Thoughts on Korean Business by Don Southerton

“All This For A Phone?” Apple iPhone Launched I find popular culture, past or present, fascinating. Most often I observe and comment on Korean pop culture—sharing with non-Koreans my experiences and analysis. For a change, the launch of Apple’s iPhone in America and the hype surrounding the product drew my interest. This is perhaps because I see similarities between the iPhone launch and Korea where technology has a huge impact Korea society. My Korean friends would love the iPhone launch. Why? Product launches in Korea come with huge media and promotional blitz. In fact, Seoul with its vibrant consumer population is test market for the latest high tech products before they are introduced across Asia and globally. Excitement and social networking drives sales in Korea. Standing in an upscale San Diego mall just a minute after the local Apple Store reopens, crowds not even there to purchase the iPhone gather to witness the event. One feels the buzz of “an event.” Even those shopping and...

Some of the readers of this Blog may be following the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement (KFTA). My interest is in the Auto section of the agreement. This last week in US International Trade Commission (ITC) meetings over the KFTA, both sides spoke. This included the Korean Ambassador and Congress opposed to the current agreement. My friends in the biz tell me the Mich. reps are and will remain adamantly apposed to any agreement, which is no surprise. Sander Levin (Dem. Mich.) has made the same argument for years. His recent points of contention, no different. As of yet, autos are not part of the revision, perhaps because there is not a lot of to change. Moreover, the Mich. reps don't really give specifics just continue to stress how few US OEM cars make it into K. Again, the same argument they have made for years, The Mich. reps oppose the agreement more on principle than specifics... Sander Levin and the US OEM (like Ford) content there are barriers to imports. There are huge VAT, n...

Bridging Culture Worldwide provides a number of exclusive services to its clients, colleagues, and the business community linked to Korea. First, BCW and its President and CEO Don Southerton studies Korea and its global reach throughout the day, 24/7/365. We monitor, analyze, and research issues that impact you and your company and then provide frank and accurate updates. This is a unique service, available only through BCW. Currents topics we monitor daily include North Korean nuclear disarmament talks and reunification issues, the U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement, issues and controversies involving all the major Korean conglomerates (Samsung, Hyundai-Kia Motors, Hyosung, LG, etc.), the Korean market and economy, popular trends, generational issues, and the globalization of Korea business. We also study the Korean car market and Korean consumer electronics, while following the growth of Starbucks, Krispy Kreme and Outback, to name but a few…. Next, BCW through it strong ties and daily ...

Learning about a culture’s traditions, customs, and norms is helpful in building cross-cultural understanding. Korea has a number of traditional lunar holidays that link the present to the past. These include Chuseok (the Fall Harvest Festival), the Lunar New Years, and Dano. Dano is celebrated the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. This year it falls on Tuesday June 19. Although not a popular as Chuseok or Lunar New Years, Dano is still seen by many as a festival rich in heritage. Tano is not a legal holiday. Looking Back…. In the past, Dano (also spelled Tano) was a day set aside to have fun and enjoy life with dancing, singing, and sports. It is also a day where people performed ceremonies honoring village spirits and ancestors. Wrestling, martial arts, and swinging are activities traditionally associated with Dano. Men often participated in ssirum, Korean wrestling, and taekkyeon, Korean martial arts, while women gathered to swing on long rope swings. On this day, women washed ...

Five Do’s and Don’ts Do offer both non-Korean and Korean management teams cross-cultural training. For Korean overseas executives, newly assigned to America, cross-cultural, localization, and trust-building skills are essential. For new American management, insights into Korean culture, norms, and workplace expectations will reduce misunderstandings and improve productivity. Don't fail to recognize that most people have little cross-cultural training—even those who have traveled extensively. Expecting executives to have cross-cultural skills, especially expecting Americans to understand Korean culture, is like throwing someone into a pool and assuming they will swim, not sink. Do offer executives one-on-one coaching sessions and support in addition to training programs. Most executives benefit from (and appreciate) an opportunity to discuss work-related cross-cultural issues privately and confidentially. Don't hire someone to craft Korean culture programs, or select som...

June 2007 Seoul Commentary: Past and Present Although I monitor Korea daily through the media and converse with my colleagues via web cam and web chat, frequent visits provide the deepest insights. Unlike many who arrive at Incheon International Airport and have commitments, which require that within hours they be on a work-related tour or a meeting dealing with urgent business matters, I arrive several days early to observe and analyze. This commentary provides a socio-economic, marketing, and popular view of South Korea--June 2007. The commentary concludes with some suggestions for those who interact with Koreans, have business ventures in Korea, or work for one of the ever growing Korea-based global organizations. Past and Present Past and present is one way I view Korea, perhaps more so on this trip with warm weather allowing folk tradition to be highlighted in public venues. To begin, multiple snapshots form an image of modern Seoul. 1. As I sit in a Starbucks near Seoul City Hall...

Visitors to the Blog and those who know my work! This article covers a number of subjects I see as interesting Books, Korea in the 1890s in the Jongro area, and modern popular culture Korea Herald notes... Maurice Courant, interpreter for the French mission in Seoul in the late 19th century, noticed that major bookstores in Seoul were mostly located in the Jongno area, especially near Gwanggyo Bridge.[ Newly re-build as part of the Cheongye cheon project.] His observation remains valid. Four big bookstores -- Kyobo, Youngpoong, Bandi & Luni's, Libro -- are clustered around the Gwanggyo, which was widely known as the Chohung Bank headquarters site (now, Shinhan Bank's branch office has replaced it due to a merger). But there is another historic site that is not drawing much attention from passers-by. About 30 meters away from the Gwanggyo's stone miniature stands a small monument for Hoedong Seogwan, Korea's first modern bookstore. The neglected historic site, in fa...