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Success eZine – Spring 2004
Korea Business Success eZine – Spring 2004 Welcome to the Spring 2004 issue of the Korean Business Success eZine of Korean Consulting & Translation Service, Inc. We hope you find this information helpful to your business in Korea and with Koreans everywhere. This issue contains:
1. Request for Feedback from Our Readers in Alabama If everything goes as scheduled, the new Hyundai automobile assembly plant near Montgomery, Alabama will be up and running by the spring of 2005. Hiring for the facilities has already begun and along with the 2,000 jobs expected to be created within the facility itself, thousands more will come from companies hoping to do business with the world’s seventh largest car manufacturer. We are currently putting together a plan to support local companies and businesspeople in Alabama looking to do business with Hyundai and need some quotes and testimonials for our marketing plan. If you’ve benefited from our services (as a translation client, student of our free Korea Business Etiquette eCourse or reader of this Korea Business Success eZine), please contact me as soon as possible at sbammel@koreanconsulting.com and include a brief (2-3 sentence) explanation of how our services have helped or are likely to help you in your business with Hyundai and other Korean companies and individuals. Thank you in advance for your assistance!
2. Two quotes regarding the current Korean political crisis It’s just been a couple days since the impeachment of Korean President Moo-Hyun Noh and though I had heard about the various scandals and difficulties he’s had during his short time in office, learning about the sudden events of the past days has been very surprising. I asked a couple of my colleagues their opinions about the situation and I would like to share those with you. Of course, there are many different viewpoints within Korean society about this situation and these are simply the opinions of two people I respect written on March 12, 2004 right after the events transpired. I've translated their Korean messages into English here. 1. “Right now it is very chaotic in Korea. I feel really terrible because of the rotten politicians who have impeached the president for totally nonsensical reasons. Of course, I am 100% sure that the courts will reject the impeachment but I’m worried that there will be a lot of chaos in the country until the constitutional court makes its decision. Still, I feel optimistic that the country will overcome this difficult time. I am very jealous of you [Steven] who lives in a country with well-developed politics.” 2. “Yes, it’s true. President Moo-Hyun Noh's impeachment was approved in the National Assembly! My opinion is that the majority party went too far. And it’s not because Moo-Hyun Noh is unpopular. Rather, it's simply that there were too many members of the National Assembly that oppose Moo-Hyun Noh. This impeachment is contrary to the will of the majority of the people. A lot of corruption was being reported about the opposition party leading to their loss of support before the general election of April 15. Therefore, they took this action in order to drive out the president without regard to the will of the citizens in order to overcome their own crisis. Many good people in Korea support the upright President Moo-Hyun Noh. This case still must be decided by the Constitutional Court and the general thinking is that the impeachment will be rejected because it was done improperly. Of course, we’ll have to just see what happens.”
Here’s a proverb that means the same in Korean and English: “Il-Seok-E-Jo”. It means “To kill two birds with one stone.” The Korean version of this saying doesn’t use nearly as many words as we do in English though. That’s because this is a special type of saying in Korean that is derived from Chinese and uses an abbreviated grammatical structure. Each of the four syllables corresponds to a Chinese character, so that the literal meaning in Korean of this saying is: “(one) (rock) (two) (bird)”. And it’s this unique grammatical construction that gives these Chinese-derived proverbs their special character. Here are some more. See if you can guess the meanings… After you’ve made your best guesses, click the link at the end to get the answers 1. (not exist) (use) (go) (thing) Click here to have the answers emailed to you: ??????
4. Feature Article: “Appreciate the Role of Ambiguity in Korean Business Situations” Sometimes you have to read between the lines when interacting with Koreans. It’s not that your counterparts are trying to confuse you; it’s just that communicating negative news and emotions directly is not something done easily in Korean culture. For example, Koreans will rarely reject an idea, suggestion or invitation outright by saying “no”. It’s much more likely they will say something like “Oh, that would be difficult to do”. This is probably not an invitation to brainstorm other ways of making the idea work. If you suggest various alternatives and all you get back are excuses, it’s not that your counterpart is giving you the runaround; he probably just doesn’t want to hurt your feelings by directly turning you down. And the reasons given may just be excuses to cover over the true reason. You should take the hint and lay off. Another time, you might invite your Korean counterpart out for dinner and he replies with a casual “OK, that's a good idea”. Later, you mention it again and get the same non-committal reply. You might need to read between the lines and understand that your counterpart's failure to reply with a suggestion for a time and place to meet really means that he's not interested. While such round-about communications occur in US business situations too, they are much more common in Korean society. Be aware of them and you’ll avoid awkward situations in your business with Koreans.
5. Online English-language news about Korea Want to keep up on the news in Korea? Need to check things before you visit? Try these English-language online newspapers that have the news of the day in Korea. Korea Herald – http://www.koreaherald.co.kr
6. Korean language tip: “What is this?” Here’s a phrase can be extremely useful in many situations. For example, while in Korea, you’re likely to find yourself next to some food that you don’t recognize. It might taste good, but I bet you like to know what it is. In that case, say “E-gossun moy-ey-yo?” It means “What is this?” Click here to hear a pronunciation: http://64.81.114.4/whatisthis.wav
7. Day-trip in Seoul Got a free day during your trip to Seoul? Want to get a bit off the beaten tourist path but still stay close to the hotell? How about taking a trip down the Han River? You’ll get a beautiful view of central Seoul with the wind in your hair. Simply take the subway to Yeouinaru (pronounced: Yo-wee-na-ru) Station and come out on the river side. Walk to toward the river and down to the boat dock. Cruises run along various routes and each lasts around an hour. You can also catch the sightseeing boats from Ttukseom Riverside Park and Jamsil Ferry Pier and tickets cost around W7,000 per person. [ top ] |
