Thoughts on Korean Business by Don Southerton

Time to time, I feel it's prudent to share some basics on Korean global business. First and foremost... Korean culture training within your organization should be a constant and never ending process. In addition to providing new team members with awareness and skills, provide all team members and key management with coaching and ongoing training. In other words, just because a team member has worked in Korea, for a Korean-based firm, or on a Korean-based project they can still benefit from training. More significant, Korea is constantly changing--so staying current is vital. In addition. .. I have observed countless non-Koreans visiting Seoul. Some were there as suppliers and vendors to the local firms. Many were there to work on projects, providing services and expertise to Korean businesses. In conversations, I found that some non-Koreans, although savvy and experienced business people, lacked a real understanding of the working norms and expectations of Korean business and their...

By Don Southerton What make a business unique? A great question. I feel it centers on something unique they bring to the market. In my work on entrepreneurship , I found it often involved filling a need or gap in the market. BCW stands out because we focus on Korean global business. We work with both Korea and Western management and teams. I'm happy to say we have a wonderful reputation. I once attributed this to 3 skills. I'd like to add a fourth. #1 Critical Thinking. Critical thinking is a cognitive skill that allows us to logically investigate a situation, problem, question, or phenomenon in order to make a judgement, decision, or recommendation. #2 Strong People Skills. This is especially important when working with people under stress. Moreover, the Korean workplace is relationship-based vs. the West's procedure or system-based mindset. #3 Finally, BCW has decades of experience. We understand business. We understand Korea. And, we have been there, observing, and w...

I h o p e a l l i s w e l l . . . 1. Korea WEST received a huge endorsement last week. Ambassador Stephen Bosworth stressed the need to support the Korea West program during his keynote speech at the Korea Society annual diner. The event honored Henry Kissinger and Hyundai Kia Motors Chairman Chung Mong Koo . 2. A number of Korea based Groups have also been requesting their U.S. organization hire Korea WEST interns. 3. CIEE, an official State Department sponsor , has begun providing U.S. firms with resumes for placement. If you have not already, I strongly suggest contacting CIEE asap. Deena Robinson Director, Employer Relations CIEE International Work & Study Programs Tel: +1.207.553.4180 Email: drobinson@ciee.org P hil Simon Vice President, Employer Relations CIEE International Work & Study Programs Tel: +1.207.553.4007 Email: psimon@ciee.org Regards and best wishes, DS

There are many ways to rank Korea's top business groups ( chaebol ). In terms of size, Samsung Group and Hyundai- Kia Motor Group top the list. This chart looks at recent changes in market capitalization. With the economy, I see no real surprises. Korea Times Korea's bricks-and-mortar industries have waned in the midst of the global financial crisis but high-tech and auto-making businesses showed resilience on the Seoul bourses . According to the Korea Exchange ( KRX ), Monday, the world's top shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries saw its market capitalization dwindle 13.31 percent from 21.36 trillion won at the end of last August to 18.52 trillion won last Friday. The global No. 4 iron-maker POSCO also suffered a 7.86 percent loss in the market value over the 10-month period from 41.95 trillion won to 38.66 trillion won. ``Among the nation's 10 leading conglomerates, bricks-and-mortar businesses experienced setbacks. In other words, the financial tsunami mostly swep...

By Don Southerton I follow Lux and the luxury market in Korea. On one level, luxury goods are status markers in a traditionally status conscious society--reaching back hundreds of years. That said, I also see today's younger generations in Korea driving demand up market. I feel at times it's similar to America in the 1980s as many looked to be young urban professionals (yuppies) with their Rolex watches, Gucci ties, diamond tennis bracelets, and BMW. Author Richard Baker shares some insights from his forthcoming book, “The Future of Luxury: The Peacock and the Prius." I then plan to link Baker's thoughts to Korean wealth in a future blog post. “Life style” is the result of a pattern of decisions made regarding how to spend, invest, give away or save time, money, attention and other scarce resources, which reflects a basic set of values. It is the organizing principle for the accumulation and signaling of social capital, i.e. wealth. Through our research we have disc...