Korea Herald 20090410

COMMUNITY

FRIDAY APRIL 10, 2009

19

How to start a business in Korea Expat Living is a section dedicated to the daily living of expatriates. To share stories about your life abroad, send stories or story ideas to Matthew Lamers, [email protected].

By Christopher Dykas

Have you ever thought about starting your own business in Korea? Well, whether you are an entrepreneur at heart, a former business owner or simply love Korea (but would love it more if you were your own boss), the Seoul Global Center has a new program that will help turn your goals into realities. The Business Education Program for Foreigners was conceived of this year and is currently run by June Kim. The purpose of the program is to train and motivate potential foreign investors on Korean business practices, laws and opportunities. The program will be offered in three parts: a business basics course, two specialized courses and a series of finer skills courses. The basics course will cover the basic points you will need to cover when starting a business in Seoul; these include how to evaluate business opportunities and making a business plan, information on how to get a business license and taxation. This part of the course will take 25 hours. The specialized courses help people learn more about the specifics of starting a business in either the food industry or international trade. They will cover topics such as location analysis, taxation for the food service in-

The specialized courses help people learn more about the specifics of starting a business in either the food industry or international trade. They will cover topics such as location analysis, taxation for the food service industry and customs regulations and procedures for trade. dustry and customs regulations and procedures for trade. Each of these courses is 15 hours. The finer skills series is another interesting aspect of the program. These are all individual, 3-hour lectures that cover some of the finer points of doing business in Korea including global business etiquette, persuasive presentation skills, leadership skills and the changing consumer market. In the future, after this first term of courses, the program will expand to include an advanced course that will cover after-establishment details such as shop and customer management. In order to cater to the schedules and needs of working individuals, the course will be offered at night and on weekends. As with all of the services of the SGC, the business education program is being offered free of charge. The application period opened on April 2 and will last through April 17. The course itself will then begin on April 25 and run through May 14 for its opening term, then again from September through November. To apply for the program you will need to fill out the application form available for download at http://global.seoul.kr As well, throughout the duration and upon completion of the program, participants are welcome to take advantage of the one-stop business consulting, on-site consulting, and aftercare that the Seoul Global Center. For more information on the Business Education Program for Foreigners, contact the SGC business services consultant Ms. June Kim at (02) 20754139, or [email protected]. Also, for business and general consulting, call our hotline number at 1688-0120. ([email protected])

PHOTO CHALLENGE WINNER — Korean metal band Mahatma perform during the 2nd annual Asia Metal Festival at SangSangmaDang, Hongdae.

Photo by Tomasz Roszkowski

In focus: Movement to help women Shutter priority By Rob McGovern

The Photo Challenge is sponsored by Hyosung Camera (English: 010-7203-9599) and Babo Shirts (www.baboshirts.com). Winners of the weekly competition receive a 50,000 won store credit at Hyosung Camera and a Babo Shirt. To take part in the competition, simply upload your photo at www.flickr.com/groups/seoulp hotoclub — Ed. By Aaron Raisey

Last time we talked about some creative options available in Aperture Priority — small apertures for pictures with everything in focus and large apertures to be more selective with the subject of your focus. This week we’ll explore another “click” on your DSLR’s dial — Shutter Priority mode. Q: What is the shutter? A: The shutter is your camera’s eyelid. But unlike our eyelids, which remain open most of the time, the camera’s shutter is always closed. Closed that is, until we push the shutter release but-

and you get what is known as motion blur on your image. This can be used to great creative effect. For example, try a shutter speed of 1/30 to capture a waterfall at about the natural perception of the human eye, or a speed of 1 sec to give the water a beautiful silky look. Panning is another technique that employs slower shutter speeds, a shutter speed of about 1/2 to 1/15 while following a moving object such as a car or cyclist can give motion blur to the background, while the subject remains quite sharp. Q: Anything else I need to know? A: Yes, just as in Aperture Priority where the camera compensates by setting the shutter speed, when in Shutter Priority the camera automatically adjusts the aperture to compensate for your chosen shutter speed. Again, you have a limited control over this by using exposure compensation or changing the ISO speed. Also, while most people can hold a camera reasonably steady for speeds of about 1/100 or faster, at speeds slower than

A faster shutter speed allows you to freeze action. Anything over about 1/250 or 1/500 sec should be enough to successfully capture everyday motion like someone walking. ton, which briefly opens the shutter allowing light to enter and the camera’s film or sensor to “see” and record the photograph. Q: What is Shutter Priority mode? A: In Shutter Priority mode, we control how long the shutter stays open by setting the amount of time it can remain so. In most DSLRs this ranges from 30 seconds down to 1/4000 of a second or faster. Of course the longer the shutter stays open, the more light enters the camera. Q: So how does a faster shutter speed affect my photography? A: A faster shutter speed allows you to freeze action. Anything over about 1/250 or 1/500 sec should be enough to successfully capture everyday motion like someone walking or a group of people. Sports photographers use the fastest shutter speeds available — as much as 1/8000 sec — to freeze those amazing moments in time we see in newspapers or in magazines. Q: If I leave the shutter open longer, what happens? A; You begin to see blurring of movement. The longer the shutter is open, the more motion is captured on the film or sensor,

this camera shake is a factor. A very steady hand becomes important. Consider using a tripod or a monopod for very slow speeds. On a different subject, I’ve had some messages over the past few weeks pointing out that I only seem to refer to DSLR cameras. This is a fair accusation, after all there are of course other kids of cameras out there — film SLRs, rangefinders and regular little point and shoot cameras, for example. However, this is a reasonable approach because of the growing popularity of DSLRs, especially with those new to photography, and most principles and examples I use are transferable to other kinds of cameras. Accepted, it is difficult (if not impossible) to apply an Aperture Priority approach with a regular point & shoot, but the concept can perhaps help you understand the art of photography a little more. Regardless of the kinds of cameras I most often refer to, the most important thing you can do to improve your photography is to get out there and take more pictures. ([email protected])

V-day is everyday; it is a movement started by American playwright Eve Ensler, of Vagina Monologue fame, to tackle the Herculean task of bringing about an end to violence against women and girls all over the world. And the movement is very active in Korea, especially among the expat population. One of the ways the campaigners raise money is to stage annual benefit performances of Ensler’s play, The Vagina Monologues. The “play” isn’t really a play at all; not in the traditional sense, anyway. It is a series of monologues delivered by women dealing with subjects as varied as childbirth to Bosnian rape camps. Comfort women — of Korea, China, Japan and elsewhere in Asia — have been the subject of a monologue in the past. As part of V-Day 2009, The Vagina Monologues is being performed in three cities across Korea with dates throughout April. Myongji University auditorium is the venue for the Seoul production and was donated by the university, meaning production costs have been slashed, enabling more money to go where it is needed. Martina Jones is from Ohio and has only been in Korea for six months, but has taken on the task of organizing these performances in Seoul. Martina’s Korean teacher and immigration scholar at the university, Park Hwa-seo, has been an invaluable resource for the Seoul team, helping to secure the venue and assisting when language barriers arise. Jones was a part of The Vagina Monologues at the University of Cincinnati and when she recently learned that a production wasn’t scheduled for this years V-Day campaign, she decided to produce it herself. “In order to use the script, the show must be done by the end of April, so I and the V-Day team have had to hit the

VAGINA MONOLOGUES

Jinju Beneficiary: Jinju Women’s Shelter Date: Saturday April 11 Venue: Soundgarden, Jinju Ticket prices: 10,000 won general, 7,000won for students E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 010 3141 9602 Tickets available at the door Seoul Beneficiary: Marriage Migrants Network of the Seoul Korea Immigration Service of the Ministry of Justice Dates: April 25 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Venue: Myongji Auditorium, Myongji Arts Building, Namgajwadong, Sudaemungu, Seoul Ticket prices: 20,000 won for adults,

ground running. I’m happy to have found talented people who are passionate about the cause and willing to work to make the production a success. Thankfully last year’s organizer and some of the previous team members have lent a helping hand, too,” Jones explained. Katy Carter of the United Kingdom is organizing the Jinju production of The Vagina Monologues. “One of our performers, Donna Corns, participated in a production in Hiroshima and suggested we do it here,” Carter said. “Having recently read news stories about the plight of both Korean women and migrant women in Korea, we felt that V-Day would be a great opportunity to raise awareness. “It was easy here (to get people interested). I work at Gyeongsang National University, which employs about 40 foreigners and so there were lots of women ready to get involved. Everyone had heard of V-Day and wanted to be involved in some way, whether it would be performing or organizing.” The money raised will go to three sep-

Correction The Korea Herald story “Union seeks to help foreign teachers” improperly labeled The Association for Teachers of English in Korea as a union. ATEK is not recognized as a union under Korean law. We regret the error.

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15,000 won for students Website: http://newsite.vday.org Phone: 010-5019-1167 Tickets available from:[email protected] Jeonju Beneficiary: JWAU — Jeonbuk Women’s Association United Dates: April 18 and 19 Venue: Saturday at JR’s Saloon, Sunday’s performances at To Be One, near Jeonbuk University’s old gate Ticket prices: 10,000 won in advance, 15,000 won at the door. Website: http://jeonjumonologues.googlepages.com Facebook: ‘Jeonju V-DAY Campaign, 2009’

arate charities — all are based in Korea — and all deal with women’s issues. Jones is hopeful of raising around 5 million won for the Marriage Immigrants Network of the Seoul Korea Immigration Service. “This organization helps to support migrant wives who often suffer great domestic and emotional violence along with many social issues,” she said. Aside from going to the performances, donations can be made directly to the Seoul production at www.firstgiving.com/vdayseoul2009 or to the V-Day campaign by going to their website, www.vday.org The Jeonju production will donate their proceeds to Jeonbuk Women’s Association United, an organization that works to end crimes against women through actions such as organizing protests, interviewing victims, developing educational programs in the school system, running a shelter group for victims of domestic violence and providing a hotline for women in need of help. ([email protected])