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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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 Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 10:32 am Post subject: Korea to become horse and buggy manufacturing hub |
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http://www.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2008/11/13/2008111301663.html
http://koreabeat.com/?p=2928
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Seoul Mayor: �How to be a Hub of Finance�
Hizzoner Oh Se-hun is the latest Korean politician who figures he knows what foreigners want when they go looking for a hub of finance.
�Infrastructure-building is important for financial companies, but more important than anything is to create a good living environment for foreigners doing business. We are focusing on creating an enjoyable cultural and linguistic environment for high-level, white-collar financial workers.�
Mayor of Seoul Oh Se-hun (pictured) spoke in an interview on the 12th at the Seoul International Finance Conference, announcing his plan to make Seoul a �Global Finance Hub�.
The first step to creating a financial hub is �creating an environment where global businessmen can live, with hospitals and foreign schools. The city has initiated a plan to make Seoul a Global Zone for business. 15 areas including Yeoksam-dong and east Ichon-dong will become English-speaking districts, where one-stop English services will be provided to businesses and residents.� The city has presented to foreign residents plans to turn spontaneously-generated foreign neighborhoods, such as the French area of Seoraemaul and the Italian area of Teoksam-dong, into those Global Zones.
Mayor Oh added, �if you look at how the chaotic financial market in the United States has affected the economic situations of other countries, you realize how even more financial businesses are now. Right now the entire world is confronted by serious challenges, but after the initial changes take effect the financial market will be re-organized.� The city recently began putting together various plans to make Yeouido �special financial region� by establishing an international finance center and specialized training programs operated by property management experts.
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What would a global hub of horse and buggy manufacturing need? How about a global hub of Fen-Fen manufacturing? Oh Se-hun has missed the point. |
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caniff
Joined: 03 Feb 2004
Location: All over the map
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| Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 1:03 pm Post subject: |
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| With the way the global economy is tanking perhaps the horse and buggy will come back into vogue. Korea could find itself in direct competition with the Amish, but this is doubtful as it is tough to ship buggies when the ships are stuck in the ports for lack of letters of credit. |
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Bigfeet
Joined: 29 May 2008
Location: Grrrrr.....
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| Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 6:03 pm Post subject: |
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Geez, with all these hubs, no wonder Koreans spend so much time spinning around in endless circles!  |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Thu Nov 20, 2008 6:16 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm waiting for the day when people will have to use Moose to pull their gasless cars in Canada. |
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Gatsby
Joined: 09 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 7:59 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| 15 areas including Yeoksam-dong and east Ichon-dong will become English-speaking districts, where one-stop English services will be provided to businesses and residents. |
http://koreabeat.com/?p=2928
How are they going to get all 15 Koreans who speak fluent English to live in these areas? Aren't they going to be stretched thin with one person per district?
Hubs this, hubs that. What's all the hubbub about? Korea would be lucky if it could create a hub to make hub caps.
Earth to Korea: Foreigners do not like living in Korea, Koreans do not like foreigners living in Korea, Koreans do not like learning English, foreigners do not like learning Korean. And Hong Kong is already the financial hub of East Asia. Try watching CNN sometime, or get someone to translate it. The Asia feed is out of Hong Kong. |
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Beej
Joined: 05 Mar 2005
Location: Eungam Loop
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| Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 5:59 pm Post subject: |
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| I would think that the first step to creating a financial hub is not throwing foreign managers in jail when they dare to make a profit in Korea. Cough Lonestar cough. |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 6:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Maybe if Korean companies were more OPEN to hiring foreigners, then there would actually be foreigners wanting to DO business in Korea. |
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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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| Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 7:00 pm Post subject: |
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| pkang0202 wrote: |
| Maybe if Korean companies were more OPEN to hiring foreigners, then there would actually be foreigners wanting to DO business in Korea. |
Ain't that the truth.
I remember Koreans moaning about "low quality foreigners", which is silly because the ESL crew are basically all they let in (plus the DDD). If Korea wants high quality foreigners they need to look at the example of Singapore and HK.
Anyways, the goal of a financial hub must die. A business hub, sure. Finance as a means to growth is dead. |
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Frankly Mr Shankly
Joined: 13 Feb 2008
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| Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 7:51 pm Post subject: |
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| mises wrote: |
| pkang0202 wrote: |
| Maybe if Korean companies were more OPEN to hiring foreigners, then there would actually be foreigners wanting to DO business in Korea. |
Ain't that the truth.
I remember Koreans moaning about "low quality foreigners", which is silly because the ESL crew are basically all they let in (plus the DDD). If Korea wants high quality foreigners they need to look at the example of Singapore and HK.
Anyways, the goal of a financial hub must die. A business hub, sure. Finance as a means to growth is dead. |
That would mean relinquishing control. Could you see the natives doing that? |
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Adventurer
Joined: 28 Jan 2006
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| Posted: Fri Nov 21, 2008 10:09 pm Post subject: |
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How on Earth are they supposed to have English-speaking districts when it's not easy to find English speakers in Korea? What should they do?
Make banks more foreigner friendly, encourage more cultural fairs, speak more about inclusion about foreigners, have ads encouraging multiculturalism and the positive role of foreigners in Korea in Korean and English, make it easier for foreigners to work here whether as teachers or engineers. That's what they need to do. |
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mises
Joined: 05 Nov 2007
Location: retired
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2008 9:57 am Post subject: |
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| I don't understand why they want English speaking districts.. Korea is a Korean speaking nation. Any foreigner who lives there long term can learn Korea. |
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Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2008 10:44 am Post subject: |
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| mises wrote: |
| I don't understand why they want English speaking districts.. Korea is a Korean speaking nation. Any foreigner who lives there long term can learn Korea. |
Korean isn't the int'l language.
And I think my experience in Korea showed me that while many foreigners CAN learn Korean, not many feel much incentive (rightly/wrongly) to do so seriously. |
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yoja
Joined: 30 May 2008
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2008 1:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Buggy manufacturing, I get. But how does one "manufacture" a horse? |
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Axiom
Joined: 18 Jan 2008
Location: Brisbane, Australia
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2008 2:35 pm Post subject: |
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| yoja wrote: |
| Buggy manufacturing, I get. But how does one "manufacture" a horse? |
You get a mummy horse and a daddy horse who love each other very much  |
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Gatsby
Joined: 09 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Sat Nov 22, 2008 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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I'm confused. I thought Koreans wanted to learn English. That's what we're here for, isn't it? There must be thousands, if not millions, of Koreans who know English by now, right?
So, wouldn't they actually want to use all their new English skills by practicing talking with us expats? They should be glad to have English speaking foreigners living among them. If they segregate English speakers into districts, away from Koreans, then Koreans won't get to use their English and learn about the world outside of Korea from foreigners. |
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