South Koreans have been sticking to their boycott of Japanese products since July as an avenue to express their anger over Tokyo's export curbs on Seoul. <br />As the boycott rumbles on, the brand-value of some Japanese firms have taken a nosedive.<br /> Brandstock, a Seoul-based corporate brand-value rating agency, released on Monday its BrandStock Top Index 100 for the third quarter.<br />It shows the brand value of the local unit of Japanese apparel chain Uniqlo slumped a whopping 27 spots since the previous quarter... to 99th.<br /> However, local airlines also suffered as the number of South Koreans tourists heading to Japan dropped sharply because of the boycott.<br />South Korea's flagship carrier Korean Air tumbled 22 ranks spots to 48th, while the nation's second largest carrier Asiana Airlines dropped eight places to 31st. <br />Hana Tour, one of South Korea's largest travel agencies, also suffered.<br />It slid nine spots to 24th. <br /> On the other hand, other local brands have reaping the benefits of the boycott. <br />The brand-value of South Korean automobiles had been on a downtrend in the last quarter, but they bounced back strongly in the third quarter. <br />Notably, Hyundai's high-end model Genesis ranked 28th on the list,… up 28 spots compared to the previous three-month period... as drivers in South Korea turned their backs on the Genesis' Japanese rivals.<br />Hyundai's another premium model, the Grandeur, jumped up 27 places to 58th. <br />Brandstock said the boycott's effect will expand across an even broader slice of the South Korean economy, the longer it continues. <br /> Samsung Electronics' Galaxy smartphone remained the most valuable brand in South Korea for the seventh consecutive year.<br />It was followed by the country's largest retailer E-mart, and mobile messenger app KakaoTalk. <br />Eum Ji-young, Arirang News. <br />
