Korean Job Discussion Forums

[charlieDD]

. . . with all the usual spice of "unique culture" , twisted logic, and threats of anti-Americanism.

Washington Needs to Better Understand Local MarketThe dispute surrounding the safety and imports of U.S. beef shows no signs of abating with the United States poised to budge not an inch from its original stance. The United States has been excessive in asking South Korea for renegotiation on sanitary requirements on U.S. beef imports without any efforts to rectify problems apparently attributed to either the meatpackers and exporters or U.S. government officials in charge of inspection of related products.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry�s decision to suspend quarantine inspections of U.S. beef over fears of specified risk material (SRM) was made in due course after a 20kg box of beef was found to contain banned backbones. The U.S. should have apologized first for its careless dealing and lack of efforts to meet the import requirement.

In a sense, the ministry�s decision came in recognition of the U.S. as an ally and major trade partner, with which it recently signed the historical KorUS Free Trade Agreement. But the U.S. neglected the government�s goodwill gesture, with its demand for the new agreement.

The U.S. has said there is no reason for South Korea to ban the imports the U.S. beef, citing the ruling made by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) which says bones from animals under 30 months of age are acceptable. But it is very arrogant for the U.S. to ask for the imports of its beef even after the spinal bones were detected.

Before trying to sell more on the Korean market, the U.S. is asked to understand the Korean culture of eating beef and cattle parts. The cow has always been regarded as very precious for its use in plowing fields in Korea�s traditional agriculture. And Koreans rarely ate beef until recently when mass production began. . . . . Oh, Puhleeeassse !

Against this backdrop, the price of Korean beef, called ``hanwoo,�� has been very high, denying many people easy access. That is the reason why the U.S. beef has attracted growing popularity among Korean ordinary consumers due to its relatively high quality and reasonable prices despite lingering suspicions over safety.

But when it comes to the discovery of banned parts, the situation becomes different. The Korean consumers will change their hitherto favorable attitudes toward the U.S. beef should Washington continue its ``haughty�� manner in forcing the Korean government to import its beef notwithstanding the problematic points.

Further excessive demand is feared to trigger anti-American sentiment and even a campaign to boycott U.S. beef. Koreans are accustomed to collective motives rather than individual ones. And such trends become more apparent when related to international issues involving surrounding nations such as the U.S., in particular.

The OIE standard is not automatically accepted by all member countries and each nation has its own sovereignty to determine the standard of its own in accordance with the specific dietary culture. The U.S. government needs to learn the lesson from the failure of Wall-Mart and U.S. major automobile companies due mainly to a lack of understanding of Korea�s local market

[charlieDD]

A cattlemen's association official in a speech the other day suggested an analogy of what's happening in Korea with American beef.

He says imagine (and it's not hard to do so ) that a Hyundai car gets recalled for some safety problem. If the U.S. were to do what the Koreans are doing with the beef, they would stop all sales of all Hyundai cars, resulting in cars backlogging on the docks, factories having to shut down for weeks, until Hyundai could explain sufficiently to an investigating committee how the problem slipped past their quality control, apologized to the American nation and people, and showed how they were going to prevent this from happening again.

[charlieDD]

Note the similarity between the above K.T. op-ed and this one from the activist Hankyoreh:

http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_editorial/228580.html

Can you say . . . O R C H E S T R A T E D . . ? I knew you could

[charlieDD]

" .[i] . . The U.S. government needs to learn the lesson from the failure of Wall-Mart and U.S. major automobile companies due mainly to a lack of understanding of Korea�s local market . . . ."[/i]

Amazing how they Koreans see the WalMart thing as a some kind of national victory, isn't it? Simple business dealings become points of national pride. Just reveals again the smallness of Korea.

And by the way, WalMart did quite well in the end: sold their stores and property for a hefty profit. Bought when the market was down after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis ( . . . but of course to Koreans, that's the WMF Crisis . . as if it was caused by foreigners, not Koreans ) . . . and sold high in the midst of Korea's real estate bubble. Same goes for Carrefour. They've both moved their cash to better pastures, China, where WalMart is the dominant player. ( And in Japan, WalMart is very successful as well with something like 250 stores now, either named WalMart or bearing a local name. )

[Ya-ta Boy]

It's in situations like this that I think the term 'free trade' should be scrapped and people (and governments) adopt 'reciprocal trade' strategies.

All countries would benefit from the concept since all countries violate 'fair' practices from time to time.

[stevemcgarrett]

Great thread, charlieDD:

This editorial, written in poor formal English, is priceless. Once again it reveals the insecurity of Koreans and their need to desperately resort to an appeal to national pride and some bogus cultural claim to make a counterargument. It's pathetic, really. I no longer care whether Asian governments LIKE us; I'd rather have their begrudging respect (see below).

Don't expect all the Korea apologists on this board to enter the fray, though. God forbid they should acknowledge that the Korean government is xenophobic and chauvanistic and operates on a double standard (then again, so does the Japanese).

We all know it: let us sell our things at will in your country, only you can't do that here.

We should threaten to curtail sales of Hyundai and Kia, or slap a big tariff on them until they see the light of day. Enough of this pandering to the Korean sensibilities.

Yesterday I saw a TV report on American beef sales in a popular Korean restaurant and the customers were commenting on how it tasted so good, etc, and was cheaper. Then they cut away to some enraged Korean beef farmers. Well, at least that's an attempt at balanced coverage.

If I've learned one thing in my years in Asia, it's this: Asians don't negotiate trade in good faith; they negotiate for utmost advantage. Compromise is a last resort and done so very reluctantly. Giving concessions is quietly seen as foolish on our part. Just look at the way they barter in the streets. It's all about bluff and patience and who has the most cunning. Sad but true--a clear cultural difference.

So we need to play their game if we wish to succeed in business here.

[just another day]

while technically, mad cow infected beef can be eaten safely (as long as the bone bits are completely removed from the meat), the problem is, a lot of Korean food boils the cow bone for hours and the marrow helps flavor beef stock soup... So its very likely transfer.

[Optimus Prime]

Koreans are absolutely retarded. Mentally.

[just another day]

[thepeel]

I like how the Koreans use the "anti-Americanism will increase" card.

To Koreans:

Nobody cares about your dreary little country. You can have all the anti-Americanism you want and the American media won't even report it. That is how fully irrelevant you are. Tantrum-throwing children posing as adults. Grown men who rant and scream but never punch. Pathetic.

About the beef.

Koreans in the United States have been buying beef for domestic consumption and shipping it to Korea. They then tip off Korean customs racists, who dig through piles of beef before finding (or planting) some tiny piece of bone.

I'm a strong advocate of free-trade. But I will get a perverse joy in a democratic president making trade between the two nations more "fair". I will have a "welcome back to poverty, Korea" party.

[just another day]

^ You know all it takes is one piece of bone to get mad cow disease right?

Japan and Europe promote 100% testing of mad cow disease. That is the international standard.

The UN is also currently auditing and recommending that the US beef industry step up its mad cow testing practices to a more global standard.

Say yes to globalism. Also there is a huge "health consciousness" going on in Korea right now. In the US, Whole Foods Market, which uses only mad cow free beef is also growing VERY rapidly. It is popping up everywhere you go.

[pkang0202]

That editorial was from 1 person. Why is everyone making a big deal.

Should OP-Ed's in the New York Times be the defacto voice of America?

[just another day]

^ I don't understand why people here aren't aware of US trends of the growing organic mad cow free grocery sector, which are in line with Korea's health conscious trends.

Maybe pro-mad cow disease people on this thread are anti American?

[thepeel]

Koreans are the most xenophobic and racist people in the world. They have a reputation across Asia for being chauvinist drunk rednecks. And this manifests itself in economic policy with SCARE after SCARE after SCARE about everything foreign and "other". A whole country of scared children.

But for the Korean, jad, being in favor of a balanced and properly enforced trade relationship between Korean and the USA isn't the same as being pro-madcow. That you try to make that link is pathetic. Sad and pathetic.

And your suggestion that Korea has "health conscious trends" is laughable. They smoke and drink more than most every other nation on earth. Married men bang hookers every weekend and NEVER use a condom. They live in a heavily polluted nation, where you can't even drink the water. They get stomach cancer at extremely high rates due to their kimchi fetish, yet will not report any of the news that kimchi causes cancer. Kimchi causes cancer.

Health conscious trends. My ass. You can get a "well being cheezy hot dog" outside of Kyobo bookstore in Kangnam.

Whole foods has NOTHING to do with madcow. Only when Whole Foods stops selling American beef for reasons of madcow can you make that comparison.

Your Korean logic and reasoning is sad. Just sad. Your whole country, culture and education failed you.

[just another day]