Thoughts on Korean Business by Don Southerton

  A friend once shared – Don you are “the Media.”     These kind words resonated deeply as I was transitioning from academia back to the private sector and continued to write and post frequently on topics I have found interesting.     Not to mention I’ve found great enjoyment authoring over the past decade a series of books of Korea, and their workplace—and as events and things change I have revised and updating Hyundai Way: Hyundai Speed plus as new COVID developments unfolded adding additional content to Korea 2020: The Korean Workplace in Transition.     Now seeing myself as “the Media” it’s as much about providing commentary and insights vs. reporting on the News.  I’ll leave that to journalists.   Layering on my schooling as a cultural Korea historian and actively engaged in Korean business sectors like automotive, tech, and market entry, I do try to add my thoughts, perspectives, and most important background on issues that su...

  My article on North Korea was picked up by Korean media. Been well received, too. https://www.hapskorea.com/biden-kim-jong-un-and-north-korea-back-in-the-news/ With re-occurring global COVID concerns, and for the United States a disputed election, and recovery plans like the Biden Economic Relief program, we have not heard much in the mainstream media about North Korea. Not until this week, when North Korea broke months of silence in warnings regarding the recent scaled-down military exercises conducted by the United States. and South Korea, and U.S Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd traveling to Asia-Pacific for meetings with Japanese and South Korean counterparts. North Korea was certainly a top news story following a 2018 summit in Singapore between then-President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, and followed by two more meetings: Hanoi in February 2019, and Panmunjom on the border between the Koreas in July 2019.  To some experts, these meetings are...

  My weekly Everything Korea Office Chat was just picked up in Korea Media. https://www.hapskorea.com/the-workplace-and-staying-informed-amid-covid/ With a year of pandemic workplace restrictions in place, many norms and practices have changed dramatically. Zoom conferences vs. meeting in person, fewer group meetings, events and gatherings virtual or limited in size, and of course social distancing. Forming and maintaining relationships under COVID, too, has proved a challenge especially for Korean teams with limited after-work dinners and opportunities to bond and mingle in person. To give a perspective from the past on the demand fueling networking, I once supported a Korean Task Force Team (TFT) in a global rollout. I recall one of the team, a  sawon  (an entry-level staff member), sharing how frustrated they were with needing to spend an hour in the morning networking to stay current. More so, important time was spent probing for a heads-up on what projects were rumor...

  I often say   Similar bring us together  Global business requires colleagues of different cultures to work together on a daily basis.   How we see each other culturally is often in the differences, like language and in similarities such as shared values like family. I like to focus on the later; as differences can pull us apart and similarities brings us together.   Particularly for western teams engaged in all ways with Korean operations, I believe in the importance of deep learning about the workplace in Korea — the 2021 norms, practices, and day-to-day life. They do change and most often we can get fixed on what could have been tainted by here say—or an altogether lack of understanding.    The same learning goes for Korean global teams assigned to support overseas’ operations. They need to become learners--savvy in the wide range of local overseas practices. Expecting global teams to bend to Korean business norms rarely works, too. It ju...