Thoughts on Korean Business by Don Southerton

It's summer vacation time in Korea. Thousands flock to the beaches. Factory towns like Ulsan empty and the production lines at Hyundai and Kia Motors stop for a seasonal break. Today is called chungbok, which means the middle of the summer's hottest days.

Name recognition of Korean brands has taken decades. Many American still don't know Samsung or LG are Korean. Nevertheless, top Korean firms have made considerable progress. Korea Times Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and LG Electronics have increased their worldwide brand value over the past 12 months, a study showed on Friday. Samsung, the largest company in South Korea, has pushed up its brand value by 8 percent to $16.2 billion to hold its position as the 20th most prestigious brand in the world, according to a top 100 list announced by Interbrand, a brand name consultancy. Samsung was the third Asian company in the list after Toyota at No. 7, and Honda, 19. Sony, Samsung’s archrival in the consumer electronics field, was six notches below the Korean firm. Samsung began to outrank Sony in the Interbrand rankings from last year when they were placed 20th and 28th respectively. Samsung is the world’s largest memory chip and LCD panel maker. It is also a key player in the mark...

This article is a great insight into the importance Korea's top executives see in language skills. Many firms reguire their team members hone their language skills. Some firms even have mandates that ALL employees have a minimum level of foreign language proficency. In fact, one requirement for all new applicants is high language skills--often in two foreign languages. Korea Times In an age of globalization, speaking a foreign language is vital. As more business meetings and presentations are conducted in a language other than Korean, the pressure is high among office workers to bump up their foreign language skills. This is also true for top executives at Korea’s leading industrial corporations. CEO Koo Hak-su of Shinsegae, Korea’s largest discount store operator, is one of many Korean chief executives known for his passion to learn and speak a foreign language. He once said to his staff: Don’t even dream about reaching the top seat if you can’t hold a meeting in English. Koo d...

This article is a great insight into the importance Korea's top executives see in language skills. Many firms reguire their team members hone their language skills. Some firms even have mandates that ALL employees have a minimum level of foreign language proficency. In fact, one requirement for all new applicants is high language skills--often in two foreign languages. Korea Times In an age of globalization, speaking a foreign language is vital. As more business meetings and presentations are conducted in a language other than Korean, the pressure is high among office workers to bump up their foreign language skills. This is also true for top executives at Korea’s leading industrial corporations. CEO Koo Hak-su of Shinsegae, Korea’s largest discount store operator, is one of many Korean chief executives known for his passion to learn and speak a foreign language. He once said to his staff: Don’t even dream about reaching the top seat if you can’t hold a meeting in English. Koo d...

Korea media notes... Less and less spam is coming from South Korea but the country is still one of the world's worst spam-relaying states, according to a security software company that tracks the online nuisance. The Britain-based Sophos said 7.5 percent of unwanted junk messages sent over the second quarter of this year came from Korea to earn the country the unenviable third-worst slot. In 2004, Korea was at the runners-up spot with 13.43 percent and the figure has headed south afterwards to 10 percent over the opening quarter of this year before falling to the single-digit territory during the past three months. The United States was on the highest echelon of the shameful list at 23.2 percent closely followed by China with 20 percent. France came in fourth with 5.2 percent

My Koreans friends love to cyber network. Most use Cyworld to post their lives on the Internet. SK's Cyworld will soon arrive in America... I curious how boldly they will lauch the service in the U.S. In Korea, Cyworld was launched with massive advertizing and a huge promotional campaign. In a bold attempt to pry open the world's digital heartland, Korea's leading portal service operator SK Communications will formally launch its Cyworld online social network service in the United States next month. "Cyworld will kick off its commercial service in the middle of August with an official party and media events," Park In-hwan, vice president of corporate strategy at SK Communications, told The Korea Herald. SK Communications operates Cyworld, one of Korea's most successful internet services which specializes in social networking. With the formal launch of Cyworld in the United States, SK Communications aims to secure a foothold in the biggest internet market ...

Bridging Culture, President and CEO, Don Southerton was recently cited in Computer World Magazine. The article centers on sensitivities that need to be honed by Chief Information Officers (CIO) for U.S. divisions of foreign-based companies. The article notes that with globalization big differences in cultures and management styles have surfaced. The article cites... CIOs of U.S. subsidiaries need a combination of keen observation skills, social savvy and intuition to strike up successful relationships with executives half a world away. There are no right or wrong cultures, but some Americans perceive that the American culture should be the global norm, says Don Southerton, president and CEO of Bridging Culture, a consulting firm in Vista, California. That kind of mind-set will get you into trouble, he says. The most challenged American executives are those who have the least global experience, says Southerton. In contrast, successful CIOs pay careful attention to cultural nuances when ...

A painting by Shin Yun-bok One of my favorite views of Korea's past is through its genre paintings. They are wonderful snapshots in class, status, division of labor, and popular culture. (My second books highlights several of Kim Hong-do's work). This Chosun Ilbo article examines Korean genre paintings and insights they offer into gender. Korean genre paintings of the 18th and early 19th centuries show a profound change in the role played by women in the Chosun Dynasty. The director of the Myongji University Museum, Lee Tae-ho, took a fresh look at some 60 genre paintings produced between the 18th century and early 19th century by Kim Hong-do, Shin Yun-bok, Yun Du-seo and others, and concluded that they pick up on how women in that era took on a more independent and powerful role. “Paintings produced after the 18th century often feature women focusing on entertainment rather than their traditional role as mother or wife,” Lee says. That change can be compared to a kind of cu...

Cheonggye Stream was once a hub of activity in during the Choson dynasty. The stream that ran West to East through the center of Seoul has seen an amazing rebirth with its reconstruction. Today thousands stroll its length. It's also becoming a cultural focal point for Seoul with this recent art display.

Demands on household and family needs forced many American women in the workforce in the 1960s. In addition to more women actively seeking careers, a similar trend is occurring in South Korea. Han Gook Ilbo notes, The number of Korean female workers reached a record high of 9.9 million last month, government report showed yesterday, pointing to the fast-growing female economic participation in the country. The figure climbed over 2 percent from a year ago, compared to an 1.1 percent increase in the overall number of employees, according to the National Statistical Office. The office pointed to higher educational levels and soaring social needs among female workers as major reasons for the increase. The female portion in the job market also hit a new high of 42.2 percent in June, though the figure is quite below the 50 percent anverage in several developed economies. The economic participation rate of Korean women has been steadily increasing lately. More than half of the Korean female...

On my last trip to Seoul, I was doing some historic research in Bukcheon (North Village). This section of the city is near the Hyundai Group headquarters. Since this part of the city was once home to many government officials and elites during the late Choson dynasty, a number of traditional Korean home exist. Anyway, after a morning walking tour studying homes in Bukcheon, I planned to trek over to Insadong for lunch. Enroute I came upon Nakwon shopping area. Here is a great article on this shopping area. It also provides some insights in urban living. Right in the epicenter of Seoul, there is the Nakwon shopping center, whose first floor is a four-lane road full of people and cars coming and going everyday. The second and third floors are the well known for anything from a Stradivarius to a synth and drums. But an excursion into the lower depths of this rambling warren of a building reveals a living, breathing traditional market born some 40 years ago. In the midst of its 1960s econ...

Watching TV tops the list of leisure activities according to a recent Korean survey... Since Korea switched to the five-day week, workers have more time for leisure activities, most of them indoors, from the sauna and movie theaters to karaoke bars. The top favorite of watching TV. A survey by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Korea Culture & Tourism Policy Institute interviewed 3,000 people over 10 years of age from 15 cities and provinces. It found that watching TV or listening to the radio topped the list of favorite leisure activities since the 40-hour week was introduced. In addition to watching TV, Korean enjoy talking on the phone, games both on-and offline, relaxing at the sauna or bath house, drinking, reading newspapers or magazines, watching movies or other social activities, shopping, taking walks, taking naps, surfing the Net or chatting online. Going for walks was the lone outdoor activity to make the list. For men, the most popular activities were individu...

Korean shipbuilding is globally top ranked. Korea entered into the market sector in the 1960s with innovations that reduced costs and production time. SEOUL, July 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korean shipbuilders are forecast to remain competitive for the next 20 years, eclipsing those from other nations on the back of Korean companies' advanced technology in design, production and equipment, a private think tank said Friday. South Korea currently leads the world shipbuilding industry with the top seven companies. Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. are the three largest shipyards in the world. Domestic shipbuilders keep developing new technologies that support the companies to increase the quality yet lower production costs, the Hana Institute of Finance said. Cutting-edge technologies used by South Korean companies include onland shipbuilding facilities, automated welding and a mega-block transport system that enab...

In the battle of Korea's retail giants, Hyundai, Shinsegae, and Lotte are strong rivals. One outcome of this competition is the construction of new upscale retail centers. Shinsegae is planning on a new bold venture in Busan. As noted in the Korea Herald... Shinsegae Co. will hold a groundbreaking ceremony today for its urban entertainment center project - earmarked to be the nation's largest multiplex shopping center - in the southern port city of Busan. The multiplex shopping center will be established in Centum City, an endeavor of Busan city aimed at creating a center of leisure and entertainment in the Haeundae area of the country's second-largest city. The first phase of Shinsegae's two-stage project will cover land space of about 297,000 square meters, where in which the department store, a multiplex theater and recreational facilities, among others, will be built. It is scheduled to open in 2008. The completion will mark the establishment of the first Shinsegae ...

One of the top Korean conglomerates I find fascinating is the Hyundai- Kia Motor Group. Most people are aware of its two auto companies Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors. The conglomerate is actually a highly intergrated Car Marker that sister companies range from parts manufacturers, to logistics, to car finance, to marketing... For decades the Chung family sought to produce its own steel. Government policy and mandates prevented entry into steel production. As Korea has moved from a state-run economy to a open market system, old barriers not longer hold Hyundai-Kia from entry into steel production. Korea Herald notes... Hyundai Steel Co. [formerly INI Steel] has reorganized itself in preparation of its first blast furnace which is scheduled for production in 2010. The steelmaker - under the Hyundai Automotive Group - has set up new departments to support the blast furnace business, shortly after its chairman Chung Mong-koo was released from a two-month imprisonment last week. From J...

A common question American women ask is gender issues in the Korean workplace. As one who watches Korean society and workplace culture, I find the dramatic ever-increasing role of Korean women in the workplace worthy of study. This Korea Times article and chart provides some insights that I have confirmed in my interviews and first-hand observations of the Korean workplace. Wives contributed about a quarter of the average monthly income in dual-income households, where both the husband and wife work. [ My guts is that this number is much higher with many women in cash businesses]. According to the annual Women’s Life in Statistics, compiled by the National Statistical Office (NSO), working wives earned 916,800 won a month, accounting for some 24.3 percent of the 3.78 million won average monthly income of two-income families in Korea in 2005. Last year, double-income households had 1.05 million won, or 38.5 percent, more monthly income than the average family with single income. The NS...