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Getting
a Handle on Korean Information
by Tom Coyner
Korea Times
June 27, 2006
The newly arrived business professional in the
"Land of
Morning Calm" quickly
discovers the initial orientation to be a bit less than a calm experience.
The foreign business person must quickly tap into information and develop
expertise on how to do business in Korea. More important, he or
she must know where to go for help.
The Korean marketplace is one of the
most dynamic in Asia, with developments
happening at Internet speed with information generally in the Korean
language. While most international business and economic news is available
in English, most of the local business news remains accessible only in
Korean. Very little is available in English to keep the foreign businessman
abreast of local industry and business developments.
Information is a perishable commodity in Korea
given its rapid developing economy. Data from
various organizations -- particularly statistics -- are often in conflict.
Also, Korean companies are reluctant to release information to outsiders,
even if it is not considered confidential.
Getting Oriented – Understanding Korea
101
Two
of the books most frequently recommended to new arrivals are the Royal
Asiatic Society’s classic Korean
Patterns, by Paul S. Crane, first published in 1967, and The Koreans: Who They Are, What They
Want, Where Their Future Lies, by
Michael Breen (1998).
Both books have gone
through reprinting due to constant demand. The fact that Crane’s
40-year-old book is still relevant and useful betrays the strong,
traditional nature of the Koreans. At the same time, it is essential to
look at a modern text, such as Breen’s, given the many changes in the
Korean psyche, reflecting this rapidly developing society.
For
those not inclined to read
books but can handle a comic book approach, Korea Unmasked – In Search of the
Country, the Society and the People, by Won-bok
Rhie, provides an entertaining yet
insightful overview of the Koreans. It was originally written in Korean but
has been a big hit with English readers. The author delivers a remarkably
objective view of Korea
from a Korean perspective.
Helpful Blogs
The
following is a list of helpful blog web sites
popular with foreigners who wish to keep abreast of Korean current events
beyond what is covered in the conventional English media. Since the URL
addresses often change, you may have to search via Google,
etc. And as with many blogs, you have to take the
information with a grain of salt.
Marmot’s Hole
(http://www.rjkoehler.com/)
– probably the most viewed English blog on Korea --
provides a robust collection of articles, photographs and commentary on
Korean current events, etc. The “Yalu to Nakdong’s Korea Blog Aggregator” is particularly
interesting.
Kushibo (http://kushibo.blogspot.com/) specializes in controversies
in Korean history. Since Koreans are often trying to base their view of one
contemporary issue or another on historical evidence, this site can be a
very helpful resource to get alternative interpretations.
Flying Yangban (http://gopkorea.blogs.com/flyingyangban/),
run by expatriate Republicans, provides a lively conservative view on Korea.
Carthartidae (http://cathartidae.wordpress.com/)
is a another running commentary on Korea’s
current events. If you like Marmot’s Hole, you should give this site
a visit.
Korean Government
While other government organizations can also be
of help, the following two are especially well regarded by long-term
foreign residents:
- KOTRA (Korea Trade Promotion Investment
Association): check their information on their English Invest Korea
web site at www.investkorea.org
- Seoul Help
Center for Foreigners: this city government-run
site offers resident foreigners some practical assistance that goes
beyond simple business requirements, at http://shc.seoul.go.kr/
Chambers of Commerce
All chambers of commerce
have their ups and downs, depending on who is hired and volunteering for
work within these business groups. It may be a “no brainer” to join the chamber of your own or head
office’s nationality. However, though the membership fees may be
cheap for firms just entering Korea, the real cost will be
your time, since only active participation will produce any real value from
any chamber of commerce.
Long-term foreign
business professionals often belong to more than one chamber, since it
doesn’t necessarily follow that their own country’s chamber
will best serve their business needs. If you feel it only makes sense to
belong to just one chamber, you may wish to survey which chambers are doing
what, and then consider joining a chamber that best suits your business,
rather than your nationality. Most chambers look great on paper or on the
Web, but it’s wise to consult with established expats
to get their impressions. If a chamber lists a committee that seems
relevant to your business, get the name of its current chairperson and find
out how often the committee actually meets, and what it has actually
accomplished.
Your Embassy
Many Western
nations’ embassies have some kind of commercial service. Their
on-hand information is rarely as up to date and as specific as your
requirements demand -- but one can get lucky. And for a very reasonable fee
the US,
Australian and some other embassies can commission special market research
projects on your behalf. So, if all other avenues fail or you are on a
tight budget, your embassy may be of service.
Social Organizations
Private clubs such as the
Seoul Club can provide premiere environments to make the right connections
– but they come with extremely hefty refundable deposits that may
exceed even those of like organizations in Hong Kong or Tokyo. Nonetheless, they are exclusive
and offer facilities suitable for both business entertaining and family
recreation. There are other membership clubs which welcome Western
expatriates and their families, but the Seoul Club is currently the best
known, and probably the best .
Interesting alternatives
include the Seoul Foreign Correspondents Club, conveniently located just
behind Seoul City
Hall, on the 18th floor of the Korea Press Center. It offers associate memberships for
non-journalists at reasonable fees. The British Embassy has come up with a
very clever way to offer a very good venue for networking while ensuring
that their diplomats are in sync with the business community. On most
Friday evenings, they operate a cozy pub in their basement, with their
diplomats serving as publicans. Membership is by invitation from a current
member only, but there are no fees to join and the British beverages are
among the best values in town. Not all members are British, and many
“old Korea
hands” start their Friday nights there.
Public service clubs are
remarkably common in Korea,
including the Lions, Kiwanis and Rotary. The Seoul Rotary (www.seoulrotary.com), however, with
more than 75 years of service to the Korean community, is the only one
which conducts its meetings in English. Its members are about 2/3 Korean
professionals and executives, and 1/3 foreigners, with Germans and
Americans competing for the largest expat membership
share. Through its weekly luncheon lectures and public service with Korean
Rotarians, many foreign executives and managers have gained special
insights into Korea
and its business culture.
English Periodicals
The
three English newspapers plus miscellaneous
business journals can be excellent information sources. Several vernacular
newspapers also have good English web sites worth checking out. Since Korea
is one of the most wired societies in the world, it takes relatively little
effort to scan for articles in these periodicals.
Draw on Inside Personnel
The local personnel of any business organization form
another valuable information source. By consulting with them, one can also increase
rapport and working relationships. Sometimes, if your staff does not have
the needed information at their fingertips, they still may have access to
sources through personal ties. At any rate, fellow workers will usually
have far more accurate information on a given situation than the new
foreign businessperson relying on his or her own "guesstimates."
“Old Korea
Hands”
Every port has its own, and Seoul
certainly boasts its share of long-term foreign residents who range from
the wise to the simply colorful. Many are conversant to nearly bilingual
speakers of Korean with in-depth experience. Having said that, however, one
must be careful. Like people everywhere, old Korea hands’ views of
reality can be based on strong opinions that may or may not have evolved in
keeping with the changing realities.
While these folks
generally have a better handle on what has already happened, newcomers with
unprejudiced perspectives can often do a better job of picking up on the
latest trends and changes in Korea. So listen well but keep
your wits about you at all times. When in doubt, compare your newly
acquired wisdom with other old Korea hands and your Korean colleagues –
then draw your own conclusions.
Update Periodically
In a dynamic environment, information quickly becomes
obsolete. Sometimes extrapolation of past data into future projections
yields invalid results.
With increasing affluence and the development of mass
communications and transportation, the lifestyle of the Korean people is
changing rapidly. The pace of change is so fast and profound that extreme
care must be exercised in developing a firm hold on the domestic market and
industry situation.
Conduct Cross-Checks
Most available information is collected and processed
for a variety of purposes, using different sets of criteria and
definitions. For example, production figures published by a government
agency may differ from those reported by industrial associations. It is
essential to compare
information from different sources and check for consistency. To secure
accurate information, it is sometimes necessary to hit a median among a
varying range of numbers on the same subject.
As
anywhere, one should consider the source of information to determine
whether the originator has some vested interest in tilting the data one way
or another to give a particular impression. It’s often wise to
consult with other informed persons to help gauge the level of bias in a
given piece of information.
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