...REGIONAL STUDIES PAPER ON SOUTH KOREA 1. Have you ever sat back and wondered what it would be like to live in another country. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of South Korea? Most likely it will probably be the Korean War or maybe even the 1988 Olympics. You may even, some day, be stationed there. I personally experienced the country first hand through a tour between 1988 and 1989. Korea is one of our major theaters of operation so it is very important for us to understand a little about their culture and where they came from to prepare for any future missions or tours in their arena. In order to introduce us to this fascinating country we will initially talk about their rich history. We will then cover a little about the people and their culture and finally, we will discuss their economy. Now that we have a vector, let’s start by discussing South Korean history. 2. Many historical events following World War II have culminated to shape the South Korea that you and I know today. The country came into being immediately following World War II, as a result of a 1945 agreement which made the 38th parallel the boundary between them and neighboring North Korea. The new republic was proclaimed on Aug. 15 and was recognized as the legal government of Korea by the United Nations (UN) on Dec. 12, 1948. On June 25, 1950, North Korean Communist forces launched a massive surprise attack on South Korea, quickly overrunning Seoul, the capital city...
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...Country report South Korea – Electronic Yu Ming Lin Country Profile In February 1945 the end of World War II, Korean Peninsula divided into North and South Korea. South Korea also name Republic of Korea, 99,392 sq. km, has a population of almost 50 million, and has its capital at Seoul, the largest city in Korea. The second largest city is Busan, which is the country’s main port, has wonderful nature harbor beside the delta of Nakdong River. The major industrial prior 1948 was agriculture in Korea peninsula, South Korea was in a sever environment of economic. The war damage and the refugee from North Korea keep South Korea inflation and unemployment. Korea is full of mineral source, however, most minerals concentrated in the North such as gold, coal, ore, iron and graphite. There are some tungsten, amorphous graphite, coal, and iron in South Korea and the distribution percentage is North 80%~90% to South 10%. International trade Balance Of Payment The table above is the South Korea’s balance of payments account and this table can track the payments to and the receipts from other countries from 2006 to 2010. As we can see the current account surplus in all five years and it means that these five years South Korea exports more goods, services, and income than it imports. (Data from world databank) The Current Account In October 2011, South Korea’s current account surplus US4000 Million. South Korea’s growing economy relies on exports, and the most important exports...
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...In May 2006, Wal-Mart decided to leave South Korea by selling its 16 stores to a major local discount chain, Shinsegae Co., at $882 million. Wal-Mart’s stores in Korea lost approximately $10 million in 2005 on sales of $720 million. Wal-Mart’s failure in the South Korean market was due to many reasons but the main issue was the ability to adapt to a new culture which Wal-Mart failed to do on many different levels. Although its’ strategy of low costs is a great competitive advantage in numerous markets, its’ ability to perceive a new foreign market was blurred and therefore Wal-Mart was not able to recognize the different expectations and market conditions that South Korea encompassed. Wal-Mart’s strategy fits well in North America where consumers are willing to compromise service and quality for low price however it had critical shortfalls in enabling Korean consumers to see the value in this approach to shopping because of the different tastes and preferences in their culture. Compared to Americans, who would rather make fewer frequent trips to supermarkets and purchase bulk sized products for longer storage, Koreans consider the freshness of food products very seriously and are willing to make frequent trips to the markets and buy in small volumes. Korean’s hypermarkets have live seafood, local delicacies, and on site packaging services that have the same features as outdoor markets and their merchandise mix is heavily focused on food and beverages. They have mastered their...
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...South Korea: Korea regained its independence following Japan's surrender to the United States in 1945. After World War II, a Republic of Korea (ROK) was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north. During the Korean War (1950-53), U.S troops and UN forces fought alongside soldiers from the ROK to defend South Korea from DPRK attacks supported by China and the Soviet Union. An armistice was signed in 1953, splitting the peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth with per capita income rising to roughly 14 times the level of North Korea. South Korea today is a fully functioning modern democracy. Korea is home to a set of large firms, so called chaebols, which can be classified as multinational enterprises (MNEs) In the list of the world’s largest 500 companies, ranked by sales for2001 found 12 Korean firms. In 2004, there were 11 Korean firms in the list of the world’s largest 500. These large firms are analyzed here as the basic set which will determine the success of Korea in developing MNEs. The literature in international business analyzes the growth and foreign expansion phase of MNEs. The starting point of this theory of the MNE is the proposition that an MNE goes abroad to further expand on its firm-specific advantage (FSA).These can be technology based, knowledge based, or they can reflect managerial and/or marketing skills...
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...South Korea is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People’s Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south. Like most ethnic group throughout the world, South Koreans have their own food culture to suit their unique history and climate. Not only has the geographical boundaries which separate it from its neighbors impacted on the food culture of the nation, but the four distinct seasons have also influenced what South Koreans eat. There are various type of traditional food in South Korea such as Ttok Kuk, Ogokbap and Kimchi. Ttok kuk or rice cake soup is a typical Korea traditional food they eat on New Year. Ttok kuk contain several meanings. First of all, it means when you have a dish of ttok kuk you are one year older. They do not count the age on the basis of their birthday but on the basis of every New Year’s Day. Nowadays they eat ttok kuk any day of the year they like other than New Year’s day but in the past it was only on New Year’s Day. Older people would ask, how many dishes of ttok kuk you had, “2 dishes” definitely will not be the answer. Because one soup is equals to one year of life, the more you eat, the more you age. Second, another name for ttok kuk is “byung tang”, which means broth made of ttok. Ttok kuk also a dish that wish for a year you won’t get ill after ate this dish. They wish to live...
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...Now we have a world –class brand in the premium segment of confectionary industry, “Bateel”. They open up their business with a simple concept; offer a unique range of high end products to a well defined market segment in an upscale and elegant retail environment. The concept they choose was unique and the service &product they offer was not available from any other source. Their strong presence to the consumers in the various targeted market segment is based on their strategy and ability to consistently develop and well planned, functioning production schedule, maintaining high quality on the products they produce, motivating merchandise and strong distribution system. Café Bateel is an exciting new concept in casual dining. Offering a unique and innovative range of gourmet foods and beverages, the Café Bateel menu combines an Italian-Umbrian culinary heritage and a rich tradition of Arabian hospitality. The result is a mouthwatering selection of delicious, wholesome food and beverages served in a warm and sophisticated atmosphere. The first Café Bateel opened in 2007. Today, Café Bateel can be found in several of the city's most prestigious locations. The success behind the bateel is the combined output of various functioning areas like starting from farming, processing manufacturing and premium retailing function and strong marketing organisation. And now they are the pioneer in the production and distribution of a complete range of high quality dates and date, non-date...
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...South Korea Raises $250 Million in Policy Bank Share Sale i) Summary: The South Korean government managed to sell down its stake in Industrial Bank of Korea by 4.2%. The sale raised around $250 million, which is double of what was originally expected. This sale is good news for the government of President Park Geun-hye because he has pledged to help individuals who are financially troubled as well as small businesses. This sale is expected to help secure budget revenue in addition to furthering stake sales in the following year. It also helps by releasing more liquidity into the market. In mid-2011, the government had failed at its attempt to lower the governments stake in IBK from 68.9% to 60.5%. In total, the government sold 23.2 million shares at a fixed price of 11,400 won ($10.75) per share. The finance ministry stated both local and foreign investors evenly shared the offering. IBK was established as a bank policy to support small and midsize businesses in 1961 and went public in 2003. ii) Background: Industrial Bank of Korea has contributed to facilitating the economic activities of SMEs and enhancing their economic status. IBK has proven itself during challenging times such as the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the 2008-2009 global financial crisis. IBK started with only 200 million capital stock but is now a powerful bank that competes globally with the world’s best banks. As the world’s seventh largest exporter, South Korea has shown...
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...Business Etiquette of South Korea The environment of the large American corporation is an extreme, complicated, and dynamic place. The corporate structures of the vast majority of these substantial companies are mainly quite similar: they each contain departments such as marketing, finance, human resources, and information technology. Compare any two major companies, such as Microsoft and Exxon, and one will see these similar departments working towards their own goals, but in completely different ways and in a myriad of styles. Differences such as dress code, management techniques, moral values, business strategies, and even location can make each company a unique world unto itself. American employees are trained and experienced in dealing with one another in order to obtain a mutually beneficial outcome. But in today’s global economy it is virtually impossible to succeed as one of these large companies without extreme contact with other cultures and familiarity with their business etiquette. South Korea is a prime example for cross-culture training and understanding of foreign business practices. With South Korean based companies such as Samsung, LG Electronics, and Hyundai/Kia, and the country’s incredible record of growth over the past few decades, Forbes Magazine has rated South Korea the 30th best country in the world for business. (www.forbes.com) In order for a U.S. company to make progress with a corporation, or even attempt to enter the South Korean market, they...
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...South Korea; one the fastest growing countries in Asia, if not, even the world. Development within the country has skyrocketed within the past 5 years, and that is very apparent when it comes to the country’s educational system, which has been considered by many sources as the best in the world, followed closely by Japan, its neighbouring country. Education is free for all children whose parents are earning a lower than average income, starting from the age of 6 years to the age of 15 years. South Korea’s Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) allocates 80% of its budget to fund the schools within the country. Local schools also benefit from locally issued bonds, tuition and school admission fees, and internal assets, however, only to a smaller degree. Funds from the Ministry of Education, Science and technology can be spent by the Metropolitan and Provincial Offices of Education however they deem necessary. Most private schools in South Korea are funded by organizations and private donors as well as tuition fees. They are also given small amounts of subsidies by the government. The graduation rate in South Korea isn’t the furthest extent of the country’s success when it comes to education. For example, on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) math test in 2006, South Korean students were ranked 3rd; besting Hong Kong and Netherlands, to which were placed 4th and 5th respectively. In South Korea, education is valued highly and the need for it...
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...Elaine Hannah Why Invest in South Korea? Elaine Hannah Why Invest in South Korea? Why invest in emerging markets? To cash in where growth is today, and for the foreseeable future. But success is only possible if you have chosen the right entry modes to your market and understand the environmental, political and sociocultural factors of the chosen host country. This report analyses South Korea and demonstrates this emerging market is there for the taking if approached with shrewdness. The South Korean Government, after the financial crisis in 1997, decided it needed to make its country attractive for foreign direct investment, which resulted in the release of the Foreign Investment Promotion Act in 1998. This opened up a passage for 99.8% of Korea’s industry for direct investment. This report looks at the successes and failures of FDI’s in South Korea referred to as Korea from hereon, and what business factors influence these outcomes. Global Business Project Lecturer: Enda Murphy Student: 1063289, 1602617, 1728607 No of Words: 6198 Why invest in emerging markets? To cash in where growth is today, and for the foreseeable future. But success is only possible if you have chosen the right entry modes to your market and understand the environmental, political and sociocultural factors of the chosen host country. This report analyses South Korea and demonstrates this emerging market is there for the taking if approached with shrewdness. The South Korean Government, after...
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...After the war between North Korea and South Korea the North stayed communist but the South went back to its natural state meaning that it was not communist. -- Well, North Korea and South Korea went to war in the late 40's or early 50's (before then, Korea was one whole country.). The economy and government are very different between the two countries. South Korea is a perfectly good country. They have cell phones and cars and internet and they're a democracy (things you probably take for granted if you live in the US or Canada or South Korea or pretty much any other free country). But in North Korea things are different. Kim Jong ll rules over North Korea. In North Korea, people are pretty much brainwashed from a young age that the ruler of the country is always right, no matter what, and there's nothing you can do about that. North Korea doesn't have internet, and even though there's a few buses there, there's no such thing as a traffic jam there. They just started allowing cell phones, only a few people have them. International calls and texts aren't allowed. North Korea is basically a country that's closed off from the rest of the world. It's very difficult to leave the country. You might not be able to leave without a good reason, and if you do get to leave you might not be able to come back. It's pretty hard to travel there too- you can't just hop on a plane and fly there. Of course people do escape from time to time- but most people don't even try, don't even think...
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...South Korea: A Comprehensive Analysis Outline MGT448 March 28, 2011 South Korea: A Comprehensive Analysis Outline Country Analysis * Political Stability 1. A Republic with powers shared between the president, the legislature and the courts 2. Well established constitutional democracy which is conducive to overall political stability. * Economic Conditions 1. Market based economy; stable, affluent country a. High gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of $20,164.85 (USD,2010). b. Inflation rate: 3.1% (2010) c. Unemployment: 3.3% (2010) d. Gross National Product (GNP) is growing faster than the population. 2. 13th largest economy in the world and the 3rd largest in Asia a. Major industries: electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals, ship building, steel b. Exports contribute to 39.4% of the GDP 3. Import dependant – 5th largest importer of crude oil and 2nd largest importer of both coal and liquefied natural gas. 4. Free Trade Agreements with United States and European Union * Finance Options Available 1. Government committed to promoting exports and easing regulations to attract foreign direct investment. 2. Invest KOREA – Korea’s national investment promotion agency established within the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA). The sole purpose is supporting the entry and successful establishment of foreign business into Korea. 3. Foreign Trade Zones and Free Economic...
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...International Telecommunications Union. 2003. Broadband Korea: Internet Case Study. South Korea Available at: http://www.itu.int/ITUD/ict/cs/korea/material/CS_KOR.pdf Viewed on 12/10/06 National Internet Development Agency of Korea. 2006. Korea Internet Whitepaper. Seoul, South Korea, Available at: http://eng.mic.go.kr/eng/user.tdf?a=user.board.BoardApp&c=2001&board_id=E_04_03&mc=E_04_03_01&ctx=annual_report Viewed on 9/10/06 National Computerization Authority. 2001. 2001 Korea Internet White Paper. Available at: www.nca.or.kr/white/data/2002engwhite/review.pdf Viewed on 12/10/06 DTI / Brunel University. 2002. INVESTIGATING BROADBAND DEPLOYMENT IN SOUTH KOREA: Broadband Mission to South Korea. Available at: www.broadbanduk.org/reports/SKorea_report.pdf Viewed on 08/10/06 Yun, K., Lee, H., Lim, S., 2002. The Growth of Broadband Internet Connections in South Korea: Contributing Factors. Available at: www.iisdb.stanford.edu/pubs/20032/Yun.pdf Viewed on 09/10/06 Communicaid Global Communication. 2006. Doing Business in South Korea. Available at: http://www.communicaid.com/south-korea-business-culture.asp Viewed on 08/10/06 World Broadband Yearbook 2006. 2006. Country Overview: South Korea. Available at: www.telegeography.com/products/broadband_yearbook/pdf/wb06_skorea.pdf Viewed on 08/10/06 Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) and National Computerization Agency (NCA), 2002. 2002 Korea Internet White Paper. Avaliable at: www.mic.go.kr Viewed...
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...Economy of South Korea By Henry Graves Dr. Davis September 27, 2014 South Korea is known as one of the emerging economies of the entire world. The South Korean economy has been growing at a steady pace for the past 15 years; this is being accomplished with a dangerous situation with their northern neighbor. When the Korean War ended in 1953 by an armistice that defined the international boundaries between North and South Korea. However, these boundaries are merely a line of truce and hostilities continue between both sides as a search of a just reunification is sought by both countries, but by differing visions on the political future of the Korean peninsula. The question that must be addressed is how does South Korea continue to maintain their dominance in the economy of East Asian nations. The answer can be found by looking into the past history of Korea starting after the end of the Korean War, the present economic policies of the current government of South Korea, and what might the nation need to address in order to maintain their competitive advantage in the region. However, before I begin to look at the past history of South Korea's economy, I must state the present statistics of what has been accomplished in the country. Currently, South Korea is the fifteenth largest economy when measured by GDP and is twelfth in the purchasing power parity. The country has been experiencing economic growth starting from the 1960s until the late...
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...South Korea has an impressive body of work regarding the introduction and the use of the home Internet service. The small country already claims the world’s fastest Internet connections and is by far, the fastest globally. My company intends to connect every home in the country to the Internet at one gigabit per second. That would be a tenfold increase from the already blazing national standard and more than 200 times as fast as the average household setup in the United States. The US, on the other hand, has a "closed network" system—it doesn't require ISPs to share their pipes, making it harder for other companies to enter the market. South Korea's network is more open, allowing for more competition, which drives speeds up and prices down. The country also has a super dense population, with some 1,200 people per square mile. Today, more than 80 percent of South Koreans are wired, and Seoul's been called the "bandwidth capital of the world." When we talk about Korea, we must first understand how the country began and the particulars of its culture. The family is the most important part of Korean life. In Confucian tradition, the father is the head of the family and it is his responsibility to provide food, clothing and shelter, and to approve of all of the marriages that occur within the family unit. The eldest son has special duties: his first duty is to his parents, followed by duty to his brothers, from older to younger, then to his sons, then to his wife, and lastly...
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