Thoughts on Korean Business by Don Southerton

Seoul's Boshingak Bell pavilion in the 1890s. There are two popular ways Koreans celebrate the New Year. Many Koreans, for example, travel to mountain and sea side locations to watch the year's first sunrise. Others in Seoul witness the ringing of the Boshingak bell. Yonhap noted that: Seoul's metropolitan government will hosted its annual Bosingak Bell Ringing Ceremony at midnight on Sunday in the center of the capital, with as many as 150,000 citizens, including ranking government officials, business leaders and celebrities, attending. The bell in Seoul's Jongno district was rung 33 times to greet the New Year. [ 33 is a lucky number in Buddhism]. BTW Historically, during the Choson Dynasty (1392-1910) the bell was rung several times each day. These bell ringings included signaled the opening and closing of Seoul's Great Gates.

On my list of frequent questions asked by woman participants of BC training programs, gender in the Korean workplace always surfaces. Most often westerners see lots of male Korean team overseas team members. Never seeing women overseas team members or management creates an impression or perception that very few women work for global Korean business. For those of us who watch and study the Korean workplace, we recognize a huge generational change is occurring. The perception that women were temporary workers, who quit after marriage for child-rearing still lingers, but many women are breaking away from old norms and seek careers. Nevertheless, some issues still are firmly rooted. This Korea Times article points out new government agency mandates regarding discrimination based on physical appearance. What about losing some weight after entering the company? How old are you? It is good for a woman to look younger than her real age. These are examples of questions that women sometimes enc...

I'd thought I'd share an excerpt from one of my 3 novels, A Yankee in the Land of the Morning Calm. In writing the book I based much on the life of American missionaries like Lillias Horton Underwood. Lillias documented her efforts with the Korean royal family in Fifteen Years Among the Top-Knots or Life in Korea (NewYork: American Tract Society, 1904). From A Yankee in the Land of the Morning Calm: A Historic Novel, Book One . The Korean Royal Family Was No Exception. In late December 1893, King Kojong and his wife Queen Min became very curious about the holiday and started to inquire about its significance. To satisfy her curiosity, Queen Min summoned her closest western friend and personal physician, Lillias Underwood to explain about the Christmas holiday, which the Anglo missionary did gladly. A few days later, on the December 25 Christian holiday, Queen Min made special arrangements for the Underwood family to receive gifts of fruit, expensive cloth, and elaborate silk s...

Here is some additional information on the Holidays in Korea past and present.... As noted in previous postings, Sae hae bok mani ba deu say yo is a popular holiday greeting and translates as Seasons Greetings. For those who wish to say Merry Christmas in Korean. There are two Merry Christmas greetings: Sung tan jul chuk ha or Christmas bo nae say oh So, did Korea have a seasonal holiday before Christian Christmas? (BTW The first official Western style Christmas was celebrated in 1894). Yes, Dongji, or the winter solstice, was a significant event in Old Korea. It was when the days started to become longer than the nights. To celebrate this, people offered rituals for the gods and their ancestors. The day was calling A-Se or little New Year's Day. Traditionally the winter solstice, which falls on December 21-22, was a time to makeup a new calendar and mark it with the seasonal sub divisions corresponding with the agricultural seasons. In Korea, this tradition lives on today i...

As the holidays approach, you may wish to greet your Korean colleagues with: Sae hae bok man i ba deu say yo! (Seasons Greetings) (I will modify the Romanization for easier pronunciation). Hint: Break the greeting into: sae hae bok—mah ne—bah deu say yo In South Korea, the government recognizes Christmas December 25 as a public holiday. Christians, who make up about 30% of the population, celebrate the occasion as a religious holiday. Like in the West, both Christians and non-Christians may engage in some holiday customs such as gift-giving, sending Christmas cards, and setting up decorated trees in their homes. Children have embraced Santa Claus, whom they call Santa Grandfather. Each year I see more signs of commercialism in Korea with stores and buildings displaying Christmas decorations and offering holiday sales. Sae hae bok man i ba deu say yo! works well and is a common seasonal greeting. For those wanting to wish someone Merry Christmas use Sung tan jul chuk ha. If you ...

Westerners looking at Korean global conglomerates see the family management issue at Samsung, Hyundai-Kia Motor Group, or LG getting considerable press--and, quite often the topic of family succession draws lots of negative press and controversy. In Korea, it is a frequent subject of media attention. However, family management in Korea is the norm...with large and small businesses alike. This Korea Times article looks at family succession among Korea consumer and retail sectors. I think it provides some insights into how the conglomerates' top leadership gradually groom their heirs for succession--a process that takes years. Executives of consumer goods and retailing conglomerates _ Lotte, Shinsegae, Hyundai Department Store and Aekyung _ are handing over their leadership to their eldest sons. Shin Dong-bin, heir apparent of the Lotte Group, is the first among next-generation executives who has been expanding his management over Koreas largest retailer founded by his father, Cha...

Popular culture in South Korea is one of the themes of the Blog. Over the years, I have seen Korea shift from a cash culture to a credit card culture. Other than small business owners who still do lots of cash business, Koreans use credit cards extensively. One dimension is that Korea is very wired (Internet) and busy culture...the convenience of using a Samsung or Hyundai adds to their usage. Korea Media notes... Nearly seven out of 10 South Koreans own a credit card, posting the second-highest credit card ownership rate in the world, according to Nielson Media Research, a global media research firm. The countrys credit card ownership rate currently stands at 68 percent, the highest in the Asia Pacific region. South Koreans rank closely behind the British, where credit card penetration rate is 70 percent, the firm said. [ I never knew Brits were ranked so high on credit card ownership. Wonder why?] South Koreans are among the worlds biggest credit card users, largely the result of r...

In my new Novel (see earlier posts) life a century ago in the Korean port Inchon (Incheon) is depicted. Incheon will soon become home to New Songdo City. Like a century ago when the port city was the hub of commerce the project will be an East Asian center of technology and business... BTW Songdo is the name of a ancient Korean city, which was known as a mecca for scholars, artists, and intellectuals--quite fitting for a international hub for knowledge-based technology and business. This Korea Times article describes the project well... The New Songdo City Development (NSC) is transforming Songdo, a 1,500-acre landfill on the countrys west coast, into a hub for international business and the knowledge-based information technology industry. The NSC is a joint venture between Gale International Korea, a unit of U.S. real estate developer Gale International, and POSCO Engineering & Construction (E&C), an affiliate of Koreas leading steel maker POSCO. The company kicked off the wo...

I have two announcements. First, Bridging Culture Publications on the BC website has information on my new novel _A Yankee in the Land of the Morning Calm. Here's the link to BC Publications http://bridgingculture.com/Site/Publications.html A Yankee in the Land of the Morning Calm_ is a short, concise book set in a time when dramatic events unfolded-- events that shaped Modern Korea and its people. The book is reminiscent of the incredibly popular American Dime Novel of the late nineteenth century. In fact like a Dime Novel,_ A Yankee in the Land of the Morning Calm_ is first in a series of four books. Book Two and Three are currently works-in-progress. When the series is completed, a hard copy version of the collection will be available. In addition, the book series'’ 65-100 page format is designed for web-based eBook PDF downloading. A Yankee in the Land of the Morning Calm_ is available in an eBook version through my publisher. A Korean language translation is a...

I'm often quizzed on wages for white collar workers in Korea. It a tough question to answer. Few firms disclose this info! But, this Korea Times article notes starting wages for recent college grads. The annual salary for a four-year college graduate in their first working year is approaching 30 million won ($32,400) on average, an online recruiting firm. In its survey of 413 companies, including major conglomerates, JobKorea found that male college graduates will receive an average of 29.85 million won during their first year of work. When the Internet recruiter surveyed 320 companies last year, the average annual salary for graduates in their first year of work was 28.15 million won. This year, the financial sector topped the list with graduates earning 34.88 million won, higher by 16.9 percent than the overall average. Shipbuilding and heavy industries ranked second with 34.78 million won. The sectors with above-average salaries also include chemical & petrochemical (30.55 m...

About a year ago while attending a lecture at the University of California San Diego's Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies, a senior Korean economist brought up a concern. The Korean economist noted Korea's zero population growth. He pointed out this would have huge impact on Korea in the next decades with few new workers joining the workforce. The issue of population growth is a frequent topic of discussion in Korea. This Korea Korea Herald provides some interesting statistics. The Korean population in the 30-49 age bracket will start declining next year. Meanwhile, people aged 60 or more will likely top 7 million in 2008 and account for 15 percent of the total population in 2010, according to the Korea National Statistical Office and the Ministry of Planning and Budget yesterday. The government agencies are warning that this rapidly aging demographic will negatively affect the economy's productivity and overall competitiveness. The nation...

News Release PR WEB La Jolla, CA (PRWEB) December 1, 2006 -- Don Southerton has announced the release of a historic novel set in late Nineteenth Century Korea. The work is titled "A Yankee in the Land of the Morning Calm." In his latest writing, author Don Southerton weaves key historic events of the era with a fictional account of Yankee trader Josh Gillet. Southerton notes, "the main character Connecticut Yankee Josh Gillet longed for high adventure and travel. Leaving late nineteenth century New England for a sojourn in Japan, Josh soon found himself in the Land of the Morning Calm -- Korea." In addition, the author cites, "Coming of age is always filled with trial and tribulation. For Josh Gillet, intense life experiences are forged in an ancient land that became a political chessboard for imperialist powers -- amid a bold Protestant missionary movement and Anglo merchants with hopes of wealth. Josh quickly learned that high adventure, opportunity, and a b...