THERE was a time not too long ago when nobody would touch a consumer product made in Korea with the proverbial 10-foot pole.

For many years, it was the Japanese, American, and European brands that lorded over the large and profitable market in the Philippines when it came to electronics, appliances, cameras, cellular phones and even cars.

Those days are long gone. Thanks to their unbeatable package of affordable prices, innovative products and sleek, contemporary designs, Korean companies have captured the fancy ? and hard-earned cash ? of Filipino consumers yearning for something new and fresh.

In the automotive sector, for example, the Hyundai Tucson has caught the market by storm, helping make Hyundai the third most popular car brand in the market after Toyota and Mitsubishi. It has even edged out Honda, another Japanese brand.

The Tucson ? with its unique Sport Utility Vehicle look at Asian Utility Vehicle price ? has become so in demand that some buyers have to wait for months for their order to arrive. The waiting list is just so long.

And Hyundai promises to leverage on the Tucson?s success and come up with more models to meet growing market demand, reveals Ma. Fe P. Agudo, president and CEO of Hyundai Asia Resources Inc.

?This is how we describe the rise of Hyundai here in the Philippines and world,? she explains. ?Having evolved many times over, Hyundai has perfected and continues to perfect its ?Innovations for Humanity,? such that it has become a formidable challenger in the auto industry.?

For Samsung marketing director Benjie Jimenez, Korean brands have come into their own in the Philippines ?because they have established that their products are of excellent value.?

But distributors of Korean products in the Philippines admit that they had to overcome initial reservations about the items being of quality as good ? or even better ? than those produced by rival companies in other countries.

The price helped wear down those doubts. It was the initial come-on because Korean products are comparatively cheaper than those of competition. As it became apparent that the products are of comparable quality, market acceptance quickly followed.

Perhaps it also helped that Korea has become more familiar with Filipinos, given the influx of Koreanovelas and Korean nationals who flock here to learn English.

?Korean brands are not only popular, but are now trusted because of the technological innovations, design and competitive price they offer the market,? says Jimenez. ?Over time, they have gained the trust and respect of consumers after proving that their products are of excellent value.?

Samsung, he adds, became a leading brand in a wide range of consumer products ? televisions, refrigerators, cameras and cellular phones, among others ? because of leadership in technology and design.

The company, claims Jimenez, was the first to make full high-definition, 3D LED television available to consumers. It has so far sold over 100,000 units in Southeast Asia, and has been the market leader in the LCD market in the Philippines for the past four years.

The focus on innovation and design, Jimenez says, helped Samsung perform well in the Philippines despite the challenges posed by the global economic crisis.

?Samsung has excelled against a challenging environment in the past year, consolidating our leading position in televisions and making inroads into other product categories,? he volunteers.

Also making serious inroads into the hypercompetitive consumer market is LG Electronics which grounds its innovations on consumer insights.

?We at LG strive to find ways to provide additional value to consumers and to meet even their unstated needs,? says Emerald Dimapilis, corporate marketing head of LG Electronics Philippines. ?Innovations arise from our curiosity about people. How can we make their lives better, richer, easier and more fun? We know that innovation attracts consumers to new technology and opens up opportunities to LG.?

Adds Dimapilis: ?At the very heart of our philosophy is that people always come before technology. Without people, technology is a cold and empty thing. By marrying the smartest technology with the most stylish design and the most reliable performance, we believe that lives can be enriched in small and big ways.?

With this philosophy in mind, LG produced its LG Cookie Series of cellular phones, a new line of Infinia LED high definition televisions and LG home appliances. And it is just getting started, with television considered to be its flagship product.

?LG plans to promote Infinia as the key growth engine for 2010 to achieve its ambitious goal of becoming the top global player in the television market,? Dimapilis says. ?Going forward, the TV industry will no longer compete along basic features such as slimness and image quality. We expect television to evolve into a center for smart living beyond its status as a simple display device. We?re moving away from merely ?watching TV? towards an era of ?using TV.??

Given such vision, it may only be a matter of time before Korean companies in the Philippines jump from the durable goods market and invade just about every sphere of the Filipinos? increasingly wired and technologically-advanced life. ?