According to a survey conducted by the government eight in 10 foreigners living in and out of Korea positively view the country. The Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS) conducted the study using a sample of 12,500 non-Koreans aged 16 and more in 24 countries around the world in September. Findings showed that 80.5 percent of the respondents have positive images of South Korea. Nearly 23 percent of the foreigners who have positive images cited South Korea's contemporary culture, such as K-pop and films as the main factors, while others chose Korean brands and products (13.2 percent), economic status (10.2 percent), cultural heritage (9.5 percent), the national character of Korea (8.6 percent), social system (7.8 percent) and sports (7.6 percent)