Korea ranked 15th in substance and 19th in image last year in a survey designed to measure the country’s current national brand value, the Presidential Council on Nation Branding said on Thursday.

The survey, co-conducted by the Presidential Council on Nation Branding and Samsung Economic Research Institute, showed that the country’s national brand in image still lags behind substance. But the gap between the two has narrowed from eight notches in 2009, six in 2010 to four in 2011, the council said. Meanwhile, the U.S. ranked top in terms of substance for third consecutive year in the survey and Japan took the first place in image.

The presidential council said Korea has already entered the average level of OECD member countries in terms of actual growth measured by the country’s achievement in economy, business and technology. But its national image, mostly influenced by a nation’s effort in promoting its culture, has way to go.

“Korea needs to promote both traditional and modern cultural assets as a part of efforts to improve its image to the average level of OECD member countries,” Kim Dae-hee, director of Bureau of Planning and Coordination at the PCNB.

Some 13,500 opinion leaders from 26 nations participated in the 2011 survey conducted from Nov. 4 through 21. The latest 2011 statistical data provided by international organizations such as International Institute for Management Development and World Bank were used to evaluate a nation’s substance, the presidential council said in its report.

It studied 50 nations in eight categories including economy, science/technology, infrastructure, heritage and modern culture, it added.

By Cho Chung-un  (christory@heraldcorp.com)