Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ThreeDogNight]

The following is a quote by Michael Breen: 'The Koreans: Who They Are, What They Want, and Where Their Future Lies'

"One feature of workers in South Korea is a spirit of 'Can Do'. It is one of those countries where you can get a lot of things done immediately. The first time we got in a decorator to wallpaper our flat, the man slapped the strips on so quickly, I should have entered him for the Guinness Book of World Records. . ."

"The downside of speed is poor quality. This is a particular problem for the Koreans, whose 'Can Do' approach is matched by a real 'That'll Do' mentality. There is a lot of peeling wallpaper in Korea. This is not simply a consequence of doing things too quickly. It is a feature of the 'Can Do' spirit that any amateur can do anything."

[FierceInvalid]

So they're tearing another building down on my street today...the new one will be finished next week. It is already scheduled for demolition in October, I believe.

[Cthulhu]

I have a feeling we're gonna get Breen's entire book quoted to us by the end of the night, but okay, we'll accept the premise that there is a problem with building quality at times in Korea.

So, Three Dog Night, what are you going to do about it? (assuming there is a point to this topic)

[helly]

If you ever get the chance to sit down and have a drink with Michael Breen, I highly recommend it. Much more entertaining than the book.

[ThreeDogNight]

[ThreeDogNight]

[Cthulhu]

[helly]

ThreeDogNight,


Not sure what to make of that comment so I'll just go ahead and respond.

I also found the book interesting and helpful, didn't mean to take anything away from that.

I suggested that if you had to opportunity to sit and have a drink with Mr. Breen, that it would be an interesting conversation. In addition to being an author, he works for a PR agency in Seoul and has been involved with many fairly high-profile interests (Korea National Tourism Organization, the "Hi Seoul" fiasco, to name a few.) Extremely intelligent and engaging man, if a bit sour and sarcastic at times.

There is another good book on Korean society called [b]In Pursuit of Status: The Making of South Korea's "New" Urban Middle Class[/b], by Denise Potrzeba Lett, that I highly recommend. As a teacher, you'll most likely relate to many entries regarding the drive for English education

[Yaya]

A better author on Korea, in my opinion, is Don Kirk. He's written "Korean Crisis: Unraveling of the Miracle in the Imf Era" and "Hyundai: The Korean Dynasty of Chung Ju Yung."

By the way, one poster kept using the SAME old quote from The Koreans to say Korea is a horrendous place to do business and such. I've worked in Korea, Inc. and yes, much inefficiency abounds. Yet Korea has the world's 13th-largest economy, rakes in the second-most foreign investment in Asia after China and is the fifth-largest market for US products. Maybe that one person's opinion was low but well, there are plenty others who think otherwise.

And inefficiency does not necessarily lead to bad business. I live in Los Angeles now, and the idiots who run the state of California have brought on a $58 billion deficit. Still, the state has the fifth-largest economy in the world and 34 million people, or about a million more than all of Canada.

[helly]

Yes, Korea has a large amount of foreign investment but it has basically dried up over the last year. Companies are just not bringing the money to Korea due to labor/human resources problems, the absolutely confusing stance the new government is taking towards foreign business, and generally low productivity.

Foreign investment was always brought in based on Korea's "potential." The business/government community here has a tendency to shoot themselves in the foot, however, and impede their own progress. Total amount of investment is still here but if you looked when the money was coming in, you'd notice that Korea is falling drastically.

[Yaya]

Helly, I'm not gonna disagree with you - foreign investment in Korea has taken a hit, much of it due to the North Korean threat.

I guess my point was that one poster used the very same quote from Breen's book as a reason NOT to do business in Korea. Despite what most foreigners think, Korea IS a promising place to do business with a consumption-minded population and the world's fifth-largest FX reserves. Don't forget that news, esp. in the US, tends to overplay the bad. I personally try to mix my news sources with actual biz reports (you can check Bloomberg and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter for such information).

[rapier]

Korean's always have the spirit to do something, its just that they invariably lack the know- how and expertise to do it properly.
"Never let your lack of ability stop you doing something" should be the korean motto.
example:
Korean businessman: "Lets start a hogwon!"
wife: "But we've got no teaching experience, love for children, or educational abilities".
Businessman: "Don't let those minor things stop us. Any fool can teach. I'll do it myself if need be. We can always get a waegook, anyway."
Wife:" But we've no students"
Businessman: "You're worrying too much. I'll make a big poster with pictures of blonde, blue eyed people on it. The parents'll love it."

Did anyone see that docu on Hyundai the other night? Apparently the guy started shipbuilding with no mechanical/ engineering experience whatsoever.
Look where they are now.

[Yaya]

And Chung's lucky that he did what he did back then, and that things worked out for him. I saw this special on Hyundai's history, and other shipbuilders were completely puzzled as to how Hyundai could price its ships so much lower than its competitors.