowledgment. Korean consumers also exhibited a higher degree of conformity face consumption than British consumers. However, there was no statistically significant difference in morality-conscious face consumption between British and Korean consumers. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to illustrate the effect of face consumption and economic status on the number of luxury brand goods one possesses. Conformity face consumption has a significant effect on the number of luxury brand goods for both British and Korean consumers. However, economic status has a significant effect on the number of luxury brand goods for British consumers only. Whereas Koreans purchase luxury brand goods regardless of their economic status, British consumers seem to consider their economic status when purchasing luxury brand goods. This result is consistent with the suggestion that people who cannot afford luxury brand goods purchase them to gain social acknowledgement in Korea. It also explains why regardless of their social and economic status, Koreans show a higher interest in luxury brand goods than British consumers. Based on the research findings, it can be suggested that noticeable brand logos will increase the sales of luxury brand goods in Korean market. In addition, launching or promoting the second line of the luxury brand will further increase sales because the second line greatly appeals to Korean consumers who cannot afford to buy the first line brand yet still aspire to gain social acknowledgement by possessing luxury brand goods.