Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Stout]

One could argue this is a concern for Korea overall. Or one could revel in the connnect-the-dots-for-quick gain mentality. Suppose it could hinge on how important one rates appearances vs content, naked profit (how it feels in the end regardless of the means) vs. process (how you got there), as well as how much long-term thinking is involved.

http://www.koreaherald.com/business/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110713000784

Samsung is no match for Apple, IT guru Ahn Cheol-soo said in a recent interview with The Korea Herald, stressing that Samsung is paying the price for failing to create and encourage original platforms.

�The vibes we are getting from abroad on the situation are quite different from what we are feeling in Korea,� Ahn said.

Apple and Samsung are currently embroiled in a bitter legal dispute over licensing rights.

�Samsung, despite its position as a conglomerate, has failed to create an ecological business environment and instead has turned the industry into a zoo,� Ahn said.

Ahn Cheol-soo (The Korea Herald)



He used the zoo metaphor to indicate that the business sector has become a ruthless place where nobody gets a second chance, and because there are no second chances, nobody takes risks to form their own platforms.

Because Korea has no real platform, the entire digital industry has fallen five years behind the U.S., said Ahn, now dean of Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology at Seoul National University.

Ahn went on to say that none of the domestic conglomerates seem interested in encouraging second-tier players to help shape a corporate �eco-system� where failing is allowed to pave the way for eventual success.

[Triban]

It is people like this who should be running the country and chaebol if Korea wants to succeed as a wealthy nation. He voiced what I have thought (and been chastised by Korean for saying) for years. Lack of experimentation and originality, blatant copyright infringement, etc. leads to stagnation and ineptitude.

[maladict23]

[brento1138]

I would say it's a well established fact that Korean companies copy. But they copy well. And improve upon those copies.

For example.

A Hyundai these days is a little cheaper than a Honda Civic, yet has either just the same amount of quality, or more, for a cheaper price. If I were to choose today, I'd buy a Hyundai. 15 years ago? No contest, Honda.

Then you got the Samsung galaxy vs. the Apple Iphone. Questionable which one is the better phone. In many aspects, the Samsung is... maybe others the Iphone. I chose the iPhone and wouldn't get a Samsung. But it remains that the Galaxy is the only *real* competitor to the iPhone. And that's commendable, even if it does appear they copied something.

Also back home the Samsung TVs always seems to be a little lower in price than Sonys. Just enough to influence a purchasing decision. Yet the quality is pretty much the same, and the internal parts are exactly the same (Sony buys Samsung micro-cooling fans, for example). So when you buy a Sony, you're actually buying Samsung technology, although you don't see it. (Same with Apple I should add)

Cheap labor is another factor to be considered. Although Korean businessmen who work for Samsung do make a whole lotta money throughout their lives, just remember how they practically sacrifice their lives (and sometimes their marriage) for their jobs. The insane working hours of the average Korean company worker is no laughing matter... I wonder what their hourly wage would work out to, considering there's no over-time. One of my co-workers at my school gives me the impression of a man who escaped jail and now "lives life." The poor guy worked at Samsung, and chose the "lowly" wage of a teacher over the horrible hours and conditions there. (Well, except the Gentlemen's club aspect...) He seems to be a man who finally gets to enjoy his life.

Anyways, this all works to make a more competitive nation. Sure they don't have the original ideas, but copying something and making it better is not such a bad quality in my opinion. Sometimes I wonder, too, if companies do have the legal right to patent certain technologies. That leads to monopolies, and if nobody can compete with a giant, then it is not fair to the consumer.

[Stout]

In Korea being "a more competitive country" basically translates to more spoils for the entitled few and more work and enslaving conditions for the majority, as well as a higher cost of living.

As the article states, Samsung et al. aren't creating a very good business environment where diverse players can thrive through trying out various ideas. It's a one trick pony approach for the chaebol buddy club that's brought dividends so far, but only because their predecessor, Japan, was usurped in the copy-cat game (although actually Japan did a significantly larger amount of pioneering than Korea could ever dream of) by Korea largely due to the rising costs of labor and production that came along with the territory of success. Well now Korea is beginning to enter a similar stage in the cycle, we'll have to see what happens when China's technical savvy kicks in.

Basically, Korea is Japan's Johnny-come-lately, not only in the economic and educational sphere, but in everything from music, animation, sports leagues and comic books, to fashion, graphic design, cafes, hairstyles, and buildings (check out how they're making them in the area between Joggak and Uljiro, virtual replicas of Tokyo downtown). If they're to avoid the same fate, Korea may need to start diversifying its approach and thinking.

[Koreadays]

soon enough china will equally the quality and best the price..
then the chinese brand will start to advertise, sponsor teams etc and then it's buy buy.. still comes down to patents really..

[jvalmer]

The advantage, if there is one, is that most Korean conglomerates are essentially private companies. No board to worry about pleasing, so if Mr. Samsung CEO decides to change the direction of the company, then he can order it and will be implemented, with no required shareholder vote.

The disadvantage is if you get a not so bright CEO great-grandson, we thinks the company is their own little toy, he/she'll drive the company into bankruptcy.

[happiness]

[chungbukdo]

[NohopeSeriously]

Samsung is a financial time bomb. It would break into handful of companies like how the old Hyundai mega-chaebol has become separate companies today.

[marsavalanche]

All Samsung does is copy Apple, anyone will tell you this.

The only people that won't admit this are Koreans and gyopos (*gag*)

[Hugo85]

Samsung does other things than laptops, cellphones and tablets.

[isisaredead]

[carleverson]

[highstreet]

If a Samsung tv is a copy of a Sony tv, then isn't a Sony tv just a copy of another brand?

If a Samsung tablet is a copy of the Ipad, then all the other tablets are also copys?

Are all the other companies coming out with groundbreaking new tech while Samsung just copys?