Korea [dec. 2009 Vol. 16 No. 12]

Opening a communicative space between Korea and the world

Korea’s Dynamos:

ISSN: 2005-2162

Innovative Success Stories The Diplomacy of the Dinner Table

12

DECEMBER 2009

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CONTENTS

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23 Publisher Kim He-beom, Korean Culture and Information Service Chief Editor Ko Hye-ryun Editing & Printing JoongAng Daily

Cover Photo The Oasis of the Seas, the world’s biggest cruise ship, was built by a Korean group.   Provided by STX

E-mail [email protected] Design JoongAng Daily

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without permission from Korea and the Korean Culture and Information Service. The articles published in Korea do not necessarily represent the views of the publisher. The publisher is not liable for errors or omissions. Letters to the editor should include the writer’s full name and address. Letters may be edited for clarity and/or space restrictions. If you want to receive a free copy of Korea or wish to cancel a subscription, please e-mail us. A downloadable PDF file of Korea and a map and glossary with common Korean words appearing in our text are available by clicking on the thumbnail of Korea on the homepage of www.korea.net. 발간등록번호: 11-1110073-000016-06

4 korea December 2009

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Cover Story • Big Dreams Small Firms - Hidden Champions







News in Focus • International Understanding Through Kimchi Diplomacy • Korea to Play Bridging Role • Allies Tackle Myriad Issues • Obama in the New Asia • Korea Pledges Aid, Training at 2nd Africa Forum in Seoul • OECD Forum Experts Seek New Metric to Replace GDP

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Global Korea • Thanking Those Who Answered Peace’s Call • Translation on a Biblical Scale • Looking After God’s Children

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Green Growth • Outrunning Climate Change

 

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Culture • It’s Better Late Than Never As Koreans Head to the Mall • Hardships and Love in Verse • Four For One, One For All

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Korean Literature • A broken heart in a divided nation : Kim Won-il

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Korean Artist • Architect Preserves, Resurrects Korea’s Traditional Lifestyles : Jo Jeong-gu

Sports • Majestic Park Will Be Home to a Beloved Korean Sport • Lim Bests Zhang in Denmark • Kim Yun-a’s Road to the Gold

DECEMBER 2009 VOL. 16 / NO. 12

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Travel • To the Slopes! • A Visit to the Incheon Shore for Fresh, Authentic Seafood

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People • In the Sandy Footsteps of an Ancient Pilgrim : Nam Young-ho • Boy’s Journey from Zambia to Korea’s Top University : Kent Kamasumba

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Foreign viewpoints • Don’t Take Korea’s Tale For Granted : Simon Bureau

December 2009 korea 5

The Oasis of the Seas, the world’s largest and newest cruise ship, navigates through a channel headed for its home port nearby in Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida Nov. 13. The Royal Caribbean ship was constructed in Finland by STX Europe, which is owned by Korea’s STX Group.  [AP] 6 korea December 2009

Cover CoverStory Story| |Hidden Korea Champions at the G-20

BIG DREAMS SMALL FIRMS The world looks to Korea as it becomes the first non-G8 country to chair the Group of 20 and steer economic policy

December 2009 korea 7

[JoongAng Ilbo]

8 korea korea December December 2009 2009

Cover Story | Hidden Champions

Korea’s Hidden Champions How risk-taking entrepreneurs fought to the top of their global niches

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Kortek specializes in LCD displays for casino slot machines as well as information and advertising displays. The company has the largest market share in the world for casino displays.

or Korea, the financial crisis had an upside — though it was a shock to the system, sending many companies into restructuring, it gave local exporters a chance to build market share against their rivals. And that success wasn’t limited to the enormous conglomerates that most overseas associate with Asia’s fourth-largest economy. The eyes of the world were transfixed last month when the world’s largest cruise ship, three times the size of the Titanic, docked in Florida. It was the handoff of the 72-meter-high, 360-meter-long Oasis of the Seas to its new owner, the U.S.-based cruise company Royal Caribbean, from its builder, none other than STX Europe, a company purchased by the Korean STX Group in 2007. The vessel was evidence of just how far the Korean company had come in technological advancement and skill. Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics, the flagship unit of the nation’s largest conglomerate, surprised investors at home and abroad with its third-quarter performance. The leading conglomerate not only posted a record operating profit for the July-September season but outpaced the operating profit of nine Japanese electronics companies including Sony, Panasonic and Hitachi — combined. The Japanese business newspaper Nihon Keizai wrote that Samsung Electronics’ operating profit was roughly 4.2 trillion won ($3.6 billion) or 326 billion yen, more than twice the size the 151.9 billion yen posted by the nine Japanese firms. Nobuyuki Oneda, vice president of Sony, acknowledged Samsung Electronics’ numbers. He said it was hard not to admit that Sony had lost competitiveness against Samsung. Fumio Ohtsubo, president of Panasonic, made a similar statement. Nihon Keizai reported that while Japanese companies were busy cutting back on investment with the global economic downturn, Samsung Electronics did the opposite and aggres-

sively spent to solidify its market dominance. Samsung Electronics’ memory chip market share rose from 29 percent in the second quarter to 31.1 percent from July to September. Add in Hynix Semiconductor’s 22.8 percent of the global market and Korea’s presence in memory chips is overwhelming. Samsung’s expansion happened while leading Taiwanese chipmaker Nanya Technology saw an operating deficit and Japan’s Elpida Memory narrowly avoided facing a loss during the same period. The Korean company has never dropped from the top spot in the world memory chip market since 1993, and since 1983, the company’s semiconductor division has been growing at an average of 27 percent every year. In NAND flash memory chips, Samsung had 38.5 percent of the global market in the third quarter, up from 37.6 percent from April to June, according to a report by the research agency DRAMeXchange. That growth solidifies Samsung’s leading position and widens the gap with runner-up Toshiba, which has a 34.7 percent share. Micron and Hynix Semiconductor followed, with 9.4 percent and 8.7 percent of the market, respectively. Mobile phone sales in the United States were another reason for Samsung to rejoice. According to U.S.-based Strategy Analytics, Samsung had 25.6 percent of the North American cellular market from July to September. The company has sold more than 10 million mobile phones over five consecutive quarters, an accomplishment made even more remarkable when one considers that Samsung Electronics made its debut in North America in 1997. LG Electronics, another Korean company, closely trails Samsung at 20.7 percent of the North American cellular market. Motorola’s share is 16.7 percent, RIM accounts for 12.2 percent and Apple, 7.4 percent. Samsung Electronics’ television unit is also thriving. In the third quarter the Korean electronics company sold 6.9 million LCD televiDecember 2009 korea 9

[JoongAng Ilbo]

sions, raising its global market share for that product from 20.5 percent three months earlier to 21.1percent. Combine that with LG Electronics’ 12.3 percent, a new record for the runner-up, and a full third of the world’s LCD TV sales come from Korean companies. During the same period, Sony saw its LCD market share drop 0.6 percentage point from the previous quarter to 10.1 percent. Sharp’s global market share increased from 6.7 percent in the second quarter to 7.3 percent. But electronics are not the only Korean products thriving on the global market. Hyundai Motor has been aggressively expanding overseas, while major automakers such as General Motors and Toyota suffer massive losses. The Korean carmaker in the third quarter saw its earnings and operating profit increase 33.8 percent to 8.9 trillion won and 461.5 percent to 586.8 billion won from a year earlier, respectively. Net profit hit a record high of 979.1 billion won, a 269.8 percent surge from the same period last year. Thanks to higher sales, the company’s global market share has been expanding, breaking the 5 percent barrier for the first time in the second quarter and rising in the third quarter from 5.2 to 5.5 percent. Hyundai also has a dominating presence in liquefied petroleum gas-electric hybrid vehicles, 10 korea December 2009

as the the only auto manufacturer to develop them along with its affiliate Kia Motors. Korean products have finally made the jump from a reputation for second-rate quality to a force to be reckoned with even for high-end goods. It’s the same path walked by Japan, which after World War II had a very poor image. But by the 1980s and 1990s Americans were turning off their Panasonic televisions, grabbing their Sony Walkman cassette players and driving their Toyotas to work. Today Korean products have penetrated the Western lifestyle just as deeply, rising from the ruins of civil war in the 1950s to become one of Asia’s leading economies. Now Westerners call each other on Samsung phones, go shopping in their Hyundai autos and put the groceries in LG Electronics refrigerators. Although Korea’s economic growth hit a speed bump during the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998, the country has made an exceptional comeback since 2000, led by businesses that worked hard to put down roots in new countries. In fact, exports by Korean conglomerates have surged 125 percent in the last five years. But with this swift growth comes structural weaknesses. A Fair Trade Commission report last year showed that the top 100 companies accounted for 50 percent of the nation’s mining

HJC Helmets, which started off as a small motorcycle helmet parts supplier in 1971, has grown into the motorcycle helmet manufacturer with the world’s larest market share.

Provided by the company

Cover Story | Hidden Champions

and manufacturing in 2006. This was an increase from 46.8 percent in 2005 and 46.4 percent in 2004. The agency said the report showed that Korea’s economy is growing more dependent on the few conglomerates, particularly since the crisis of the late 1990s wiped out many smaller businesses.

A full 127 Korean products held the top spot in their respective markets last year.

Young An was founded in 1959. Today it supplies hats and baseball caps to over 70 countries.

The 31 conglomerates with assets of over 5 trillion won held 37.5 percent of the market for mining and manufacturing here in Korea, with over a quarter taken up by the top five business groups. Those 31 conglomerates also accounted for 76.2 percent of exports. That renders the Korean economy especially vulnerable to problems in these large family-owned jaebeol. But growing small businesses may be able to remedy the situation, and some experts have put their hope in these “hidden champions.” In this category are companies with strong technological foundations or products that have the potential to be — or already are — international hits. An Chong-bum, an economics professor at Sungkyunkwan University, says the Korea economy was only able to reach where it is today

thanks to smaller companies, without whom there would be no Samsung Electronics or Hyundai Motor. Therefore, the success of the nation’s economy is entwined with the success of these firms. Professor An believes that such small operations are able to thrive because of their endless efforts to innovate. Better technology and improvements in quality are the only way small and mid-size companies are able to survive, An says. The name “hidden champions” comes from the title of a book by Hermann Simon on the power of the small to mid-sized business. Germany has been the largest exporter in the world since it took that title from the U.S. in 2007. In 2000, U.S. exports accounted for 12.1 percent of the world’s overseas shipments. But seven years later, Germany’s global market share had grown to 9.5 percent, while U.S. fell to 8.3 percent. The secret to Germany’s strength, Simon argues in his book, was competitive smaller companies. Simon claims that two-thirds of the world’s “hidden champions,” roughly 1,300 firms, are German. He says these companies play a vital role in Germany’s economy, and that it is the same for the Netherlands and Belgium. Visiting Korea in June, Simon noted that Korea’s economy was too reliant on conglomerDecember 2009 korea 11

[JoongAng Ilbo]

ate, but that there are numerous Korean companies that could become hidden champions. According to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, last year 127 Korean products held the top spot in their respective global markets. The number of products on that list is up significantly, from just 49 products in 2002 and 86 in 2005. Of course, some of the winners on the list are typical Korean exports — semiconductors, LNG vessels and so forth — but others came from surprising smaller operations, including motorcycle helmets, bicycle shoes and speaker grilles. Those examples show that even the smallest Korean company can grow into a global affair if it is skilled enough in its market niche. And several organizations are already moving quickly to contribute support to help Korea’s hidden champions realize that potential. In early November, Korea Exchange held an unusual event at the COEX convention center in southern Seoul. In its first IR Expo, Korea Exchange set up a booth under the title “Hidden Champions.” Twenty-two smaller companies participated at the investor relations show, aiming not only to attract capital but also to promote their goods and technologies. One of them was Kortek, the current leader in displays for casinos. Over 50 percent of the 12 korea December 2009

displays supplied to casinos around the world, including the Bellagio, the MGM Grand and the Mirage in Las Vegas, are developed by Kortex. And the company has not stopped there, adding digital information displays and large LCD monitors that provide information and advertisements to its portfolio. The company recently inked contracts to supply the former to Japan’s NEC and Loewe of Germany. Lee Han-gu, chairman and founder of Kortek, says his success came from finding businesses that were untapped, and from never being satisfied with just a single area of dominance. Kortek has also been developing monitors for medical purposes and is currently competing with major global players in that market including GE, Siemens and NEC. Another local “hidden champion,” EO Technics, specializes in laser engravers that carve letters and brand names onto semiconductors. The company has a global market share of 50 percent, and it has maintained that position even through one of the worst economic crises in history. Also among the 22 firms at the COEX booth was LMS, currently the leading provider of mobile phone prism sheet, a key component in the LCD display once monopolized by 3M. The company not only accounts for 60 percent of world sales, it actually saw its best performance ever in the third quarter, with operating

Samkwang Electronics specializes in audio speaker grilles. It has the leading global market share and a client list that includes Japanese companies such as Sony, Sharp, Toshiba and Pioneer.

Provided by the company

Cover Story | Hidden Champions

profit surging 126 percent on-year to 6 billion won thanks in particular to growth in China. Lah Woo-joo, president of LMS, puts his emphasis as much on precision manufacturing as on trust with his clients. Like other entrepreneurs, Lah hopes to expand into components for other products including portable game devices and laptops. In the wider prism sheet market LMS made 10 percent of global sales last year, which Lah hopes to raise to 20 percent.

Kortek’s displays are now in use at the Bellagio, the MGM Grand and the Mirage.

Aurora world is a company that manufactures dolls and character goods. It hopes to become the next Disney with many of its characters winning the hearts of young consumers around the world.

Korea Exchange, which runs the local stock bourse, decided to promote the 22 companies to raise their profiles outside their individual fields, where they may be less well known. Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t other thriving local hidden champions absent from the expo. One is HJC, a motorcycle helmet manufacturer. Though not well known outside the biker community, HJC counts as a fan anyone who owns a motorcycle or has an interest in the sport. The company started off as small parts supplier but started to create and market its own products in 1980, expanding to the overseas market in 1984. Where Samsung Electronics only managed

to beat its Japanese rivals relatively recently, HJC had already reached first place in its sector by 1990. Today one out of every two motorcycle helmets in the world has an HJC logo. Another unsung hidden champion is Esencia, which makes an unusual product: toothbrush sterilizers. Its small business’s founder and president, Shin Choong-sik, turned a disgusting episode into a lucrative idea. His inspiration for developing the toothbrush sterilizer came when one day he saw a roach sitting on his toothbrush. Business didn’t start off with a boom. On the contrary, he almost went bankrupt. But Shin never gave up hope, and soon sales started to pick up. Today Esencia has inspired imitators among major electronics makers, but it still holds a large portion of the market. The state-run Export-Import Bank of Korea is taking its own measures to support these enterprising Korean firms. Exim Bank President Kim Dong-soo focused on the subject in a lecture in October at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies about the global financial crisis and opportunities for Korea. The bank decided last month to invest 20 trillion won over the next 10 years to foster small and mid-sized exporters, in the hopes of creating 300 Korean hidden champions by 2019. The lender will also offer looser limits on December 2009 korea 13

loans as well as discounts on fees to small businesses. It has already selected 12 companies including LMS, Amotech and Simpac to benefit from the policies. Six of the companies are working in new growth engine industries including green technologies. The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in May released its own research on the success of the local hidden champions. Citing companies like IDIS, a security equipment firm, the group elucidated five factors that it said contributed to the companies’ success. The first and most significant factor, the chamber found, was innovative technological development. The report said more than 40 percent of employees at the companies were researchers, and the hidden champions invested more than 10 percent of their annual revenue in research and development. The second contributing factor to success was a focus on building expertise and gaining market share in a single niche. Global marketing was the third. Instead of competing in the crowded and limited local

market, the hidden champions looked to broader horizons, establishing direct connections with consumers across the world. The fourth element was flexibility, which the group said made the work environment conducive to innovation and solidified relationships of trust between the company and its employees — something difficult to find at larger organizations. The final factor the report cited was the pioneer spirit that led the companies to move into sectors that had been left overlooked by larger operations. The report said hidden champions studied new markets according to the needs of consumers, and developed strategies accordingly. Just like the larger conglomerates, whose quick spending helped them finally pull ahead of their Japanese competitors, Korea’s hidden champions have shown a daring spirit, spending into the crisis in efforts to improve their quality and competitiveness. The difference: They don’t have billions of won in breathing room.  

By Lee Ho-jeong

Suprema is the world’s No. 1 fingerprint recognition system developer, an area it considers one of the few remaining “blue ocean” markets.

The opening of the Korea’s first IR Expo, held at COEX on the first week of November (far left).  [Yonhap] At the ‘Hidden Champion’ booth of the IR Expo, 22 companies listed on the Kosdaq participated in the event to promote themselves (left).  

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Provided by KRX

Cover Story | Hidden Champions

I

f you or one of your kids has a room full of stuffed animals, chances are you’ve bought an Aurora World product, though the Korean firm is nowhere near as familiar to consumers as Disney. That could change, however. Over 90 percent of the company’s sales are made abroad, with the U.S. market Aurora’s largest at 48.8 percent, followed by Russia with 13.1 percent and Britain with 10.4 percent. Korea only accounts for 7 percent of Aurora World’s total market share as of last year. Aurora was first established in 1981. Although it only rakes in 1.5 percent of all the character goods sold in the world, it was still chosen as one of the 22 “hidden champions” listed on the Kosdaq. It wasn’t easy for Aurora to get started. It began as a manufacturer of

other companies’ designs and brands. Then, in 1991, just a decade after it started taking orders, a major U.S. buyer slashed the fees it was willing to pay for Aurora’s products. It was a massive blow to the doll maker. So founder Noh Hui-yeol decided to weather the storm by having his company create its own characters. But there were hiccups here as well, with U.S. dollmaker Russ Berrie filing a lawsuit against the Korean company for copying its designs. But Aurora didn’t back down, and continued to introduce its Korean stuffed dolls to consumers in the U.S. through nationwide marketing tours. As the world’s largest doll market, the U.S. accounts for over 40 percent of annual sales. In the end a deal was reached with Russ Berrie, and Aurora was free to promote and sell its products.

[JoongAng Ilbo]

A Cute and Cuddly Path to Success

President Hong Gi-woo with stuffed animals. Aurora World was chosen as one of the 22 “hidden champions” listed on the Kosdaq.

Today more than 85 percent of the products Aurora makes are derived from the company’s own designs. Meanwhile, its steady promotional activities since the mid-1990s have helped raise brand recognition.  

By Lee Ho-jeong

One Innovator’s Vision of Digital Security

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ou may not know IDIS by name, but those in the security business do. The monitoring systems developed by the small Korean company have been installed in important buildings around the world. Clients include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in Houston, the Sydney Opera House and Pudong International Airport in Shanghai. That makes IDIS a “hidden champion.” As of last year the firm had the top market share in the world for digital video recorder security systems at 31.5 percent, higher than General Electric, Sony and even Mitsubishi. The company has seen aggressive growth of over 30 percent per year. Behind the success of this small security firm is Kim Young-dal, who founded the company in 1997 after preparations made while studying for his doctorate at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

Back then many bright young minds rushed to cash in on Korea’s dot-com boom. His classmates included Lee Hae-jin, who developed the Web portal Naver. Kim’s idea for a security company seemed outdated. But he went ahead, and digitized an analog industry. IDIS developed a DVR system that could record 30 days of footage on a 40-gigabyte hard disc, revolutionary compared to conventional VCRs that could only record on 12-hour tapes. IDIS was also the first company in the world to develop DVR systems that would automatically set off an alarm when the camera detects unusual movement. The Sept. 11 terrorist attacks boosted demand for the DVRs, and IDIS was named among the top 200 small or mid-size companies by Forbes Magazine in 2002 and 2004. Success came thanks to aggressive R&D. According to the company, 46 percent of its employees work in that

Kim Young-dal, above, decided to found IDIS while studying at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.

department. As a result IDIS DVR systems are known to be stabler and cheaper than the competition. Despite the economic downturn, exports make up more than 70 percent of IDIS’s sales, while domestic market share has risen from 14.5 percent in 2006 to 20.7 percent in 2008. 

By Lee Ho-jeong December 2009 korea 15

[JoongAng Ilbo]

16 korea December 2009

News in Focus

International Understanding Through Kimchi

A royal dish, gujeolpan combines a wheat wrap with many ingredients including beef, shitake mushrooms, green bean sprouts, egg, abalone, shrimp and many other delights.

December 2009 korea 17

Provided by Cheong Wa Dae

CNN anchor Kristie Lu Stout interviews Korea’s first lady Kim Yoonok in front of Sang-chunjae, a traditional Korean building used to host VIPs at Cheong Wa Dae, Korea’s presidential residence.

Why globalizing Korean food is such serious business

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orea’s first lady Kim Yoonok met Korean actor Bae Yong-joon at Sang-chunjae, a traditional Korean building used to host V.I.P.s at Cheong Wa Dae, the official residence of Kim and Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak. The meeting took place on Nov. 10, as Kim, who is also the honorary chairwoman of the Promotional Group for Globalization of Korean Cuisine, invited Bae, one of the group’s officials, to discuss their effort to increase the prestige of Korean food. Kim said, “V.I.P.s from abroad tend to like sinseollo [Korean-style hotpot]. The Bulgarian president enjoyed eating rice and kimchi with sinseollo.” The Korean Wave star responded, “Now, there is a health food culture booming across the world, and in that sense, Korean food is very competitive.” Bae, beloved across Asia for his TV drama roles, runs the Korean restaurant Koshirae in Tokyo.

18 korea December 2009

The first lady has played a key role in the government-led effort to globalize Korean food. In mid-October, a television program titled “Eye on South Korea” was aired on CNN, detailing not only the relatively quick economic recovery Korea has made since the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis last year, but also the country’s effort to raise the profile of its cuisine. First lady Kim was prominently featured in the program, interviewed by CNN anchor Kristie Lu Stout at Sangchunjae on Oct. 16. With Stout standing to the side, Kim made japchae (mixed vegetables and sliced beef) and a mung bean pancake. “Korean food is made with natural ingredients and cooked in a way that preserves the original taste of the materials,” Kim said during the interview. “What is most attractive about Korean dishes is that they are healthy and made based on a philosophy that what people eat determines their state of health.”

The interview was broadcast at the beginning of the program on the network, which reaches 1.2 billion viewers around the world. The effort to promote Korean food also has a diplomatic dimension. On Oct. 9, Kim took Miyuki Hatoyama, the wife of Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, to the Institute of Traditional Korean Food in central Seoul. There, Kim and Hatoyama made kimchi together, and after it was finished, Kim took a piece and put it into the Japanese first lady’s mouth. Talking up one’s national food might seem almost trivial, but food can go a long way toward piquing people’s interest in a culture at large. In April, the Presidential Commission for Future and Vision and the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries(MIFAFF) co-hosted the Korean Cuisine to the World 2009 symposium, which highlighted a globalization plan for the country’s cuisine. The target: establishing Korean food as a major global cuisine. The following month, the Promotional Group for Globalization of Korean Cuisine was launched — yet another step in the same direction. The group consists of 36 govern-

News in Focus

A survey showed that the world’s favorite dishes from Korea included bibimbap, kimchi and bulgogi beef.

the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill Hotel, Woosong University and the Korean Food Institute at Sookmyung Women’s University. The four-month course is open to both Koreans and non-Koreans and will teach not only cooking techniques but also Korean food culture, foreign languages and business skills. A survey of 100 professionals including restaurant industry officials, chefs at major hotels, Korean food researchers and food journalists in Korea indicated that kimchi, bulgogi marinated beef, bibimbap, japchae and tteokbokki were most well-known Korean dishes in the world. The survey was taken by the Korean Culture and Information Service in September. What differentiated Korean foods from other cuisines was its health value, containing lots of vegetables, respondents said. They added that Korean food represents the nation’s culture and its people’s affectionate nature. However, they also said a lack of standardized techniques and the difficulty in cooking Korean food prevent it from taking hold overseas. The Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation set out in October and November to discover foreigners’ favorite Korean dishes. The study assembled focus groups in four countries: the United States, Vietnam, China and Japan. “The study was meant to figure out not only what kind of Korean food is popular among foreigners but also how to get, or how to replace, original ingredients, how to keep the price level rea-

[JoongAng Ilbo]

ment officials, chief executive officers and restaurateurs. Some notable names: Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Yu In-chon; Minister for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Chang Taepyong, and, of course, actor Bae Yongjoon. As part of the effort, MIFAFF intends to promote the restaurant industry, while the Culture Ministry plans to develop travel packages centered on Korean cuisine. Among the strategies being pursued by the group are upgrading related laws, establishing Korean food brands, training and licensing chefs on Korean food at foreign culinary schools, supporting research and development, encouraging private sector investment in franchises overseas, increasing the number of Korean restaurants at five-star hotels in Korea and promoting Korean food through the domestic and international media and various events. The ministry said it intends to concentrate on promoting bibimbap, kimchi, traditional wines and the spicy rice cakes known as tteokbokki, among others. As part of its plan, MIFAFF said it would educate chefs at Korean restaurants, especially outside the country, since it found foreigners have a relatively negative perception of Korean food. Even the same dishes taste radically different at different restaurants, the ministry said, and waiters and waitresses often do not explain how to eat Korean food or what ingredients are used, which makes it difficult for foreign diners to take the plunge. “Korean restaurants abroad are the frontier where foreigners come into contact with Korean food,” said Kang Hye-young, a deputy director at MIFAFF. “Improving service at these restaurants would be the first step to upgrade the image of Korean food.” The ministry said it is not easy to find chefs specializing in Korean food outside Korea, and there are even cases in which non-Koreans who have no formal training in making Korean food are working at Korean restaurants around the world. To solve the problem, the ministry is offering training in making Korean food in partnership with Yonsei University,

Wives of the generals of the Republic of Korea and U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) learning how to make Korean food at Sookmyung Women’s University’s Korean Food Institute. December 2009 korea 19

sonable and how to prepare food to fit the tastes of non-Koreans,” said Kim Jihyup, a manager at the trade corporation. The study will be used to help instruct owners or chefs at Korean restaurants inside and outside Korea. The preferred Korean dish differed from country to country. In the United States, people tended to like roasted meats such as galbi short ribs. They also liked bibimbap, chicken galbi, sliced roast beef and pajeon (green onion pancakes). The Chinese liked samgyetang (young chicken soup with ginseng), tteokbokki, galbi jjim, sliced roast beef and pajeon, while in Japan, bibimbap, galbi, bulgogi, tteokbokki and seafood pajeon were among the most popular. In Vietnam, where Korean pop culture has only recently become popular, gimbap, gujeolpan vegetable wraps, kimchijeon pancakes, bibimbap and bulgogi stew were popular. “We are trying to make Korean food more accessible to foreigners, so we are experimenting with different flavors by adjusting sweetness, saltiness and spiciness to fit the different tastes of nonKoreans,” Kim said. The effort to globalize Korean food is not only driven by the government but also by the private sector, which is putting a unique spin on local cuisine to generate more interest. The Grand Café at the Grand InterContinental Seoul held its Kimchi Festival from Nov. 16 to 21 as part of this

effort. A total of 22 kinds of kimchi — even some using seaweed and apples — were served at a buffet along with meals such as rolls, steamed and stirfried dishes, beef skewers, cannelloni and kimchi-inspired desserts. Portable one-bite “mini-roll pork kimchi” and Bordeaux kimchi with a gorgeous wine color were also served. “Kimchi is a great ingredient for Korean food, but it can also be used effectively in Western cuisines and even in desserts,” said Bae Han-chul, the director of kitchens at the hotel. Meanwhile, Pierre Gagnaire Seoul, a restaurant in the Lotte Hotel, developed fusion Korean-French dishes to celebrate the hotel’s 30th anniversary in October. The restaurant, named after the Michelin three-star French chef Pierre Gagnaire, used bean paste mixed with olive oil to create a dressing for an herb salad and whipped up various new flavors using kimchi and black garlic. These creations were part of a course menu called “Homage à Seoul.”

Since Gagnaire himself doesn’t live in Seoul, Jerome Roy, the restaurant’s 32-year-old head chef, directed the process. Some of his signature creations for the anniversary menu included Frenchstyle kimchi and foie gras toast. “I tried to keep the sourness and crunchiness of kimchi, while also trying to make it go well with French cuisine,” Roy said in an interview in September. Such experiments with fusion could gain traction in the coming years, with the Seoul government and the Food Ministry enlisting foreign chefs to help. They were behind the 2009 Amazing Korean Table, a festival held from Oct. 28 to Nov. 1 to introduce the world to Korean cuisine and fusion dishes prepared by talented chefs young and old. The four chefs invited to participate were Massimo Bottura, the owner of the Michelin two-star restaurant Osteria Francescana in Italy; Luke Dale-Roberts, who was named South Africa’s chef of the year and is the top chef La Colombe; Pierre Gagnaire himself, and

Makgeolli

Bibimbap

Galbi jjim

20 korea December 2009

Types different countries countries TypesofofKorean Koreanfoods foodsfavored favored in four different United States galbi (short ribs), bibimbap, chicken galbi, sliced roast beef, and pajeon (green onion pancake) mixed with kimchi, seafood and cheese. China Samgyetang (young chicken soup with ginseng), tteokbokki, galbi jjim, sliced roast beef, pajeon Japan bibimbap, galbi, bulgogi, tteokbokki, seafood pajeon Vietnam gimbap (dried seaweed rolls), gujeolpan (vegetable wrap), kimchijeon (kimchi pancake), bibimbap, bulgogi Source: Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation

News in Focus

Promotions range from high-brow fusion dinners to makgeolli wine tastings at bars near Hongik University.

chef Giuseppe Barone. Barone said the first Korean food or drink he tasted when he came to Korea was makgeolli. He described it as having a natural, elegant but slightly bitter flavor and a sweet aftertaste. According to Barone, Italian food goes well with makgeolli because it is not very spicy. Asked whether Europeans would like makgeolli, he said, “Of course,” but added, “We cannot recommend makgeolli just because it is good. We must explain why and take things a step at a time.” Makgeolli is experiencing a comeback here, outselling beer and sake in branches of Lotte Department Store, while in Japan, makgeolli is enjoying huge popularity, absorbing 86.8 percent of all Korean exports of the drink. “Even on the trendy streets of Shinjuku in Tokyo, makgeolli bars have opened recently,” said Yasushi Hatta, a 33-year-old Japanese food columnist, in an e-mail. “There are not only makgeolli cocktails but also fruit makgeolli.” Kooksoondang Brewery’s makgeolli has even been offered to passengers on Asiana Airlines flights between Korea and Japan since October. But traditional wines still account for only 3.6 percent of the alcoholic beverage market here. The Korean government intends to contribute 133 billion won in subsidies to makers of traditional wines in the next five years to change  By Limb Jae-un that.

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Corey Lee, head chef at the Michelin three-star restaurant French Laundry in Napa Valley, California. Lee said one of the most popular dishes at his restaurant is an acorn pudding. “Whenever my grandmother visited us, she made acorn jelly,” Lee said in an interview. Lee emigrated to the United States from Korea when he was 7 years old. “The taste of Korean food still influences me as a cook.” He said he creates his own cuisine by combining multinational materials and techniques. For the 2009 Amazing Korean Table, he served a Korean-style porridge made with pumpkin, rice and mushroom. “It is important to reinterpret and recreate Korean food materials and tastes,” Lee said. “Rather than introducing a handful of Korean foods to the world, we should integrate the elements of Korean food with international cuisines.” Bottura, 47, said he had never tasted Korean food before taking part in the event. “Korean food is similar to Italian food because garlic is used a lot for both types,” he said. “It’s interesting that there are many fermented foods in Korean cuisine.” Bottura made a bean soup with doenjang (soybean paste) and beef marinated in black garlic sauce. On Nov. 6, the globalization campaign spread to a bar near Hongik University in central Seoul. This time the target was makgeolli, traditional Korean rice wine, which was served with Italian dishes, under the direction of Italian

Gimbap

Sinseollo

French-style kimchi and foie gras toast made by Jerome Roy, the chef at Pierre Gagnaire Seoul in the Lotte Hotel December 2009 korea 21

[YONHAP]

Korean President Lee Myung-bak, second from left, attends the APEC summit at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore Nov. 15.

Korea to Play Bridging Role Lee pledges policies to narrow global economic gap at APEC summit

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t the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Singapore, Korean President Lee Myung-bak and other Pacific Rim leaders endorsed the goals of “strong, sustainable and balanced growth.” President Lee also pledged that Korea, as the chair country of the Group of 20 summit in 2011, will act as a bridge between the APEC economies and the G-20 next year. Lee began his three-day trip for the meeting by attending the APEC CEO summit on Nov. 13. He delivered a keynote address on Asia’s growth strategy in the post-crisis period, particularly focusing on measures taken to make the most of the G-20 process. The leaders’ summit took place over the weekend of Nov. 14 and 15. The president’s spokeswoman, Kim Eun-hye, said, “It is meaningful that Lee, as the chairman of the G-20 next year, has brought about cooperative ties between APEC and the G-20 and established a framework for substantial discussions about how economies can

22 korea December 2009

overcome the economic crisis.” According to Kim, nine G-20 members are also APEC members. “While the G-20 deals with macroeconomic policy for the global economy, APEC is more focused on the trade environment,” she said. “At the first session of APEC, President Lee focused on trade and investment liberalization.” Lee called for a regional economic community that would enhance cooperation in economic recovery efforts. According to Cheong Wa Dae, the Korean presidential office, Lee proposed that the APEC leaders launch discussions for a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, or FTAAP. Suggested in a joint analytical study by Korea, Australia and New Zealand, a FTAAP would create a free trade zone that could expand commerce and economic growth in the region. The APEC leaders, in their joint statement, admitted that the preliminary study shows there are “significant economic benefits” from a FTAAP and that they would continue to seek building blocks for one

in the future. Lee also pressed for an early conclusion of the Doha Development Agenda trade negotiations at the World Trade Organization and said the “most effective” way to fight trade protectionism is to promote free trade, according to Cheong Wa Dae. Kim said President Lee also wrapped up the second session at the request of the APEC host nation, Singapore. President Lee urged the Pacific Rim leaders to implement the agreements of the previous London and Pittsburgh G-20 summits. At next year’s G-20 summit, Lee said, “We would come up with the most efficient ways to narrow the gap between the rising economies and the developed nations.” During his stay in Singapore, Lee also met with Korean residents and businessmen on Nov. 14. At a Singapore hotel, Lee said the Korean economy would grow by up to 5 percent next year.  

By Ser Myo-ja

Diplomacy

Allies Tackle Myriad Issues At Seoul summit, Lee and Obama discuss talks with North Korea, FTA

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t a summit held in Seoul on Nov. 19, President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama vowed to share a commitment to break the past pattern of rewarding Pyongyang for provocative behavior. The two leaders also promised efforts to seek ratification of a bilateral free trade agreement that was signed in 2007. Marking the 60th anniversary of the Korean War next year, Lee and Obama also announced plans to hold foreign and defense ministers’ talks next year to upgrade the two countries’ alliance. “The summit truly showed the close friendship and trust between Lee and Obama,” said Lee Dong-kwan, Lee’s public affairs senior secretary. “They had candid and in-depth discussions on a wide range of issues, and the atmosphere was extremely amicable.” The Nov. 19 summit was Lee and Obama’s third bilateral meeting. Following a summit that lasted more than an hour, Lee and Obama addressed the press at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae. “We will be sending Ambassador [Stephen] Bosworth to North Korea on Dec. 8 to engage in direct talks with the North Koreans,” Obama told the media. It was the first time that the United States had made public the date of the mission, aimed at persuading North Korea to return to the six-party talks. “I am satisfied that South Korea and the United States are cooperating more closely than ever in resolving the North Korea nuclear issue,” President Lee said, adding that he and Obama have agreed to resolve the situation through a comprehensive “grand bargain.” “The thing I want to emphasize is that President Lee and I both agree that we want to break the pattern that has existed in the past, in which North Korea behaves in a provocative fashion, and then is willing to return to talks for a while and then leaves the talks and then that leads to seeking further concessions,” Obama said. Lee said North Korea will face a new future if it takes the grand bargain offer, in which

Pyongyang’s nuclear arms programs will be exchanged for massive economic aid and normal ties with the international community. In addition to the nuclear impasse with North Korea, Lee and Obama also addressed the sensitive issue of trade liberalization between the two countries. “President Obama and I reconfirmed the economic and strategic importance of the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement and agreed to work together to move the trade deal forward,” Lee said. The FTA was signed by the previous administrations in 2007. The last step to liberalize trade between Korea and the United States is ratification by their respective legislatures. Obama said a team had been created under his administration to remove obstacles. “American companies and workers are very confident in our ability to compete,” Obama said. “And we recognize that there is not only an economic, but a strategic interest in expanding our ties to South Korea.” President Lee also said he is aware of the U.S. business community and Congress’s concerns about automobile industry linked with the free trade agreement. “In Korea, those in the service and agricultural industries oppose the FTA, but we are pushing it forward because it will benefit bilateral trade,” Lee said. “If the automobiles are a problem, we are willing to talk about it. The European Union is a major automaker, but we signed an FTA with them.” The U.S. president also said he discussed global issues, including Seoul’s hosting of the G-20 summit and Korea’s participation in the global efforts to rebuild Afghanistan, with Lee. Climate change and clean energy were also discussed, Obama said, praising Korea’s recent voluntary announcement of greenhouse gas emission cuts by 2020. Lee and Obama talked for more than an hour at the summit with only a few key aides accompanying them, Cheong Wa Dae said. Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, Trade Minister Kim and Senior Secretary for Economic December 2009 korea 23

[Joint Press Corps]

Next to President Lee Myungbak, left, U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with a child during a welcome ceremony at Chong Wa Dae on Nov. 19.

Affairs Yoon Jin-sik were among the Korean aides who attended. Obama was accompanied by Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Larry Summers, director of the National Economic Council; Deputy National Security Adviser Tom Donilon; Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell, and Jeff Bader, the senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council. 24 korea December 2009

The two leaders continued talks at a working luncheon with more officials present. Obama said he was a fan of Korean culture and barbecue. Cheong Wa Dae served the U.S. guests a Korean bulgogi dish and California wine. Obama was also given a taekwondo uniform and books featuring Korean art and culture, Cheong Wa Dae said.  By Ser Myo-ja

Diplomacy

Obama in the New Asia Amid challenges, the U.S. president finds his best reception in Korea

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resident Barack Obama of the United States has made his first trip to Asia, including visits to the two U.S. allies Japan and South Korea, a stop at the multilateral Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit held in Singapore, and a rather lengthy stay in China, the fast emerging great power. In Japan, he made a speech with his characteristic eloquence. While emphasizing his Asian heritage, President Obama called the U.S. an Asia-Pacific nation and defined the Pacific Ocean as binding, not separating the two. In the general spirit of engagement and pragmatic diplomacy, he declared the emerging China not a country to contain but one whose success will strengthen the world. The rhetoric aside, it was apparent that he came to Asia with two goals in mind — opening Asian markets to American products and harnessing the emergent power of China to buttress America’s global leadership. Many, Americans and others alike, have lamented the waning of American leadership, the cornerstone of peace and prosperity in the world for a century, due to the diminishing popularity of the U.S. worldwide and the global economic recession originating on Wall Street. President Obama has worked hard to renew American leadership with two approaches. The first is his remarkable vision of a new world, free from nuclear weapons and the threat of climate change, which earned him the Nobel Peace Prize. The second is the policy of global engagement of friends and foes alike. At the core of global engagement stands China. In Obama’s eyes, the financial crisis was due to the huge imbalance in global trade as much as it was due to flawed

regulation of the financial system. Given that Asian countries reap much of America’s trade deficit, particularly China and Japan, President Obama would define his trip to Asia, including the primarily economic forum of APEC, as a market opening mission. It is too early to judge the cost-benefit balance of his trip. But in short run, he must have been disappointed. What he found was indeed a new Asia. Japan, a new government for the first time in half a country, was no longer as receptive to American words as before. Prime Minister Hatoyama was determined to shatter the image of Japan as a junior partner. In China, his balance sheet seems filled with red ink. Despite the tribute he paid to Beijing, including on sensitive territorial issues, Chinese leaders politely declined an invitation to a “G-2” club of equal status with the global leader the U.S., which ironically signified the enhanced status of a China that can say no to Washington. However, President Obama finished his trip in an upbeat mood, as he found the most receptive ears in South Korea. Even before his arrival, President Lee Myung-bak extended a warm welcome by deciding to send troops to Afghanistan, a huge piece of symbolic support for America’s war effort, and by setting an ambitious target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, another major tenet of President Obama’s global agenda. During the amicable meeting, the

presidents of the two allies agreed to a joint effort to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula through a “grand bargain” with North Korea’s leadership. Although the idea of a comprehensive approach may not seem noble, the agreement looms large because of the changed context. With its second nuclear test in May, North Korea put itself under siege, with stiff sanctions from the international community in UN Resolution 1874. To President Obama, a Nobel laureate for his vision of a nuclear free world, North Korea’s nuclear challenge is no longer an isolated regional security issue, but an integral part of his grand vision. In such a context, the allies of Korea and the U.S. may frame a policy that would make Pyongyang’s weapons program more of a burden than an asset. South Korean people are anxious to see how it works out, starting with Ambassador Bosworth’s visit to Pyongyang in December. Meanwhile, they were disappointed as President Obama failed to make a concrete commitment to ratification of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement. Even those who understand that ratifying the agreement is the job of Congress, not the president, may think their goodwill was not duly reciprocated. Still, this is a new Asia in a new world. Reciprocity may work in a more diffuse way, across issues over time. Be  patient, Koreans!

Dr. Taehyun Kim Dr. Taehyun Kim is a professor of international relations at the Graduate School of International Studies, and director of the Center for the Study of Grand Strategy, both at Chung-Ang University in Seoul, Korea.

December 2009 korea 25

Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, front row center, and foreign ministers from African nations participating in the KoreaAfrica Forum hold hands for a photo on Nov. 24 at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul.

Korea Pledges Aid, Training

K

orea vowed to increase its aid to African nations and cooperate on environmentfriendly growth at a highlevel forum held in Seoul in November. The African Union and Korea cosponsored the second Korea-Africa Forum in Seoul on Nov. 24. Representatives from 15 African nations, led by Gabon’s Jean Ping, current chair of the African Union, took part in the event, which featured meetings on such topics as development and partnerships for green growth. Representatives adopted the 2009 Seoul Declaration, in which Korea pledged to double its aid to Africa by 2012. Last year, Korea provided $107.1 million in aid to Africa. As part of the declaration, Korea and Africa reaffirmed their support for an expanded UN role in a more globalized world and for international efforts to fight terrorism, and called for the Group of 20 to

26 korea December 2009

strengthen its role as a forum for international economic cooperation. The forum also produced two policy papers. In the first, called “Framework for Korea-Africa Development Cooperation 2009-2012,” Korea pledged to accept 5,000 trainees from Africa and to send more than 1,000 Korean volunteers to the continent between now and 2012. The African trainees would learn more about Korea’s development experience, while the volunteers would help with infrastructure and vocational training, among others. In the second paper, titled “KoreaAfrica Green Growth Initiative 20092012,” the two sides agreed to expand bilateral and multilateral dialogue on low-carbon, eco-friendly growth. They also pledged to cooperate in exploring clean development mechanism projects and share policies and technologies to adapt to climate change. Organizers in Seoul had been push-

ing this year’s forum as an opportunity for Korea to strengthen its partnership with Africa to expand its role as a global player. Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said the forum was also “an avenue for strengthening Korea’s bilateral relations with individual African countries.” Before a dinner on Nov. 24, Yu said, “Korea-Africa relations are entering a new phase. Korea has established full diplomatic relations with all African countries.” He added, “The Seoul Declaration and the policy papers we have adopted are sure to provide a valuable framework for strengthening cooperation between Korea and Africa in the years ahead.” The Korea-Africa Forum became a regular event as a followup to Korea’s Initiative for Africa’s Development, announced March 2006. The first forum was staged in November that year, with five heads of state in atten-

Diplomacy

Korea’s trade volume with Africa (Unit: billion dollar) 13.4 12.1 12.6

8.5

9.1

5.1

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Source: Korea International Trade Association

[YONHAP]

About the continent of Africa 53 Number of countries 1 billion Population $1.3 trillion Total GDP Source: UN Population Fund

at 2nd Africa Forum in Seoul dance. Under the initiative, Korea declared it would triple its development assistance to Africa by 2008 and would continue to aid African nations in improving health care, labor skills and agricultural productivity. Korea fell just short of its monetary target — the figure jumped 2.5 times from 2005 to 2008 — but it has sent about 900 volunteers to the continent to share their know-how and also welcomed 2,000 African trainees to Korea to study its economic rise. There are also strategic goals for Korea in its attempt to get closer to Africa, because of its massive oil reserves and natural resources. According to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, Africa is home to 125 billion barrels of crude oil, or about 10 percent of world reserves. About 23 percent of all uranium reserves in the world can be found in Africa. Korea’s neighbors have long tried to forge ties with Africa. Japan launched

the Tokyo International Conference on African Development in 1993 and has staged the event every five years. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama recently told the United Nations General Assembly that Japan intends to strengthen the TICAD process. At last year’s conference, Japan pledged $4 billion in ODA loans by the end of 2012 to help improve road networks and traffic infrastructure on the continent. China has forgiven about $100 million in debt from African nations since 2000. President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao make regular trips to the continent to pursue the right to develop natural resources there in exchange for massive aid. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, with heads of state in attendance, has been held every three years since 2000. Asked if Korea was lagging behind, Lee Wook-heon, head of the team organizing the forum at the Foreign Ministry, said Korea will soon

catch up and even surpass others in its relations with Africa. “Our approach is different in that we’re trying to share our development experience with Africa [rather than simply providing aid],” he said. “That way, hopefully we can get closer to Africa than others.” A senior Foreign Ministry official privy to African-related affairs said the forum gave Korea an opportunity to review the status of its partnership with Africa. “At first, the African Union was hesitant to build relations with Korea,” the official said. “Our aid to Africa isn’t enormous by any means, but, gradually, they grew to recognize our accomplishments in economic development.” The official said the Korean government would also consider holding multilateral summit meetings with African leaders “if we feel they can lead us to a more effective partnership.”   By Yoo Jee-ho December 2009 korea 27

Provided by Statistics Korea

OECD Forum Experts Seek

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he global debate over an alternative to gross domestic product as a measure of social advancement may sound like a distant issue to you and me, busy making enough money to keep up with the Kims. But what if that debate could cure your jealousy of your neighbors without you having to work dozens of hours a week in a gray-walled office? What if the government, instead of pushing the idea of raising the GDP on its citizens, put your happiness first? That dream was part of the reason for the third gathering of the World Forum of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, held in Busan Oct. 27 to 30. The event, cosponsored by Statistics Korea, the state-run agency known until recently as the National Statistical Office, was a chance for countries across the globe to discuss the latest research into non-GDP metrics. A total of 2,024 people from 78 countries, from government administrators and politicians to academics and civic group members attended, according to Statistics Korea. “Much discussion of the issue took place at the Busan forum,” said Kim Sulhee, director general of Statistics Korea 28 korea December 2009

and secretary of the agency’s 3rd OECD World Forum Planning and Preparation Team. The criticism of the GDP standard implicit in the event’s theme is not a new phenomenon. Since as early as the 1970s, economists and politicians have spoken out about the many aspects of socity left out by the index, which was developed after the Great Depression. Robert Kennedy, former U.S. attorney general and brother of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, once said the gross national product, a relative of the GDP, “measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile.” But effort to find alternatives did not seriously gain traction until the early 2000s, when the OECD picked up the issue and began a worldwide quest for a solution. That vision was part of the reason to establish the OECD World Forum, which had its inaugural meeting in 2004 in Italy and second such event in 2007 in Turkey. The commission of international research set up by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France in February last year added momentum to the search. A team of renowned economists from several countries joined together on Sarkozy’s

Stiglitz Commission, named after the scholar leading the team, Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics and a Columbia University professor. In September, the commission announced a midterm report on its research activities. Titled “The Measurement of Economic Performance and Social Progress,” the report discussed what kind of data might be added to the traditional GDP model and how. Some expected the latest OECD World Forum in the southern Korean port city to produce a substantial breakthrough, such as the announcement of a new indicator to replace the GDP. It didn’t. But Kim at Statistics Korea said the Busan event still marked a major step forward from previous discussions of the issue. “At the first OECD World Forum in Italy, the world only agreed upon the necessity to discuss an alternative to the GDP, and at the second one in Turkey, they began to discuss what to do to make countries commit to the mission,” Kim said. “But at the third event in Busan, the countries proved that they are really working hard by bringing up the results of the latest research each of them conducted and actively exchang-

Diplomacy

People attending the third OECD World Forum held in Busan Oct. 27 to 30 listen to speakers on how to develop an alternative metric to gross domestic product. A total of 2,024 people — government administrators, politicians, academics and civic group members from 78 countries — participated in the event, according to Statistics Korea, a cosponsor of the event.

New Metric to Replace GDP

Joseph Stiglitz, center, the Nobel laureate in economics who heads the Stiglitz Commission, addresses the third Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development World Forum held in Busan Oct. 27-30. 

ing data.” The indicators hotly debated at the event, according to Statistics Korea, included disparity in the distribution of wealth, depletion of natural resources, the underground economy and the overall quality of goods and services. Participating researchers also offered studies on how to include security, leisure time and public services in social metrics. More subjective evaluations like balance of time, health and education were also called for. Stiglitz stressed the urgency of get-

ting beyond GDP, saying the traditional accounting has blinded the world to the full brunt of the global financial crisis. He argued that the U.S. consumption boom between 2003 and 2007 was based on a GDP increase built in part on debt. “In an increasingly performanceoriented society, metrics matters — what we measure affects what we do,” said Stiglitz in a speech at the Busan event. “If we have the wrong metrics, we will strive for the wrong things. In a quest for an increase in GDP, we may

end up with a society in which citizens are worse off.” OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria also assessed the Busan event as “important step forward in an ambitious agenda to provide guidance on better measures and methodologies for lasting progress,” according to the OECD Web site. Gurria also drew attention to a further debate on how to measure “green growth,” a sector in which Korea has taken a leading role with its five-year, 107 trillion won ($93 billion) green growth initiative. The Korean government said it will try to live up to expectations by collaborating with other countries in coming up with green growth statistics. In a speech during the event, President Lee Myung-bak promised the government will develop statistics regarding global warming, greenhouse gas emissions and quality of life. “Many local research institutes have already been doing research to develop alternatives to GDP for many years,” said Kim at Statistics Korea. “We hope the hosting of the Busan event will provide momentum for such research to be accelerated and supported.”  

By Moon Gwang-lip December 2009 korea 29

Photo by Choi Jeong-dong

Five former Peace Corps volunteers in Korea pose for a photo during their recent visit to the country as part of a government-organized reunion in October. From left: Jon Keeton, Jerome Raik, Bill Harwood, Richard Christenson and Kevin O’Donnell.

Thanking Those Who Answered Peace’s Call

30 korea December 2009

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sk not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.” The words from that historic inaugural speech by the 35th U.S. president, John F. Kennedy, are still considered among the most inspiring ever directed at America’s youth by their government. And more than 1,800 Americans who heeded Kennedy’s call came to Korea from 1966 to 1981 as part of the Peace Corps, helping rebuild after the ravages of the Korean War (1950-1953), providing health care, education and other services. For many, the experience changed their lives, and for a few, this unfamiliar land in need of help became a second home. Recently, in the last week of October, a group of more than 70 of these men and women returned to Seoul with their families for the third local Peace Corps reunion, following the first in October last year and the second in July this year — all at the initiative of the Korean government. President Lee Myung-bak pledged to hold the reunions in a speech at a meeting hosted by the New York-based Korea Society during Lee’s visit to the U.S. in April last year. “Before I came to Korea, I had never left America,” said Bill Harwood, who was one of the group of Peace Corps Korea volunteers who recently returned to the country. Harwood first came to Korea in 1975 and taught English at Kaesung Boys Middle School in Busan for two years. “I was just a small boy from a small state, Connecticut. Coming to Korea opened my eyes to the world. I think we as volunteers gained as much or even more than we

Global Korea director of Peace Corps Korea from 1966-1970 and the fourth director of Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C. in 1971 and 1972, said he was amazed by how quickly Koreans picked up the concept of volunteering. “When we came here in the 1970s, not many Koreans understood what volunteerism meant,” O’Donnell said. “They didn’t know why young American people like us came here, and there was even suspicion that this was part of the CIA and that we were spies or something. We even had to have a meeting with a Korean government official, who wanted to find out what we were doing and why.” Now, however, thousands of Koreans are performing volunteer work in other countries, providing many of the same services that Americans offered here decades ago. “When Kennedy started the Peace Corps, we as a nation were already 250 years old,” O’Donnell said. “It’s only been about 50 years since the end of the Korean War, and Korea has already picked up the concept of volunteerism and is now carrying it out, which I think is amazing.” Many former Peace Corps members in Korea have dedicated their lives to foreign service. U.S. Ambassador to Korea Kathleen Stephens, for instance, was in the Peace Corps here in the mid-1970s. “There’s a fair percentage — about 10 to 15 percent — of American diplomats who served in the Peace Corps,” said Richard Christenson, who came to Korea in 1967 as a Peace Corps volunteer and taught English at Jeil Middle School in Mokpo-si, Jeollanam-do Province. Christenson spent more than a third of his 35-year diplomatic career in Korea, including a deputy post at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul from 1996 to 2000. Meanwhile, the group Friends of Korea was formed in 2000 to connect nearly 2,000 Peace Corps volunteers who served in Korea and to promote amity between the two countries. The group is now working with the Korean government, which plans to continue the reunions once or twice a year until at least 2013.

U.S. Ambassador to Korea Kathleen Stephens poses with Yesan Middle School students in Chungcheongnam-do Province during her stint here as a Peace Corps volunteer in the mid-1970s.

Bill Harwood in 1975 when he worked as an English teacher at Kaesung Boys Middle School in Busan.

Peace Corps volunteers participate in a health education program at a village in Gyeongsangnam-do Province in 1981.

A girl receives a tuberculosis vaccination at a middle school in Seoul in 1972. At the time, there were many tuberculosis patients around the country.

Friends of Korea recently published the book Through Our Eyes: Peace Corps in Korea, 1966-1981, which chronicles the experiences of volunteers and the transformation of the country in pictures.  By Park Sun-young December 2009 korea 31

Provided by Friends of Korea (the group of Peace Corps volunteers who served in Korea)

gave.” Jerome and Barrie-Lynn Raik also got more than they bargained for when they came to Yecheon-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, as Peace Corps volunteers in 1967 shortly after getting married when they were 20 years old. The Raiks were originally volunteers teaching Korean students English, but they ended up doing much more than that, saving a Korean girl’s life — which in turn changed their lives. Suk-hee, the 8-year-old daughter of the couple’s host family, had a heart disorder and needed surgery. When the couple’s Peace Corps term ended in 1969, the Raiks decided to take the girl back with them to New York, where they believed she had a better chance at receiving quality medical care. “The hardest part of the process was getting her a passport, because in those days it was very difficult for Korean people to get a passport issued by the government,” Jerome Raik said. “The operation had been performed three or four times in Korea at the time, but no one had survived. The hospital in New York that we took Suk-hee to was performing the operation six or seven times a week and everyone survived ... so there was no question that we thought it best to take her to New York for it.” It turned out to be the right move, and the operation was a success. “She is now living in Gimhae-si and we met her during this visit,” he said. “We were happy to see her having a wonderful life now with her husband and two children, running a music school.” The experience also had a lasting impact on Barrie-Lynn Raik, who eventually became a doctor and is currently a professor of clinical medicine and clinical public health at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. “Barrie had no idea that she would become a doctor before that,” Jerome Raik said. “Suk-hee had these two women cardiologists [in the New York hospital], and they took such good care of her. These smart, confident women who did this wonderful thing were a big part of the inspiration behind Barrie’s decision to become a doctor.” Kevin O’Donnell, the first country

Translation on a Biblical Scale

M

Provided by bbb

uhammad Haya traveled from England to Korea late last year, along with five of his friends. They boarded a cab at Incheon International Airport and asked to go to the Islamic Mosque in Itaewon, downtown Seoul. But Haya and company had trouble communicating with the taxi driver. The driver soon handed over his mobile phone to Haya, and the Arabic language coming

out of the receiver was music to his ears. Thanks to the remote interpreter, the driver and Haya’s group settled on the fare to the mosque and then back to the airport. The driver even agreed to wait for Haya to finish his business free of charge. The grateful Haya asked the if the person on the phone worked at the mosque. “No, I am just a bbb volunteer,” the person answered. That acronym stands for Before Babel Brigade, named for the Biblical story about the fall of the Tower of Babel, in which humanity shared a common tongue. The volunteer group based in Seoul provides around-the-clock interpretive services in 17 different languages from all corners of the world. Those having difficulty communicating during their stay in Korea — with a taxi driver, a vendor at a market, anyone — can dial 1588-5644 and press a number assigned to each of the following languages: English, Japanese, Chinese, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Polish, Turkish, Swedish, Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian and Bahasa Malaysia. The Foreigners having difficulty communicating during their stay in Korea can ask Koreans on the street to get interpretive services in 17 different languages of bbb.

32 korea December 2009

Global Korea

Staff and members of bbb engage in promotional activities to let foreigners know about bbb’s translation services.

caller will then be automatically connected to the mobile phone of an interpreter. And the service isn’t just for foreigners. Since 2006, it has even offered interpretation for Koreans calling from outside the country. The service dates back to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by Korea and Japan. For over two months before, during and after the World Cup, volunteer translators handled nearly 25,000 requests, according to bbb’s Web site, www.bbbkorea.org. The organizers have agreements with a wide range of agencies, from the Seoul Metropolitan Government to the National Police Agency and the Korean Olympic Committee, and about 3,200 volunteer interpreters. The eclectic group includes former high-ranking diplomats, retired and active professors and undergraduate and graduate students. In 2004, bbb took 5,000 calls for help, but the figure soared to 32,000 last year. It’s expected to reach 50,000 this year. Early on, bbb volunteers mostly helped visitors find accommodations and talk to cab drivers. But there are more bizarre stories too: There was a woman in the last month of her pregnancy who visited an art college because she wanted to have a cast made of her belly, and a vegetarian American who ordered the wrong pizza and ended up eating just the crust. And as the number of migrant workers and foreign women marrying Korean men has

The bbb took just 5,000 calls in 2004, but that figure is expected to hit 50,000 this year.

increased, bbb’s service has grown more diverse. A Korean groom called up for a crash course on the Chinese language, as he was getting ready to wed a Chinese woman. Another Korean man married to a Chinese woman relayed his apologies through a volunteer after a botched date. The bride told her husband that everything was okay — through the volunteer, of course. It’s no coincidence that the volunteers include retired diplomats, foreign college graduates and holders of certificates for simultaneous interpretation. Lee Gye-yeon, who translates Arabic, often handles delicate situations. The Korea Immigration Service asks for her help often when officers see foreigners with suspicious backgrounds whose English skills are limited. “There really are people with vague purposes for their visits,” Lee said. “My job is to prevent potential dangers, and I think it s very important to do that.” Lee Joo-young, secretary-general at bbb, said some foreign language high schools have asked if their students can sign up as volunteers, but only those over the age of 19 can become volunteers. “You often have to deal with contingencies and have to have some negotiation skills,” Lee said. “So it’s not appropriate for adolescents. But what’s really important is to have the mind-set to serve the people and represent Korea [to foreigners].”  By Yoo Jee-ho December 2009 korea 33

Choi In-ho, a member of Korea Food for the Hungry International talks with children of poverty ridden village in Kenya.

Looking After God’s Children

W

hy help the needy overseas when there are still thousands in need of help here? That’s a question that might be on any Korean’s mind, watching local volunteers leaving for countries in Africa and Asia. But Korea Food for the Hungry International, a Seoul-based nongovernment relief organization, provides an answer. If leading economies in the West had refrained from giving aid to less developed countries until they had resolved all their own problems, Korea

34 korea December 2009

could never have recovered from the rubble of the Korean War in the 1950s and become the world’s 13th-largest economy. Now it is Korea’s turn to give back, says Chung Jung-sup, one of the founding members and the fourth chairman of the Christian NGO. At a ceremony held in western Seoul, the 68-year-old head said, “When we were starting out 20 years ago, we had no office of our own. We started out with just one worker, one desk and one telephone. Since then, we have sent 759 volunteers to some 70 countries around

the world, delivering food and the word of God.” Chung expressed his hope that the organization will be able to send over 1,000 volunteers by 2010. He also wishes to see local Food for the Hungry divisions in 160 countries across the globe by 2030. Chung says that by giving out food, his organization is conveying a message of love, thus helping the needy survive and have agency. It runs what it calls the Child Development Program in countries across Asia, Europe, Africa and America, sending not only food but also

Provided by KFHI

Global Korea

volunteers to build schools, teach and help local citizens. As part of the program, Korean supporters can form individual connections with specific children to communicate with them and offer aid. The NGO has also been developing wells to supply clean water, training farmers, developing agricultural areas and dispatching doctors.

When a strong earthquake rattled a village on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, in early October, the organization dispatched medical staff to treat the injured. Earlier this year, Food for the Hungry finished digging a well in a town in Kenya, resolving a water shortage. What differentiates Korea Food for the Hungry International from other relief organizations is that it sends donations and other funds directly to the people in charge of aid programs overseas without going through any international administrative body such as the United Nations. By doing so, the organization has minimized “indirect costs,” Chung says proudly. He himself encourages the local divisions he helped establishing to create their own independent funding systems. Korea Food for the Hungry International was launched in 1989 as a Korean branch of Food for the Hungry, which was established by Dr. Larry Ward in 1971. It became the first Korean aid group to help the needy abroad. Chung set up the group after retiring as an executive at the Federation of Korean Industries, a business lobby. Inspired by a Christian minister and the organization’s present director, Yoon Nam-joong, Chung gave up his plan to leave for Japan as a Christian missionary with his wife and instead established KFHI. The group started with seed money of $50,000 donated by a private relief group in Japan, and Chung’s fund-raising efforts led to 180 million won in donations in the initial year. Now the organization runs on an annual budget of 100 billion won ($86 million). KFHI turned its attention to the needy inside the country in 1993. A year later, it started helping North Koreans, sending medical equipment to a hospital in Pyongyang. So far, 11 billion won worth of aid has gone to the North. Currently the group allocates about 70 percent of its annual budget to aid businesses abroad and 30 percent to help inside Korea. 

By Seo Ji-eun

The head of KFHI, Chung Jungsup is giving tips about cultivating crops to an African farmer. (left) A Korean medical staff dispatched by the organization is treating patient in Uganda. (far left) December 2009 korea 35

Outrunning Climate Change

I

n a move to participate in the world’s efforts to curb global warming, Korea has decided to cut its greenhouse gas emissions 4 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. That year, Korea emitted 591.1 million tons of carbon dioxide, taking the ninth position among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

CO2 emissions by country (Unit: million tons)

1,236.34

2007

Japan

786.37

2020 (Target)

Japan

2007

Britain

400.61 to 457.84

2020 (Target)

Britain

488.71

2007

Korea

430.95 to 448.91

2020 (Target)

Korea

Source: IEA

[JoongAng Ilbo]

*Only emissions from fuel consumption

523.01

Wind power is recommended for reducing greenhouse gas emissions while the total energy consumption will be regulated sooner or later. 36 korea December 2009

Its emissions are expected to continue to increase, reaching 813 million tons in 2020 at the current rate. To accomplish a 4-percent reduction in emissions from 2005 levels by 2020 would mean cutting 30 percent of current estimated emissions in 2020. Korea’s reduction target was set ahead of the United Nations summit on climate change in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December, where the world’s governments will begin negotiating a successor to the Kyoto Protocol. It is the strongest reduction target among developing countries, when the European Union is now asking developing countries to cut emissions by 15 to 30 percent. President Lee Myung-bak emphasized the need for Korea to set an aggressive target in a meeting with members of the Presidential Committee on Green Growth in November. “The business community is concerned about the strong emission reduction goal, and I agree that it shouldn’t hinder Korea’s economic growth,” Lee said. “However, it is important to establish an ideal goal and try to achieve it. If the goal is lowered, it will be hard to change the people’s attitudes.” Meanwhile, said Kim In-whan, chairman of the Korean Society of Climate Change, “As Korea fulfills its duty in accordance with its economic status in the global community, it will bring benefits to the country in the long run.” Experts say Korea’s voluntary greenhouse gas reduction target will contribute to the negotiations at the Copenhagen summit. The outlook for a settlement is in doubt amid conflict between developed and developing counties. Developed countries argue that developing countries such as China and India need to be more aggressive in reducing carbon emissions, while developing countries argue that more advanced economies should cut their emissions more drastically and provide financial support to offset developing countries’ losses from reductions. The plan is part of a wider Korean campaign to become a global leader in the green economy. At the Korea-ASEAN Commemorative Summit held on Jeju-do island in early June,

Provided by Cheong Wa Dae

Green Growth

President Lee Myung –bak (center) emphasized “it is important to a establish higher goal and try to achieve it. If the goal is lowered, it will be hard to change the people’s attitude”in the meeting of the Presidential Committee on Green Growth.

President Lee emphasized that the country and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations should make joint efforts to fight climate change, particularly in the areas of renewable energy and eco-friendly technology. During the summit, the leaders of ASEAN praised Korea’s efforts to help East Asia grow in an eco-friendly fashion, including the East Asia Climate Partnership, which the Lee administration announced last year at the G8 Summit. Under the partnership, Korea will invest $200 million over the next five years in projects to help Southeast Asia’s emerging economies reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs has presented programs focused on energy-efficient urban planning including new construction and transportation regulations. New buildings will gradually be required to use less energy, and so-called “zeroenergy” construction will be required for all new buildings beginning in 2025, the ministry said. This means new buildings will have to supply their own energy. Such buildings already exist, making use of renewable energy systems such as photovoltaic solar power modules on roofs. Starting in 2010, each building’s total energy consumption will be regulated and, beginning in 2012, certificates of energy consumption will be required as a part of real estate transactions. Residential buildings will be required by law to use 20 percent less energy for heating and cooling by 2012.

Half of Korea’s social infrastructure spending will go to railroads by 2020, from 29 percent this year.

The Land Ministry said that the programs would help lower buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions to 31 percent below the levels that would otherwise be reached in 2020. But what about the transportation, the primary source of growth in greenhouse gas emissions? The ministry said it would increase investment in railways while reducing investment in roads. Accordingly, the nation’s railroad network will account for 50 percent of spending on total social overhead capital in 2020 from the current 29 percent, the ministry said, while investment in roads will decline to 40 percent of the nation’s spending on total social infrastructure in 2020 from the current 57.2 percent. In addition, the ministry promises incentives to companies that switch from using roads to railways or maritime transportation for their shipping, in a pilot program starting next year. Research and development for advanced eco-friendly transportation technologies, including those for next-generation bullet trains that can operate at 400 kilometers (248.5 miles) per hour and magnetic levitation trains, will be more active, the ministry said. The series of measures will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector by up to 37 percent from estimated 2020 levels, the ministry said, and will save about 7.2 trillion won ($6.21 billion) in energy costs  By Koh So-young annually. December 2009 korea 37

[Press-Q]

A view of the mega-mall Times Sqaure in Yeongdeungpo area in southwestern Seoul.

It’s Better Late Than Never 38 korea December 2009

Culture

As Koreans Head to the Mall December 2009 korea 39

Provided by the company

A

The exterior of the I’Park Mall in Yongsan-gu District, central Seoul.

day spent hanging out at a mall may be as natural as turkey on Thanksgiving to Americans, but in Korea it’s a brand new trend, brought on by the increase in leisure time afforded by the five-day work week. On a recent autumn weekend, Choi Hyun-jin, 39, took a stroll in Times Square, a mega-mall that opened in September in Yeongdeungpo-gu District, southwestern Seoul. Compared to independent shops or department stores, she said, malls are more convenient in that they are equipped with a variety of facilities for shopping and entertainment. “I can shop for everything all at once,

Interview

which saves time for a person like me who works on weekdays,” she said. “There is efficiency in spending leisure time on one-stop service.” Malls have become popular, local industry experts say, because modern consumers under the pressure of time can’t go from place to place looking for what they need. Chances are, they can find everything in the mall, from department store goods and discount store items to books and gifts. Times Square, the newest mega-mall in Korea, includes a children’s theme park, a bookstore, a cinema, a venue for meetings and weddings, a large discount store, a hotel and a luxury fitness center. Dozens of brands have stores there, from luxury to “fast fashion.” There’s even an Internet-equipped lounge where visitors can surf the Web while their families or friends shop. “Though Korea is not an early adopter of the ‘mall-

Kim Dam, president of Times Square

“It was about time a large-scale quality mall like this opened in Seoul,” said Kim Dam, the 44-year-old president of Times Square. He spoke about his experience and the mall industry in Korea. Q. Can you briefly define Times Square? A. Times Square is an up-and-coming cultural community area in Seoul, which is unprecedented in the retail industry. It is a high-tech, multi-complex attraction similar to Pacific Place in Hong Kong or Tokyo Midtown. What’s unique about the complex is that each of the different stores is connected under the so-called “malling” system, which naturally leads customers from one place to the other. Q. You mentioned a “malling” system. What exactly is that? A. The malling system doesn’t refer to a mall that has a hotel, department store, cinema, large discount store and restaurants. It refers to the idea that visitors can visit one place and get access to almost anything they want, conveniently. Such malls are common in the United States and Japan, and they will also be common in Korea with the emerging of new consumer trends.

40 korea December 2009

Culture ness, because the longer visitors stay in one place, the more money they spend. According to an industry report, visitors spend an average of one to two hours at a department store but three or four hours at a mall, which has more stores and facilities to hold their attention. “Most retail facilities [in Korea] will be developed into malls because more working couples under time pressure are willing to shop for various items all at once,” said Jang Jung-ho from Shinsegae. Kim Dam, president of Times Square, also said that a new era in the development of Korea’s multi-complex shopping mall industry has started, adding that more malls like the Pacific Place in Hong Kong or Tokyo Midtown will be built.  By Lee Eun-joo

[JoongAng Ilbo]

‘The five-day work week and changing consumer trends are attracting more visitors to malls.’

Provided by the company

ing’ trend that already exists in most developed areas like the United States, Europe, Japan and Hong Kong, the number of mallgoers in Korea is increasing as the Korean economy advances,” said Park Hee-jeong, an official at I’Park Mall located in Yongsan-gu District, central Seoul. It is said that the shopping mall was born in 1877, when a large outdoor market was set up in front of a statue of Victor Emmanuel II in Milan, Italy. The retail malls seen today date back to 1950s America, when newly affluent families moved to the suburbs and the concept of the family car made the shopping center concept viable. When national income per person in the United States and Japan reached over $20,000 in 1988, mega-malls were a big trend. This was the period when terms like “malling,” “mallgoer,” and “mall walking” entered the zeitgeist. “Korea is following the same steps,” Park said. “With Korea’s economy growing and its national income per capita on the verge of reaching $20,000, there will be more malls built.” The Lotte World complex in Jamsildong, southern Seoul, is thought to be one of the first malls in Korea, opening in 1988. The Coex Mall in Samseongdong and the Central City complex built around the Express Bus Terminal in southern Seoul followed, along with I’Park Mall in Yongsan and Shinsegae Centum City in Busan. There are currently around 10 megamalls in Korea and more are planned. Department stores hope to open branches within the new centers. Hyundai Department Store will open a branch at the Lakinsmall in Ilsan-dong, Gyeonggi-do Province, next year, while Lotte Shopping hopes to open its own mall, the Gimpo Sky Park Mall, near Gimpo Airport in 2011. “Koreans were introduced to the malling trend a bit later than other developed nations because of the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s, but the fiveday workweek and changing consumer trends are attracting more visitors to malls,” said Baek In-soo at Lotte’s retail center. Experts say malls are good for busi-

Top, a view of Shinsegae Department Store’s Centum City branch in Busan, which was listed in the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest department store. Above, the interior of the I’Park Mall in Yongsan-gu District, central Seoul. December 2009 korea 41

Hardships and Love in Verse Foreign residents of Korea find inspiration in their lives at poetry recital

T

he number of expats residing in Korea surpassed 1.1 million recently, according to government data, and there are now various programs across the country for foreign residents, including classes on kimchi making, Korean cooking and the local language — but there are not many opportunities for expats to show off their talent for writing literature in their adopted tongue. So it was a rare treat for all when on Nov. 8, about 110 people, including married immigrants from multicultural families and Korean poets, had the chance to recite their poetry at a local welfare center in Gyeonggi-do Province. Twelve contestants from 11 countries, among them Cambodia, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Uzbekistan and Myanmar, participated. Sukatin Choi read her long prose poem called “My Happiness.” “My simmering love for one Korean man brought me where I am,” she read. “When I close my eyes and open my eyes I can’t get away from thinking of my family at home.” Choi, who came to Korea from Indonesia 11 years ago, wrote about how much she missed her family back home and how difficult it was learning Korean because there weren’t any classes in her neighborhood. Still, she said she managed to settle in Korea thanks to her husband’s support and love. Moon Chang-gil, poet and head of the literary society that organized the event, Changak 21, said the judges had to give Choi the grand prize. “The three judges were all surprised 42 korea December 2009

Provided by Changjak 21

Sukatin Choi, back, an Indonesian who came to Korea 11 years ago and Alexandra Park, front, an ethnic Korean born and raised in Uzbekistan came to Korea five years ago won prizes for their poems at a multicultural family poem recital contest on Nov. 8 at a local welfare center in Gyeonggi-do Province.

and marveled at Sukatin’s poem, because they got impression it was written by a professional Korean poet considering the format, order and poetic expressions in ‘My Happiness’,” Moon said. “Before coming to Korea, I had very limited knowledge of it,” said Choi, who recently became a naturalized Korean citizen, in a phone interview. Choi spoke Korean without a trace of an accent. But when she arrived, she said, “I even didn’t know how to say hello in Korean.” Choi met her husband at a company in Indonesia. The couple now has four children. “Korean food didn’t fit my taste, and I studied Korean on my own by repeating lines on TV shows,” Choi said. “My 11 years in Korea led me to overcome difficulties, and all I can say now is I feel great. I’m much happier than before. I have no other wishes. I just want this happiness to last forever.” Alexandra Park, an ethnic Korean born and raised in Uzbekistan who came to Korea five years ago, also participated in the contest and won an award. Park has two children with her Korean husband. “I read two short poems; one is about the postnatal depression I suffered in Korea,” Park said. “Because my Korean is not good enough to write poetry in Korean, I wrote the poems in my first language, Russian, and then translated them into Korean.” Park said she was passionate about studying Korean even before she arrived, because she wanted to find out about her identity and her ancestral home. “I thought my Korean level would be okay to live there, because I studied hard,” Park said. “But things were different when I got here … there were a bunch of other Korean expressions I never heard of.” Park said she couldn’t get over the look Koreans gave her when they asked her for directions. “I’m Korean and I look Korean, but I don’t speak Korean well,” Park said. “So people misunderstood and took me for a fool. That actually motivated me to learn Korean harder after my two daughters were born, because I didn’t want my children to get bullied.” Park hopes one day to write in her adopted language. “Someday in the near future, I hope that I can write a poem in Korean,” Park said. “Because writing a poem in a foreign language is difficult, and this would By Kim Mi-ju mean that my Korean is perfect.” 

n ong-gu Jang D

eon eung-h Song S

n ung-hu Lee By

in Won B

Four For One, One For All Quartet of Korean Wave superstars gathers for big show at Tokyo Dome

J

apanese fans of the Korean Wave are about to get a special gift. Four stars who were at the vanguard of the wave — Lee Byung-hun, 39; Jang Dong-gun, 37; Song Seung-heon, 33, and Won Bin, 32 — have teamed up for a live show dubbed “Four of a Kind,” set to run at the Tokyo Dome on Dec. 17. This Hallyu, or Korean wave event, unprecedented in its scale, was reportedly conceived independently by the four superstars, who are close friends and often meet privately. The highlight of the event will come when all four actors perform together. The well-known Japanese producer and lyricist Yasushi Akimoto will produce the show, and Hur Jinho, the Korean film director known for the 1998 movie Christmas in August who recently directed Season of Good Rain starring Jung Woo-sung and Chinese actress Gao Yuanyuan, will make a short feature to be used at the performance. The Tokyo Dome event will also provide a venue for the fans to hear from each of the stars about their lives at the moment and their future plans. “It’s been a long time since I’d met fans at a live show like this. I’m looking forward to seeing what it will be like,” Jang was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency.

Lee concurred, adding, “It will be a very special event. See you all soon.” Lee won widespread popularity in Asia with his roles in the 2001 TV drama Beautiful Days and the 2003 hit TV series All In, and he recently made his Hollywood debut in the action film G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, released this year. Jang earned recognition for his performances in the films Friend (2001) and Taegukgi: Brotherhood of War (2004) and recently made headlines by announcing a relationship of two years with Ko So-young, one of the most popular Korean actresses of the late 1990s. It was Song’s role in the 2000 hit drama Autumn in My Heart, in which he played opposite the prominent Korean actress Song Hye-kyo, that first won him notice. And last but not least, the youngest in the group, Won Bin, who appeared in Autumn in My Heart as a new face then rose to fame with his role in Taegukgi, was recently featured at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in the acclaimed film Mother, directed by Bong Joon-ho (The Host). Though the details of the event are still under discussion by the four actors’ management agencies due to their busy schedules, it promises to be an unforgettable evening for the stars’ rabid fans.  By Park Sun-young December 2009 korea 43

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Culture

Kim Won-il A broken heart in a divided nation

K

im Won-il (born 1942) writes about the effects of the Korean War and national division. His writing is, in part, an attempt to come to terms with the circumstances that shaped his youth: Kim’s father, a communist activist, defected to the North during the war, leaving his family in extreme poverty and under constant police surveillance. The dark years of Kim’s childhood were the basis for a series of stories, including “A Festival of Darkness,” “Spirit of Darkness” and “Evening Glow,” which won critical acclaim for reaffirming the value of life in the nihilistic aftermath of the Korean War. With the publication of A Festival of Fire and Winter Valley, Kim Won-il became the foremost writer on the issue of national division. His autobiographical novel A House with a Deep Garden was made into a popular TV series in 1990. In these works, Kim blends realism and lyricism to offer a comprehensive portrayal of Korean society before, during and after the war, with emphasis on the ideological conflict and its dehumanizing effect on life. Since the mid-1990s, Kim Won-il has produced deeply humanistic tales centering on handicapped or socially marginalized groups of people. The writer has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Contemporary Literature Prize (1974), the Republic of Korea President’s Award in Literature (1979), the Korean Creative Writers’ Prize (1979), the Dong-in Literature Prize (1983), the Yi Sang Literature Prize (1990) and the Han Musuk Literature Prize (1998).

44 korea December 2009

Korean Literature

Major works Spirit of Darkness (Eodum ui chukje,1973) Today’s Wind (Oneul buneun baram, 1976) Evening Glow (Noeul, 1978) Meditations on a Snipe (1979) Chains of Darkness (Eodumui saseul, 1979) A Festival of Fire (Buleui jejeon, 1983) Wind and River (Baram gwa gang, 1985) Winter Valley (1987) House with a Deep Garden (1989) The Long Road From Here to There (Geugose ireuneun meon gil, 1992)

Source: Korea Literature Translation Institute

[JoongAng Ilbo]

The Evergreen (Neul pureun sonamu, 1993)

December 2009 korea 45

A House with Deep Yard

With remarkable accuracy and attention to detail, this autobiographical novel reconstructs the period immediately following the

Korean War and presents a poignant picture of the indomitable will to survive. Six families, all of them refugees, occupy a single house enclosing a yard, eking out a living by any means they can. Emotional, physical and material devastation left by the war is engraved into every aspect of their lives. Jun-ho’s father, a former officer, wears a hook in place of his missing arm and peddles sweet potatoes; Gil-nam’s mother does

(Madang gipeun jib)

needlework for prostitutes. A daughter of another family, Mi-seon, marries an American soldier she met while working at a military base, and Jeong-tae, whose family is from Pyeongyang, attempts to cross over the border into North Korea. A well-to-do landlord family holds a dance party while the tenants next door go to sleep hungry, embodying the crippling effect of war in their utter disregard for human suffer-

ing. Although the harsh conditions of their lives often manifest in antagonism and hatred, the refugees do not forget neighborly warmth and cooperation. Most of all, it is their unrelenting desire to overcome the ravages of the war and move toward a better life that imparts a measure of hope to the bleak reality of postwar Korea. The novel was made into a TV series in 1990.

Meditations on a Snipe (Doyosae-e gwanhan myeongsang)

This volume contains 12 stories including “The Chain of Darkness,” “Needlework” and “An Evening Primrose,” all of which were first published in the 1970s. “Meditations on a Snipe” is a complex story that touch-

es upon many controversial issues in South Korean society, including pollution due to rapid industrialization and the sense of alienation that scars those who cannot return to their homes in the North. These issues surface through a family in discord. The father is a 51-year-old man who fought in the war on the North Korean side, but settled in the South after renouncing communism. A passive, soft-hearted man, he still cherishes the memory of his first lover, whom he left behind in the North. His

wife, on the other hand, is a simple-minded and ignorant woman who manages all family affairs with hardiness and vigor. She coerces her husband into misappropriating funds from his office, causing him to lose his job. Byeong-guk, the first son, throws away a promising college career to participate in the democracy movement. Expelled from school, he returns home and redirects his passion to the problem of pollution and the extinction of migratory birds in the area surrounding the Dongjin-

gang River. His little brother Byeong-sik is in many ways Byeong-guk’s opposite: a second-rate student, Byeongsik is pragmatic, selfish and calculating. With no regard for social issues, he makes money by aiding poachers who catch and stuff the migratory birds. The birds of the title embody Byeong-guk’s yearning for freedom and the father’s longing for his home in the North, and serve as the symbol of the psychological bond that exists between father and son.

Published translations Book Title

Year of publication

Genre

Language

노을 / Evening Glow

2003

Novel

English

바람과 강 / The Wind and the River

1988

Novel

English

맹춘중하 외(孟春仲夏 외) / Early Spring, Mid-Summer and Other Korean Short Stories

1983

Novel

English

마당 깊은 집 / La maison dans la cour du bas

1995

Novel

French

바람과 강 / Le Voyage de Monsieur Lee

1993

Novel

French

한국의 현대문학 제2권 장편소설II / 韓国の現代文学 第２巻 長編小説II

1992

Novel

Japanese

겨울 골짜기 / 冬の谷間

1996

Novel

Japanese

마당 깊은 집 / La casona de los patios

1995

Novel

Spanish

List of Kim's translated works 46 korea December 2009

Poetry

A Slug 민달팽이

A slug is crawling Over a streamside stone. With no house on its back wrapped in protective colors, without any shell, its whole body shielded in a slippery secretion like saliva, naked, it is idly crawling along. With its tender, soft skin open, defenseless — a little finger of sunlight would reduce it to powder — the slug seems to be enjoying a stroll or perhaps it hopes to enjoy a nap on a streamside stone bed, crawling along at so idle a pace, it seems to be walking in its sleep. Just like Diogenes emerging from a wine barrel, following the movement of water and clouds like a wandering monk, abandoning to the world the house on its back, roaming in robes that it seems barely to wear, It goes walking slowly, so slowly, with footsteps following cosmic laws.

냇가의 돌 위를 민달팽이가 기어간다 등에 짊어진 집도 없는 저것 보호색을 띤, 갑각의 패각 한 채 없는 저것 타액 같은, 미끌미끌한 분비물로 전신을 감싸고 알몸으로 느릿느릿 기어간다 햇살의 새끼손가락만 닿아도 말라 바스라질 것 같은 부드럽고 연한 피부, 무방비로 열어놓고 산책이라도 즐기고 있는 것인지 냇가의 돌침대 위에서 午睡라도 즐기고 싶은 것인지 걸으면서도 잠든 것같은 보폭으로 느릿느릿 걸어간다 꼭 술통 속을 빠져나온 디오게네스처럼 물과 구름의 運行따라 걷은 운수납행처럼 등에 짊어진 집, 세상에 던져주고 입어도 벗은 것 같은 衲衣하나로 떠도는 그 우주율의 발걸음으로 느리게 느리게 걸어간다 그 모습이 안쓰러워, 아내가 냇물에 씻고 있는 배추 잎 사귀 하나를 알몸 위에 덮어주자 민달팽이는 잠시 멈칫거리다가, 귀찮은 듯 얼른 잎사귀

치워라, 그늘!

Clear off, shade!

From “Poems from Dojang Valley” by poet Kim Sin-yong

Kim Sin-yong was born in Busan in 1945. He made his literary debut in the journal Contemporary Poetry & Thought in 1988. His poetry collections include Deserted People (1988), Record of Wretched Days (1990), Walking Inside a Dream (1997), Phantom Pain (2005) and Poems from Dojang Valley (2007). His novels include Where Is the Moon 1, 2 (1994) and Mechanical Parro (1997). He is the winner of the 7th Cheon Sang-byeong Poetry Prize (2005) and the 6th Nojak Literary Award (2006).

December 2009 korea 47

Provided by the Korea Literature Translation Institute

덮개를 빠져나가버린다

Feeling sorry at the sight of it, my wife covers its naked body with a cabbage leaf she has just washed in the brook. But the slug, after wavering for a moment, soon emerges from beneath the leaf as if finding it bothersome.

Provided by Jo Jeong-gu, [JoongAng Ilbo]

Jo Jeong-gu, a noted Korean architect (below), has been the master hand behind some of the most high-profile hanok, or traditional buildings, construction projects in Korea. One example is a hanok in Gahoe-dong, Seoul (right), called Seoneumjae and built in 1934.

Architect Preserves, Resurrects Korea’s Traditional Lifestyles 48 korea December 2009

Korean Artist

“W

here are all the traditionalbuildings?” That’s the question that ends up on the lips of some foreigners who visit Korea for the first time with high hopes of indulging themselves in the trappings of old Asia. Such a response is understandable considering the massive and hasty industrialization of the 1960s and ’70s

destroyed many of Korea’s traditional houses, known here as hanok. A reminder of old and impoverished times past, many hanok were demolished and replaced with modern, Western-style apartment buildings, many bleak and featureless. Data show that more than 50 percent of Korean people now live in these apartment buildings. In Seoul alone, home to more than 10 million people

caption — about a quarter of the country’s pop-

ulation — only about 14,000 hanok are known to have survived. Yet in recent years, the old houses have found themselves enjoying newfound attention. The central government has taken note of their rich potential as tourist attractions, certifying one hanok village after another. Architects, meanwhile, have fallen in love with their architecDecember 2009 korea 49

50 korea December 2009

[JoongAng Ilbo]

tural beauty and the ancestral wisdom evident in the way they are built. For example, ondol floor heating systems come from hanok. Since 2001, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has been working on preserving the city’s remaining hanok, most of which can be found in the districts of Jongno-gu, Seongbuk-gu and Dongdaemun-gu. The government has introduced various measures, including a ban on real estate development in hanok neighborhoods and subsidies to remodel and maintain the old homes. Today, hanok are in the middle of a full-fledged renaissance, with the emergence of hanok inns, hanok restaurants, even a hanok dental clinic, while adopting elements of their traditional designs is all the rage in Korean architecture. A man who deserves a fair share of credit for hanok’s newfound popularity is Jo Jeong-gu, the director at Guga Architects. He has renovated or built more than 30 hanok across Korea that have now become landmarks in more ways than one. They include, in Seoul, the Institute of Korean Royal Cuisine in Wonseodong, Restaurant Nuri in Insa-dong and the Bukchon Hanok Village; in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, the Gunja Village Hall in Andong; in Gyeongsangbuk-do, La Gung, a hanok-style hotel in Gyeongju. “Today, so many things are disappearing,” Jo laments. “Even before we get to look at or talk about what we have, their meaning and value, our cities get demolished and erased. We need to come up with a way to bring development to cities without erasing.” One model, Jo says, is the hanok renovation project in Bukchon, northern Seoul, which in 2001 gave birth to the Bukchon Hanok Village, now a tourist destination. According to Jo, the project was an eye-opener for him, as well, helping him discover the potential of hanok and delve into their structure. Not long afterward, Jo became the go-to architect for high-profile hanok projects. Since Bukchon, Jo says he has fallen in love with hanok. So much so that in 2003 Jo and his wife moved to a hanok

Jo lives in a hanok himself along with his wife, children and a pet. The couple says they enjoy the peace of mind that comes with living in a hanok.

in the Seodaemun-gu area in Seoul. Before that the couple and their only child had lived in a typical Korean apartment building. Now, Jo and his wife have four kids, which they say must have something to do with the peace of mind that comes with living in a hanok. The typical hanok is built around a courtyard. Jo has even been quoted as saying that “the focus of my architecture is always the yard.” It’s a subject Jo can talk about for hours — and he didn’t miss the chance to do so in this interview. “I don’t necessarily believe that a hanok must be a traditional wooden structure,” Jo says. “But I do believe the most important thing in a hanok is its relationship with the courtyard. That is where the true ‘hanokness’ comes from: the yard.”

Jo went on to say that a hanok’s yard is not something that people just look at and enjoy visually. It is something that people use, where people feel the seasons change. “Getting a yard is like getting a piece of nature in a huge room,” Jo says. One of Jo’s most high-profile projects was the multiple award-winning La Gung hotel. La Gung opened in 2007 and enjoyed intense media coverage, as it was the first high-end, luxury hanok hotel to open in Korea. “Often La Gung is fully booked over the weekend,” said Min Dae-sik at the Shilla Millennium Park, the film setcum-theme park that houses the hotel. “Part of the reason is because it only has 16 villas, but we believe it’s also an indication that people are responding positively to hanok structures.” Jo admits he wasn’t certain La Gung would succeed when he was first given the job. After all, it was an unprecedented project. “My biggest concern when designing La Gung was how many traditional elements I would use and how much I would adopt modern functions.” In its completed form, La Gung embodies the qualities that set Jo apart from other hanok-savvy architects: It retains its traditional form and atmosphere with modern functions and facilities. Each villa at the hotel has two to three rooms, a private yard, as well as a private, open-air hot bath. After La Gung, Jo worked on another hanok hotel, a hanok library and a hanok art gallery. But the architect says he is most inspired by residential hanok, and names a hanok in Gahoe-dong called Seoneumjae as one of his most memorable projects. Built in 1934, the hanok was on the verge of being demolished, with the owner, like so many who came before, tempted by a large offer from a real estate developer. But Jo heard about Seoneumjae and its historical value and convinced the owner to opt for renovation instead. “I thought about what the best renovated hanok I’ve ever worked on was. It was, in fact, my house. I have lived in a

[JonngAng Ilbo]

Korean Artist

La Gung, Korea’s first highend hanok hotel, was also the work of Jo. La Gung embodies the qualities that differentiate Jo from from other hanok-savvy architects by retaining its traditional form with modern twist.

A model of one hanok Jo saved from the wrecking ball was chosen for an exhibit at the Korean Embassy to the U.S.

hanok since 2003, but I didn’t renovate it too much. That’s when I realized that when it comes to hanok renovation, less is more.” Although Jo focused on keeping the original frame and ambiance of Seoneumjae, he did add elements to please the owner and make life there more convenient, like a listening room in the basement. Still, Jo made sure the building’s 70-year heritage was kept as intact as possible. That is perhaps why, along with a model of the 130-year-old hanok residence of Korea’s former president Yun Po-sun in Insa-dong, central Seoul, a miniature of Seoneumjae was chosen to be displayed at an exhibition in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Korean Embassy. A graduate in architecture of the prestigious Seoul National University, Jo opened his first office, Guga Architects, in 2000. That was also when he initiated what he calls the “Wednesday survey.” Every Wednesday he heads out to examine and document buildings, alleys and other urban structures and elements in and around the Seodaemun-gu area. So far he has done more than 460 such surveys and completed nine detailed scrapbooks. Looking over them today, one is struck by Jo’s persistence, even stubbornness. But along the way, Jo said, he has learned more about life than about architecture. The 43-year-old says that through the surveys he has come to a better understanding of the way people live, and of Seoul as a historic yet constantly changing city. “Different people live differently, according to their walks of life, financial circumstances and whatnot. Some of the places may look dark, cramped and old, but still they are a precious backdrop to someone’s life, just like any other place. A good city is one where different people can live in harmony.”  By Kim Hyung-eun December 2009 korea 51

Majestic Park Will Be Home to a Beloved Korean Sport

Participants in the first World Youth Taekwondo Camp, held in August, compete in a match. Provided by the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation. 52 korea December 2009

Provided by Taekwondo Promotion Foundation

T

aekwondo Promotion Foundation Chairman Lee Dai-soon firmly believes that Taekwondo Park, currently being constructed in Muju, Jeollabuk-do Province, will help develop the sport on a global scale. “The project will provide up-to-date training facilities for practitioners of the sport, but more importantly it will embody the spirit of the sport by educating youth and providing a tranquil environment for visitors to meditate,” explained the 76-year-old Lee, who is also vice president of the World Taekwondo Federation, at his office. After serving as a lawmaker for eight years in the 1980s from Goheung-gun and Boseong-gun in Jeollanam-do Province, Lee has had an illustrious career in sports and government posts over the years. Since he was appointed as the head of TPF in 2005 when the organization was founded, Lee has been hard at work on the Taekwondo Park project. The all-purpose training and educational facility will include a Taekwondo Hall of Fame, a World Culture Village, a 5,000-seat arena, training centers and lodging facilities on a sprawling site of 23,000 square kilometers (8,880 square miles), or approximately the size of 4,157 football fields. A groundbreaking took place on Taekwondo Day on Sept. 4, and Taekwondo Park is to be completed in two phases, the first phase by 2013 and the rest by 2018. The entire project, backed by public and private funds, is expected to cost around 236 billion won ($204 million). When complete it is expected to provide the 50 million or so practitioners of the sport a place to gather and hone their bodies, spirits and minds. “What sets taekwondo apart from some other modern sports is that it preaches the importance of moral values

and respect for elders. For practitioners of the sport, it is not merely important to be a good athlete but also to develop into well-rounded people with outstanding moral values.” This is part of the reason the WTF and TPF coorganized the very first World Youth Taekwondo Camp in August. The six-day event included 260 participants between the ages of 14 and 17 from 33 countries. It’s the overall goal of the two organizations not only to spread the positives of the sport to youth all over the world but also to make an impact on young athletes. “We introduced success cases to the participants. Former taekwondo athletes who have gone on to have success later in life shared their stories at the camp. There was a Taiwanese lawmaker and an Iranian city official, among others. We hoped to give the kids hopes and dreams, in addition to keeping themselves healthy and in good shape,” said Lee. “Aside from the actual coaching of athletes, we had a session in which we asked the kids to write down a bad habit or mistakes that they had made in the past on wooden boards. Then we had them break the boards and gave them time for reflection.” As Lee explained, the emphasis the sport places on respect for one’s self, parents and elders is partly why the sport has been included as part of regular physical education curriculums in some regions in the American states of Massachusetts and New York. In Iran, Uzbekistan and certain parts of Africa, taekwondo programs have been added to university curriculums as well. This makes Taekwondo Park all the more important. “We have sent professors to Uzbek universities and have plans to sent more professors, taekwondo masters and volunteers abroad. In order to reach out to places that request help, we need more instructors, professors and volunteers. When finished, Taekwondo Park is expected to provide proper training for practitioners of all ages and those looking to get involved in teaching the sport,” Lee said. “That is the reason we are devoting a lot of attention to the research center to be built on the grounds of the park. Furthermore, a new facility for Kukkiwon [the world taekwondo headquarters] will be set aside on the grounds as well.” Some may question why Taekwondo Park isn’t closer to Seoul, the capital of Korea and the economic and cultural center of the country. At the early stages of the planning process, the two governing groups had to

[Press-Q]

Sports

Lee Dai-soon, chairman of the Taekwondo Promotion Foundation

The park will offer youth training, but also host research and instruct new masters.

decide upon a finalist from a list of six other cities including Chuncheon, Gangwon-do Province and Gyeongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do Province. However, as Lee explained, there was a clear reason for choosing Muju. “The picturesque area is ideal for the type of park we have in mind, but the area also has historical significance. The area was once the border of the ancient Korean kingdoms of Baekje and Silla. You could say it’s the area where the sport was founded,” said Lee. “It’s also in the central region of Korea, and a lot closer to Seoul than one might expect. The area is merely 30 minutes on the KTX [bullet train] from Daejeon.” With several International Olympic Committee members in attendance at the groundbreaking in September, Lee said he received positive feedback about the park and what it means for the future of the sport. While known as a sport that has been dominated by Korean athletes at international events in the past, taekwondo has consistently grown over the years in other places around the world. This has resulted in a more level playing field, and with Taekwondo Park expected to be completed within a decade, the prospects of the sport further blossoming look bright.  By Jason Kim December 2009 korea 53

[YONHAP]

Lim Su-jeong of Korea lands a kick to the face of her opponent, Zhang Hua of China, in the women’s 62-kilogram division final match on Oct. 19 at the Ballerup Super Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Lim Bests Zhang in Denmark

T

he most recognized female taekwondo athlete in the world lived up to high expectations, winning a gold medal in dramatic fashion at the 2009 World Taekwondo Championships held in Copenhagen, Denmark from Oct. 14 to 18. Lim Su-jeong defeated Zhang Hua of China in the final of the women’s 62-kilogram (136.7-pound) division by 10-8 at the Ballerup Super Arena. The 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medalist was favored to win her division, and she cruised through the early rounds. In the semifinals, Lim showed an impressive display of three kicks to the face as she defeated Estefania Hernandez of Spain by 9-5. The final match against Zhang proved to be much tougher, as Lim trailed until the end of the second round. Then, behind 8-7, Lim landed a right kick square on her opponent’s face to earn three points to win the match 10-8. The 23-year-old has now won at every major competition, including the 2002 Asian Games and 2007 Universiade Games. Kim Joon-tae, competing in the men’s 74-kilogram division, also added a gold medal. Kim’s toughest foe came in the semifinals, when he faced Mark Lopez of the U.S. Kim fell behind early but came back with kicks

54 korea December 2009

Lim Su-jeong

Korea’s reigning taekwondo champion continues to impress

to the body and facial area to take the match by 7-5. He bested Canada’s Maxime Potvin in the finals, 5-2. The Korean men managed to earn three gold medals and finished first over Iran and Turkey, while the female team finished second overall behind China with two gold medals. The tournament’s most valuable player honors went to American Steven Lopez, who won his fifth consecutive world title, and Brigitte Yague of Spain. “These World Championships are the biggest in history. Over 1,000 participants, five courts, the new electronic body protectors, and the video replay. This is a truly fantastic World Championships. We are making history,” Chakir Chelbat, vice president of the WTF referees committee, was quoted as saying. Later, at the World Taekwondo Tour 2009 Mexico on Nov. 14 at Palacio de los Deportes in Mexico City, Mexico, Lim Su-jeong faced down Diana Lopez of the famed American Lopez taekwondo family. The new professional tour event, organized by the World Taekwondo Federation, featured a total of 16 of the sport’s top athletes in four divisions of competition. The top prize in each division was US$20,000 in cash. The new professional tour will also help to start a global ranking system in the sport.   By Jason Kim

Sports

Kim Yu-na’s Road to the Gold High expectations for the Korean skating star ahead of the Olympics

[YONHAP]

K

Kim Yu-na performs her routine during the free skating portion of the Skate America event in Lake Placid, New York on Nov. 16.

im Yu-na got off to a dominating start in the 2009-10 season and is a clear favorite to win the gold at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February. Having bagged her sixth Grand Prix title and in the process setting a record with a new combined score of 210.03 at the Trophée Eric Bompard competition in Paris, Kim topped her previous best of 207.71, which she set at the World Championships in March. In the first of six 2009-10 ISU Grand Prix figure skating events, Kim also set a new world record in the free skating program with a score of 133.95. At this point Kim is the clear favorite to win win gold in Vancouver, which would make her the first Korean figure skater to do so. The 19-year-old is in peak form. The win at Trophée Eric Bompard was her sixth in a row since her first Grand Prix win at the same event in 2006. Kim overwhelmed her competition with a strong performance that included a triple lutz-toe loop combination to start her free skate, performed to George Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F major. Although Kim could not get off her triple flip jump, she drew loud cheers from the audience for her flying sit spin and spiral sequence. “Leading into the triple flip jump, it felt as if there was something caught in my blade, and I momentarily lost my balance. However, I feel very satisfied about finishing the rest of my program and feel very happy about earning the

highest score,” Kim said on Saturday. “Looking at the free skate program ... I was surprised when I saw a score of 210 flash across the scoreboard,” Kim said. “Scoring the highest total at the season opener, I felt numb for a moment.” As the first competition since her record-setting World Championships performance in March, a lot of attention was paid to Kim leading up to the French Grand Prix. Kim’s next competition was at Skate America in Lake Placid, New York. Not only do the Grand Prix series events help to prepare Kim for the Winter Olympics, but the top six skaters from the six events get the opportunity to compete in the Grand Prix Final in Tokyo in December. “I think I’m getting more attention because the Olympics are coming up. I have been eagerly anticipating the Vancouver Winter Games, and therefore I am a little nervous. Having gathered good results in two consecutive seasons, my confidence is building,” Kim said. Japanese skaters Mao Asada and Yukari Nagano came in second and third with overall scores of 173.99 and 165.70, respectively. America’s Caroline Zhang managed 153.15. Japan’s Nobunari Oda won the men’s competition with a score of 242.53. Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov of Russia won the pairs event with a score of 192.93. Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won the ice dancing event with a score of 197.71.   By Jason Kim December 2009 korea 55

! s e p o l S e To th T

he skiing season is back. It’s the classic winter thrill, and athletes and amateurs ascend from the cities seeking the slopes covered in silvery snow. And with the first snowfall of the year coming to Gangwon-do Province in early November this year, the resorts in the region are already open for the season. This winter is expected to be cold with lots of snow, so resorts that struggled last year due to unusually high temperatures and a shortage of the white stuff are working overtime to make up for it in 2009, with pop concerts, nighttime skiing, raffles and gift packages to attract tourists, especially those from Southeast Asia, a group that’s been growing. After two failed attempts to host the Winter Olympics, Korea is making its third bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics, and Koreans are as passionate about the winter sports as ever. The history of skiing in Korea goes back some 70 years to Hamgyeong-do Province in what is today North Korea. The sport became popular in the South with the opening of the Alps Resort in Ganseong-eup, Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do Province, in the early 1970s. Currently, there are 16 ski resorts in South Korea, with the number of fans of skiing and snowboarding always on the rise. Those craving a world-class experience should try Yongpyong Ski Resort in Pyeongchanggun, Gangwon-do Province, which is once again trying out for the Winter Olympic Games. Nearby Phoenix Park ski resort is known for its spectacular scenery. You can reach High1 Resort in Jeongseon-gun, Gangwon-do Province by train, while a ski close to Seoul can be had at Konjiam Resort in Gwangju-gun, Gyeonggi-do Province.

56 korea December 2009

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Travel

December 2009 korea 57

High1 Resort (www.high1.co.kr)

High1 Resort offers 20 slopes of various levels, from beginner’s slopes to two slopes certified to hold international competitions by the International Ski Federation. The 4.2-kilometer Zeus Course connecting Valley Top, Valley Hub and Valley Condo is designated for novice skiers so that they can learn the sport safely. The three eight-person gondolas can transport large groups quickly. This year, High1 Resort is introducing a special promotion exclusively for female skiers called “Women’s Paradise,” which includes special entertainment, events and food just for ladies. This strategy is part of High1’s attempt to become the hottest resort in town. A D-10 season pass allows unlimited entry throughout the ski season, and it’s 50 percent off for women — just 175,000 won (US$152). The staff members dress up and entertain the skiers waiting to board the gondolas with magic shows, pop quiz games and raffles. High1 is also the only ski resort in Korea that can be reached by train. Exclusive service for skiers operates to Gohan Station from Seoul Station, Busan Station and Masan Station.

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Where to Eat

High1 Resort’s “Women’s Paradise” program targets female skiers, top. Many foreigners order the resort’s bibimbap, above.

The Korean restaurant Unamjeong (82-33-590-7631) is well known as the setting for the hit television drama Sikgaek. Housed in a group of traditional homes, Unamjeong’s menu includes Joseon Dynasty court cuisine such as surabansang (a basic court cuisine set) and jinyeon manchan (a royal feast set once offered to the ministers by the king) and, of course, dishes that were featured in the drama. The only downside is the high price. Daryegwan, a tea house in Unamjeong, offers tea ceremony and etiquette classes. Located at the peak of Mount Baekunsan, Top of the Mountain is a revolving restaurant that makes a 360 degree turn every 45 minutes. The Mountain Combination 2 is one of the most popular menu options, and you can enjoy sirloin steak, shrimp and barbecued pork ribs with sides of potato, fried rice and steamed vegetables. The price is 38,000 won for two and 50,000 won for three.

Konjiam Resort

(www.konjiamresort.co.kr) Opened last year, Konjiam Resort is the first in Korea to limit the number of skiers on the slopes at one time. Four kilometers off the Konjiam Interchange on Jungbu Highway, the resort can be reached in 40 minutes from Gangnam-gu District, Seoul, and skiers can come out at night on the weekdays as well. The resort has 11 slopes and a 476-room hotel with a spa and outdoor hot spring. Konjiam’s 365 acres of slopes have a difference in elevation of 330 meters and are 58 korea December 2009

100 meters wide on average, and the resort compares favorably with those of Gangwon-do Province. The longest slope is 1.8 kilometers. The resort removed the half pipe to accommodate novice and intermediate skiers, and there’s even a sledding slope for adults and children close to the ski school, to make it more accessible to visitors. Where to Eat At the foot of the slope, La Grotta is a popular option, featuring a restaurant and a wine cellar in a cave with 10,000 bottles. Tasting sessions go along with fine cuisine at La Grotta’s 72-seat Italian restaurant. The creamy pasta with clams and arugula and steak grilled on a hot stone plate are popular choices. Wine starts at 30,000 won.

Travel

Yongpyong Ski Resort (www.yongpyong.co.kr)

Korea is now in the midst of its third attempt to win the Winter Olympics, this time in 2018, and Yongpyong Resort is always the first to be featured in the presentation to IOC member countries. Three World Cup Ski Competitions have been held here, and the resort hosted the Winter Asian Games in 1999 with great success. The country’s largest ski resort offers 23 slopes and accommodations to fit every budget, from a five-star hotel to a youth hostel. The resort is planning several special events to celebrate its 35th anniversary. Until February 2010, 350 visitors will be selected every month to receive gifts that include skis, snowboards, season passes, free nights at one of the resort’s hotels, iPods, Nintendo game consoles and equipment. Every day, the resort picks a set of four numbers, and if those digits match the last four in your telephone number, you’ll receive a weekly lift pass, a 35,000 won value, for free. The international standard-size half pipe located under the Silver Slope is the first one in Korea equipped with a conveyor belt for the convenience of snowboarders. The Red Slope features a mogul terrain with bumps, letting skiers try freestyle turns and jumps.

Pyeongchang-gun is known for hwangtaegui, a savory grilled pollock dish, top. Above, the view from the top of one of Yongpyong’s slopes.

Provided by the company

Pyeongchang-gun is notorious for its cold winters, and walleye pollock is a famous delicacy of the region. Some restaurants in Hwenggye-ri clustered near the entrance to the resort specialize in the fish, offering special dishes. Hwagtae Hoegwan (82-33-335-5795) is famous for its savory grilled pollack. The 10,000 won dish is accompanied by a bowl of pollack soup, which is a favorite cure for hangover in winter. Nabjak Diner (033-335-5477), located next to the Saemaeul Bank in town, is famous for its osam bulgogi, a combination barbeque platter of cuttlefish and pork belly seasoned with hot pepper paste. One portion is 7,000 won, which includes white kimchi to wash away the spice.

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Where to Eat

Left, Serve One Konjiam Resort Above, after a day (or night) on the ski slopes, many visitors to Konjiam enjoy dinner and wine at La Grotta.

December 2009 korea 59

Phoenix Park

(www.phoenixpark.co.kr)

[JoongAng Ilbo]

Phoenix Park has 21 ski slopes and a sled slope known as Snow Village. The Mogul Course and Arial Course are internationally certified to hold freestyle ski events, and young skiers can try out new skills here. Phoenix Park is a snowboarding mecca in Korea, featuring extreme sports facilities such as triple jump platforms as well as basic snowboarding fixtures such as rails and boxes. The 2.4-kilometer Sparrow Course, which begins at the top of Mount Taegisan and reaches to the base of the mountain via the Panorama Course, is the perfect choice for novice skiers to enjoy the spectacular scenery. Last year visitors had to buy separate lift and gondola tickets, but this season combination passes are available, offering a savings of 1,000 won to 4,000 won. Six incumbent national team skiers are on hand to teach and demonstrate their skills, and a “one point” clinic for adults and students is offered on weekends. Buckwheat noodles, above, are often served with buckwheat pancakes and sliced boiled pork.

Where to Eat Bongpyeong in Pyeongchang-gun, Gangwon-do Province is the birthplace of Lee Hyo-seok, a writer well known for his short stories about his hometown, most notably When the Buckwheat Flowers Bloom. The Hyoseok Cultural Village is 10 minutes away by car from Phoenix Park, and there are many restaurants specializing in buckwheat noodles. Jinmi Restaurant (82-33-335-0242) and Bongpyeong Noodles (82-33-335-0242) are especially famous, and they also serve buckwheat pancakes and sliced boiled pork in addition to the noodles. You can also enjoy nutty homemade tofu and soft tofu at Sanchon Soft Tofu (82-33-333-5661), located near the entrance to Phoenix Park.

Phoenix Park features outstanding facilities for skiers and snowboarders and spectacular scenery.

60 korea December 2009

Travel Korea’s Taste Masters

A Visit to the Incheon Shore for Fresh, Authentic Seafood Chef Mirko Agostini prefers simple, harmonious tastes

Mirko Agostini Executive chef, Hyatt Regency Incheon

Provided by the Haytt Regency Incheon

A

true lover of food would fly to the moon for a fresh, delicious meal. But according to Mirko Agostini, executive chef at the Hyatt Regency Incheon, you don’t have to go that far — in fact, his recommendation is just an hour from Seoul in Eurwang-dong, Incheon. Agostini is a frequent visitor, since the restaurant is located only a few minutes from his hotel. “On our small island, there is a beach area with several seafood restaurants that use the freshest products directly from the harbor,” he says. “They serve great seafood cooked right at your table.” Of the many restaurants by the beach, Hoibaragi is this chef ’s top choice. The relaxing and informal atmosphere is perfect to enjoy the sea breeze, making it a wonderful spot to unwind together with friends and family, he says. “When you’re strolling down the beach,

Kalguksu noodles are a specialty at Hoibaragi in Incheon.

the restaurant ajumma tries to lure you in. You hardly ever experience this in Seoul or in other metropolises like Hong Kong or Sydney.” The food isn’t fancy, with specialities kalguksu noodles (5,000 won, US$3.79), grilled clams (40,000 won to 60,000 won) and spicy seafood stew (30,000 won to 50,000 won). “You can enjoy the freshness of the food without any sauce needed,” Agostini said. And this chef knows what he’s talking about. Since starting his career in 1989, Agostini’s philosophy has stayed the same: authenticity, health and taste. He considers good food to be simple, highlighting the original flavors of the selected ingredients with harmonious herbs and seasoning. For more information on Hoibaragi, call (82-32) 746-3611.  By Lee Eun-joo 

December 2009 korea December 2009 korea 61 61

Nam Young-ho set out to replicate the trek of the Silla Kingdom monk Hyecho across the Taklamakan Desert in Central Asia. He became the first person to cross the desert solo on foot.

[YONHAP]

In the Sandy Footsteps of an Ancient Pilgrim

“I

wanted to follow in the footsteps of Hyecho and let the world know of his travelogue, the great cultural heritage he left behind.” The 32-year-old explorer and photographer Nam Young-ho was explaining who inspired his decision to complete a solo crossing of the Taklamakan Desert in Central Asia on foot. But Hyecho isn’t related to Nam. In fact, he’s been dead for over a thousand years. Nam’s inspiration was an 8thcentury Korean Buddhist monk from the Silla Kingdom (57 B.C.-A.D. 935). “You complain that it’s a long way 62 korea December 2009

home to the west, and I sigh at the endless road to the east.” So wrote Hyecho in 723 when he set out to learn the language and culture of the land of the Buddha. During his journey across China, central Asia and finally India, Hyecho wrote a travelogue in Chinese titled Memoir of a Pilgrimage to the Five Kingdoms of India. The work contains information on local cuisine, languages, climates, cultures and even politics. It was lost for many years until a fragment of it was rediscovered in 1908. That fragment, now in France, has been translated into different languages over the years.

Nam decided to reenact the part in Hyecho’s book in which the monk crossed this desert, which bears a name that some claim means, “Go in and you will never come out.” The modern-day pilgrim departed from a point on the desert’s southern edge in China’s Hotan Prefecture on Oct. 3, then walked 450 kilometers (280 miles) over 19 days to the city of Aral. It is believed that his journey marks the first time a single individual has crossed the arid wasteland on foot, although expeditions and merchant caravans have traveled the route using camels or vehicles in the past.

People

“Even the sand, which moved like a snake climbing a hill, was breathtaking.”

The Korean explorer first developed the idea of crossing the Taklamakan during a bicycle trip across the Eurasian continent. Nam had just climbed a mountain to cross over into the Uighur Autonomous Region in China. Standing at the top of the mountain, he saw the sands of the desert stretch endlessly to the horizon. “I knew I had found my next adventure,” he said. Even with his goal in mind, Nam initially had difficulty planning a route. It was then that he came across Hyecho and his travelogue. “While studying the Silk Road and the ancient civilizations that inhabited the region, I discovered

Hyecho. In some ways, he was an explorer even greater than Christopher Columbus.” Taklamakan is the 15th-largest sandy desert in the world, covering an area of 270,000 square kilometers. It is 1,000 kilometers long and 400 kilometers wide, and was once crossed at its northern and southern edges by two branches of the Silk Road. The yellow dust storms that cover the Korean Peninsula in spring partly originate here. In daytime, the average temperature in October reaches a range of 25 to 30 degrees Celsius (77 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit). With the heat reflected from the sand, however, the air feels closer to 40 degrees. Because of the desert’s proximity to the frigid air of Siberia and its extreme inland position, even in the summer nights are cold, while in winter they can reach minus 20 degrees Celsius. There is no water in the desert, with the exception of a few oasis towns that survive off rainfall from the mountains to the north and east. Nam managed to cover his costs, which amounted to some 50 million won (US$43,000), with the help of sponsors. Two people followed him at a distance of 4 kilometers in vehicles to record his trip. The Korean made the journey relying on his memory and an old-fashioned compass. He had hoped to use a GPS system, but when the Chinese authorities saw him testing it at the beginning of his journey, they confiscated it and detained him for two days. Nam’s backpack weighed almost 30 kilograms (66 pounds), but held only essential equipment such as his desert goggles and his camera. He had to carry it an average of 24 kilometers every day, over sand dunes that could sometimes reach 15 meters high. “At first, I felt a slight sense of terror seeing only sand dune after sand dune as I kept on walking. But after a while, I came across some desert animals like camels, desert foxes and lizards. Seeing these creatures that have adapted to the ways of their harsh surroundings, I began to appreciate life and its fullness.” Nam’s words seem to echo the spirit of the Buddhist monk in whose footsteps he walked. “Even the sand, which moved like a snake climbing a hill, was breathtaking. I can’t describe the feeling I had when I lay down on the warm sand at night and watched the stars in the sky that looked like diamonds on black velvet.” One memorable moment came when Nam met a Uighur man who was camping in the desert searching for medicinal roots. “We were so surprised to see each other we almost fainted!” Nam recalled. Nam took some 1,000 photographs on his journey, which will be posted online at http://blog.naver.com/ explorer05 with captions in Korean. And Nam’s ties with Hyecho do not end here. Next year, he hopes to follow the monk’s complete journey, from Gyeongju, Korea through China, Vietnam, SinBy Lim Ji-soo gapore, India, Pakistan and Iran.  December 2009 korea 63

[JoongAng Ilbo]

A missionary invited Kent Kamasumba to Jirisan High School in Gyeongsangnam-do Province from his village in a remote area of Zambia, southern Africa.

Boy’s Journey from Zambia to Korea’s Top University 64 korea December 2009

People

I

n April, Kent Kamasumba was accepted as third-year student at Jirisan High School in Sancheongri, Gyeongsangnam-do Province. On Oct. 30, the 20-year-old student from the southern African country of Zambia was accepted into the Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development at Seoul National University, Korea’s most prestigious institution of higher learning. A separate admissions screening for foreign nationals allowed for Kamasumba’s early admission for the 2010 academic year. It is very rare for a foreigner attending a high school in Korea to be selected for early admission to the school. After graduating from high school in Zambia in February, Kamasumba came to Korea with help from Baek Yecheol, a Korean missionary who was looking for a student to study at Jirisan at the request of the school. Though Kamasumba graduated from a high school with honors, he did not have money for college. “I wanted to keep on studying at a university, but my family could not afford to pay for the tuition due to financial difficulties,” he said. “My father passed away when I was young, and there was no one to earn money. I am so happy that I can keep on learning in Korea. I am planning to earn bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees at SNU and become a famous scholar in agricultural economics so that I can develop my homeland. I want to learn how Korea turned from poor to rich in a short period of time.” At Jirisan, the Zambian student reportedly had no trouble catching up in classes taught in English, but he had hard time speaking Korean. He took Korean language classes after school and practiced with his schoolmates while living in a dormitory. A month later, staff and students from SNU visited Jirisan. They told Kamasumba about a Kenyan student at the school, and the Zambian made up his mind to study at Seoul National University.

Kamasumba was raised by relatives in poverty, but he always managed to be an honors student.

“Kamasumba has a firm goal that he will someday turn his poor motherland into a rich one,” said Park Hae-sung, 54, the principal at Jirisan High School. Unfortunately Kamasumba’s family in Zambia doesn’t yet know about his success. His hometown is located in an isolated area, some 200 kilometers (124 miles) from the capital of Lusaka. There are no phones, and it takes about a month for letters to be delivered. Kamasumba grew up mostly with relatives because his parents were too poor to raise him. He said he survived by eating fruit or vegetables once a day. To earn his meals, Kamasumba had to carry drinking water from a well two kilometers from his home. Only after doing many chores could he take time to study, but he was always a top student. While at school in Korea, Kamasumba would visit a nearby welfare center for the elderly on weekends and help them bathe. He also volunteered to guide foreign visitors at a management office for Mount Jirisan National Park. “I used to be pessimistic about being poor,” said a third-year student named Lim, 18. “But I was motivated by Kamasumba that I should have stronger confidence and study harder.” Park said, “I believe that talented students from Africa like Kamasumba can play a bridge-building role between Korea and African countries when they return to their homeland after studying in Korea.” The principal also said the school is going to find as many sponsors as possible to provide Kamasumba with tuition and daily expenses. Those willing to provide a helping hand can call Jirisan school at (82-) 55-973-9723. Established in 2004 as an alternative school targeting underprivileged students inside and outside Korea, Jirisan High School was authorized as a general high school by the government. With the help of many sponsors, 53 students attend the school for free. Including Kamasumba, there are three foreign students among them. Eleven teachers and 14 other volunteer instructors are on staff, including a retired Sogang University professor of Korean literature, Kim Yeol-kyu. Students take classes from early in the morning until the afternoon. After school, they help farmers in the fields and engage in volunteer activities. Zambia, which shares borders with the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Angola, was under British colonial rule from 1923 to 1964 and still faces extreme poverty and the blight of AIDS. Its GDP per capita is around US$1,500, and its unemployment rate 50 perBy Lee Min-yong cent.  December 2009 korea 65

Foreign Viewpoints

A Don’t Take Korea’s Tale For Granted It’s easy to criticize Korea. But one look around the world shows how remarkable its transformation has been.

Simon Bureau is chairman of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Korea. He is also CEO of Vectis Corporation, a Seoul-based consulting firm that provides assistance to Korean firms expanding overseas. Simon has witnessed major changes in the Korean market, having lived and worked in Korea on different occasions since 1986. 66 korea December 2009

s chairman of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Korea, I have had the privilege to be invited to serve on various advisory councils, including the Presidential Council on Nation Branding, Invest KOREA Advisory Council (IKAC) and the Seoul Foreign Investment Advisory Council (FIAC). Through these committees, the Korean government receives input, critiques and recommendations from foreign nationals living in Korea on a wide range of economic issues. I’m also an avid reader of foreign and local newspapers, where it is common to find opinion columns and articles written by foreigners in which Korea and Koreans are criticized. Having lived in Korea for a long time and having a relatively good knowledge of the country, these articles often strike a chord. I can’t help agreeing with the analysis offered by these Western observers about what Koreans should or shouldn’t do about a host of issues. In fact, I must confess that I’m about to add my voice to the chorus of critics by writing a book (to be published in Korean) to offer suggestions to Korean companies on how to enhance their businesses overseas by changing old habits and adopting a global mindset. All of this shows that it has become too easy and even hip to criticize Koreans for what they haven’t achieved. However, a few days ago, I was bluntly reminded that foreigners tend to criticize Korea too much. At a recent Seoul FIAC meeting, one of the European participants raised an excellent point, after several of his colleagues (and myself) expressed downbeat opinions and made remarks about “how things should be done.” This participant said that, when it comes to analyzing Seoul’s state of development, we too often see the glass as being half empty. In his opinion, when it comes to Seoul, the glass should rather be seen as “more than half full.” He pointed that Seoul has lifted itself from total devastation less than 60

years ago and built itself into a megalopolis, in terms of infrastructure, culture and affluence. No other East Asian city has accomplished the same feat and leapfrogged so many stages of economic and social development. Seoul’s traffic may be one of the favorite topics of for foreigners’ rants, but have they compared it to other Asian cities? And what about air quality? Today, Seoul offers unequaled infrastructure and cultural vibrancy. In what other large Asian city can you waterski in the downtown area, visit a worldclass art gallery, go mountain climbing, run a global business, eat some of the best food in the world and attend a major concert, all in the same day? Most of all, Seoul is arguably one of the safest large cities in Asia. I have never heard of foreigners being attacked on the street, at any time of the day or night. How many other Asian cities boast that level of personal safety and comparable “joie de vivre”? And we shouldn’t forget where Korea “comes from.” Since 1948, Korea’s GDP has grown 746-fold at an average of 6.8 percent per year, mainly as the result of hard work, careful planning and cohesive economic policies. By the end of the war, Korea’s most notable export was scrap metal from military tanks to Japan. One-third of the steel used to build the Tokyo Tower came from these exports. In 1960, Korea’s share of global exports was 0.03 percent. By 2007, it was 2.7 percent. Few countries have ridden the wave of globalization as successfully. Very few Fortune 500 companies can boast comparable export to domestic sales ratios. Today, Korea is no longer an “Asian tiger.” It is the world’s 13thlargest economy. It has hosted the Olympics and the World Cup. It joined the OECD in 1996 and will host a G-20 summit in November 2010. So let’s recognize that Koreans have shown tremendous resolve and capacity to change. Despite my own regular criticism, I remain confident and optimistic. Pilseung Korea!

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