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Korea
Business Success eZine – Fall
2004
Welcome to the Fall 2004 issue of the Korea 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.
Table of Contents
- Romanization of Korean
- Korean Holidays
- Feature Article: Drinking in Korea
- Getting Around in South Korea - Part One
- Korea-Related Terminology
1. Romanization of Korean
Romanization means representing the words of a language that doesn't
use the Roman (English) alphabet using the letters of the Roman alphabet.
It is done to assist English-speaking foreigners staying in that country
as well as to allow words of that language to be used when writing
about travel, academic, technical or other matters in English.
There have been several different systems devised to represent Korean
words using the Roman alphabet. They were designed for different purposes
and have their own advantages and disadvantages. The Korean government
introduced a new system of Romanization for Korean in 2000 in order
to standardize Romanization of Korean as well as overcome the deficiencies
of other systems and has been gradually been changing over all signage,
maps and other documents. Romanization of Korean as used in Korea should
now be almost entirely consistent, but it may be inconsistent with
the Romanization or Korean words outside of Korea and what you are
used to or what was used in Korea in the past. You need to be aware
that two words, one written in the new system and one in the old system,
could actually be referring to the same thing.
The new system is based on the McCune-Reischauer system, which was
the de-facto standard up until that time, but has a few minor changes.
The aim was to eliminate unnecessary marks and more closely follow
actual Korean pronunciation. Names of people and companies are generally
unaffected. The major changes are as follows:
· The consonants k, t, p, and ch at the start of words are replaced
with g, d, b, and j
· The consonants k', t', p', and ch' at the start of words are
replaced with k, t, p, and ch
· The vowels ŏ, yŏ, ŭ, wŏ, and ŭi are
replaced with eo, yeo, eu, wo and ui
· shi is replaced with si
Therefore Kwangju, Taegu, Pusan and Cheju become Gwangju, Daegu, Busan.
Jeju. P'ohang and Ch'ŏnju are replaced with Pohang and Cheongju,
and Yŏngdŭngp'o is replaced with Yeongdeungpo.
See http://www.homestaykorea.com/2002_01/intro/romanization.htm for
a good relatively non-technical explanation of the changes.
2. Korean
Holidays
There are two big holidays in Korea - Korean Thanksgiving and the
Lunar New Year. Being based on the lunar calendar, they occur on different
dates each year but Korean Thanksgiving generally occurs sometime in
September or October and the Lunar New Year sometime in January or
February. In fact, it was Korean Thanksgiving just a few days ago.
Both Thanksgiving and the Lunar New Year are public holidays in Korea
and Korean families celebrate by gathering together and sharing a traditional
meal at a family member's house. Up until a few years ago all Koreans
went back to their hometowns and celebrated the Lunar New Year at their
parents' or grandparents' house. However, in recent years, given that
most family members have left their hometown and live in cities, more
and more families are adopting the practice of having the parents or
grandparents come to the city where most of the family members actually
live rather than have many people travel from the city to the countryside.
Also, it is becoming more common for people to skip the family gathering
and instead make use of the opportunity offered by the relatively long
break to take an overseas trip.
The Lunar New Year is the same occasion as the Chinese New Year and
held at the same time, but calling it "Chinese New Year" would
be offensive to Koreans. The best way to refer to it is to say "Lunar
New Year" or simply "New Year". In Korean it is "Seol-lahl" and
using this word would be another acceptable way to refer to it.
Chinese celebrate the Lunar New Year with lion dances and eating moon
cakes, but Koreans don't practice either of these customs. Like the
Chinese, however, it is usual for adults to give money to children
if they formally bow to them, although not necessarily in envelopes,
as the Chinese do.
At Korean Thanksgiving, it is traditional for all family members to
make rice cakes flavored with pine needles, called song pyun, together
and you will probably be invited to join in if you join a Korean family
for Korean Thanksgiving.
If you are invited to go to someone's place for either of these holidays,
it is definitely worth going. You certainly don't need to worry that
you are intruding. Nobody would think that of you and you would be
most welcome. It would be a good idea to prepare one gift for your
associates' parents or grandparents as the case may be. A gift basket
of food or hair care products is a common and appropriate gift. For
Lunar New Year, it would be advisable to have plenty of bank notes
of different denominations as there are likely to be children present
who will expect to receive gifts of money from the adults. For a guest
such as yourself, 10,000 won per older child and 5,000 won or 1,000
won for younger children would probably be appropriate. You may be
able to and wish to give more, but you should be careful to not outdo
the other adults present, so observe how much they are giving.
It is common for Koreans at these family gatherings to play traditional
gambling games and you might like to join in. Depending on the income
level of the family and how seriously they take their gambling, different
families would have a different minimum bet, which is likely to be
either 1,000 won or 10,000 won. You would be free to bow out after
a short time and this might be a good idea if you are playing GoStop,
a traditional Korean card game which is usually played at high speed,
so as not to impede the serious players.
You can expect massive traffic congestion and absolute non-availability
of plane and bus tickets if traveling between cities in Korea on either
of the holidays or the few days before or after them. On the other
hand, travel within a city is absolutely uncongested and very convenient
during the holiday period. A lot of shops are closed but you should
be able to find some open. For people in Korea during these holidays,
you would be well advised to go to the bank and withdraw some cash
a week or so before the holiday because there is a good chance that
ATMs will be out of cash during the holiday period.
To wish someone a happy Lunar New Year before or a few days after the
Lunar New Year, say "sae-hae bok mah-ni bad-eu-sae-yo", which
literally means "I hope you receive a lot of good fortune in
the New Year." Click here to hear a pronunciation: http://www.askakorean.com/ezine/04-10/lunarnewyear1.wav
To wish someone a good Lunar New Year's break (holiday) when seeing
someone for the last time before Lunar New Year, say "seol-lahl
chal bo-nae-se-yo", which literally means "Have a good Lunar
New Year's break (holiday)." Click here to hear a pronunciation: http://www.askakorean.com/ezine/04-10/lunarnewyear2.wav
To ask someone whether they had a good Lunar New Year's break (holiday)
when seeing someone for the first time after the Lunar New Year, say "seol-lahl
chal bo-naess-eo-yo?", which literally means "Did you have
a good Lunar New Year's break (holiday)?" You will need to raise
your voice (intonation) slightly at the end to indicate that it is
a question. Click here to hear a pronunciation: http://www.askakorean.com/ezine/04-10/lunarnewyear3.wav
To wish someone a good Korean Thanksgiving break (holiday) when seeing
someone for the last time before Korean Thanksgiving, say "Chu-sok
chal bo-nae-se-yo", which literally means "Have a good Thanksgiving
break (holiday)." Click here to hear a pronunciation: http://www.askakorean.com/ezine/04-10/thanksgiving1.wav
To ask someone whether they had a good Korean Thanksgiving break (holiday)
when seeing someone for the first time after Korean Thanksgiving, say "Chu-sok
chal bo-naess-eo-yo?", which literally means "Did you have
a good Thanksgiving break (holiday)?" You will need to raise your
voice (intonation) slightly at the end to indicate that it is a question.
Click here to hear a pronunciation: http://www.askakorean.com/ezine/04-10/thanksgiving2.wav
The last two of both the Lunar New Year and Korean Thanksgiving greetings
look similar and may even sound identical to you. Listen to the pronunciation
and try and pick the difference. Don't worry if you can't get it perfect
because a Korean will be able to determine the correct meaning based
on whether you say it before or after the holiday and will be pleased
that you have displayed an interest in Korean culture and made the
effort to learn some Korean.
3. Drinking in Korea
Do you drink? If you do, that is certainly a plus for doing business
in Korea because building relationships is important for doing business
in Korea and drinking together is an important way for Koreans, particularly
Korean men, to build and maintain relationships.
Heavy drinking is not uncommon and, as with public drunkenness, not
frowned upon in Korea. People choosing to be T-totallers of their own
free-will is not common. If you are a T-totaller, you will likely be
asked why you don't drink and asked repeatedly by Koreans to have a
drink even though you have told them you don't drink. Don't take offense
at this; Koreans see drinking as a way to get close to people and are
just expressing their desire to get close to you by sharing a drink.
If you are determined not to drink, just decline calmly and politely
each time your host asks.
Protestants in Korea are not permitted to drink or smoke, while there
are no restrictions on drinking and smoking for Catholics. Quite a
number of Protestants, however, do drink because they want to or because
it is too hard for them to resist the pressure on them to drink from
peers and work colleagues, given the importance placed on drinking
in Korean culture. Protestants in America and other countries are permitted
to drink alcohol while those in Korea are not. The reason for Korean
Protestants not being allowed to drink is not found in the Bible but
simply a rule made by early Protestant missionaries who were disturbed
what that considered excessively heavy drinking by Koreans. If you
say that you don't drink, then Koreans may assume that it is because
you are a Protestant. Saying that you are a Protestant could be an
easy way to explain why you don't want to drink. By the way, Protestant
in Korean is "Christian" or "Ki-dok-yoh" and Catholic
is "Catholic" or "Chon-joo-kyoh".
When drinking together, a Korean should never pour a drink from a bottle
into his own glass and never allow another person in the group to pour
his own drink. When someone else in the group has finished or almost
finished his drink, one of the people in the group should top up his
glass for him. If he has started pouring his own drink, he should be
stopped and have it poured for him. You don't need to pour drinks for
everyone in the group at all times, as other people will do it also,
but try to keep an eye on the levels in people's glasses. When giving
something to a person of similar or more senior level, you should always
use two hands and this applies to pouring drinks also. Place two hands
on the bottle or one hand on the bottle and one on your wrist. Koreans
will generally not be offended when you don't follow their customs
but will be impressed when you do. They may explain Korean drinking
or other customs to you. They are not criticizing you, they just want
to share their culture with you, so don't take offense.
The "hweh-shik", which translates as "company meal" is
very common in Korea, but as eating out of an evening without drinking
is uncommon, the meal usually involves a degree of drinking. The "hweh-shik" is
more or less compulsory for employees of a company. People who never
go or miss too many "hweh-shik" will find it hard to carry
out their work and difficult to get promoted because a lot of company
business is discussed at "hweh-shik" so the people who don't
go will miss out on that vital information. In addition, as "hweh-shik" are
bonding sessions, people who don't go will find it harder and harder
to get along with others in the workplace. These days, the frequency
of "hweh-shik" and the amount of alcohol consumed depend
on the preference of the manager. If the manager doesn't enjoy "hweh-shik" then
he won't hold them often and if he is not a heavy drinker, then there
won't be any pressure on those present to drink heavily. However, the
reverse also holds.
A "hweh-shik" often consists of a number of rounds i.e. visiting
several locations in the one evening. Each round is called a "cha" and
the Korean word for the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc. is placed in front
of the word "cha" to indicate the number of the round. The
first five rounds in ascending order are therefore, "il-cha", "ee-cha", "sum-cha", "sah-cha", "oh-cha".
If you can get past the fifth round then you are a better man than
I am! People are not necessarily obliged to stay until the very last
round. Various members of the group will leave after each round. It
is common to see people "fighting" to persuade someone to
come on to the next round rather than going home. The first round usually
starts out at a restaurant for a meal and some drinking and subsequent
rounds consist of a series of other activities, which all usually involve
drinking, and may involve the same activity at two different locations
on the same night. These other activities commonly include going to
a dedicated karaoke venue (nor-reh-bang in Korean), visiting a nightclub
(nite in Korean) or disco (disco-tek in Korean) or going to a hostess
bar (tahl-lahn-joo-jom in Korean).
Be aware that the price of alcohol at these post-first-round activities
tends to be very expensive because these establishments have no or
small entry fees and sell little else other than alcohol, so must make
most of their profits from the sale of alcohol. Depending on the type
and "quality" of the establishment, you can expect mark-ups
of several hundred to several thousand percent, with particularly high
mark-ups for whiskey.
It is quite likely that you will be invited to a "hweh-shik"-type
meal by your Korean hosts and this could involve several additional "cha" or
rounds. If you are invited then you would not be expected to pay any
or all of the cost, but if you are the one doing the inviting, then
you would be expected to pay all of the cost. Insisting that you do
pay or contribute when you are not obligated to is seen as good manners.
It is usual to offer several times and the host will naturally refuse
each time. You may observe people who appear to be fighting as they
are leaving a restaurant. There may be raised voices and some pushing.
What you are probably witnessing is what I have just described above
and involves making the symbolic effort that is so important in Korean
culture.
It is uncommon for Koreans to drink without eating. Establishments
that primarily sell alcohol also sell what is called "ahn-joo",
which means "food to accompany alcohol". The group will usually
order several different "ahn-joo" and share them, possibly
ordering a number of times during the drinking session. "Ahn-joo" are
like party food and are sold at reasonably but not highly inflated
prices. "Ahn-joo" consists of things like shrimp crackers,
fruit salad, chicken salad, noodle dishes and dried squid.
I will now describe what goes on in a hostess bar (tahl-lahn-joo-jom
in Korean), but do so reluctantly. I think that you should know in
advance in case it is a place you would rather avoid because you could
be invited to one when in Korea. Please be aware Korean Consulting
does not endorse them in any way. I have never been to one myself but
have talked with several men who have been dragged along to one as
part of a company "hweh-shik". The hostess bar (tahl-lahn-joo-jom)
is a form of drinking that has considerable appeal to Koreans and Japanese
but little appeal to most Americans. Basically, a group of men, which
may or may not include a few female associates who get dragged along,
are shown into a special room and a short time later a group of young
attractive females arrive with one female for each male. The job of
the females is to talk and drink with the men and generally keep them
entertained, but their primary aim is to get the group to buy a lot
of alcohol at inflated prices. It is along the lines of the Japanese
Geisha, but probably a cruder form. The man may touch the woman's body
if he wishes but the degree to which she will allow him to touch her
body depends on the amount of money he spends on alcohol (this being
one of her methods of encouraging him to purchase a large amount of
alcohol.) The women are generally available for prostitution and sexual
acts may occur in the room in front of the group, or in another location.
(However, with a foreign guest present, it is probable that none of
the Koreans would have sex in front of the group.) It is perfectly
acceptable that a group go to a hostess bar to drink only and not have
sex. Customers are not forced by anyone to have sex and subsequently
pay for it, although the women may try to encourage the men to have
sex with them as they do get a share of the proceeds. Sexual acts would
involve a separate payment and are not covered in the price of the
alcohol. I imagine that the person or people paying for the alcohol
would not pay for the sex engaged in by others; it would be the responsibility
of the individual to pay for it himself. As you may imagine, these
women have a very hard life because they have to drink heavily night
after night and their bodies never get a chance to properly recover
from the effects of the alcohol. In addition, they are forced to prostitute
themselves, even if they were not originally intending to go that far
when they first started.
4. Getting Around in South Korea - Part One
Public transport in South
Korea is extremely good and very reasonably priced but there a few
things you need to know in order to effectively utilize it. In this
issue of the eZine, I will discuss modes of transport for getting around
within cities. Next issue I will discuss modes of transport for traveling
between cities.
Subway
Five cities in Korea have a subway system - Seoul, Incheon, Pusan (Busan),
Kwangju (Gwangju), and Taegu. See http://www.subwayworld.co.kr for
information on lines 1-4 of the Seoul subway system and links to the
websites for subway systems in other cities. See http://www.smrt.co.kr for
information on lines 5-8 of the Seoul subway system. Both sites display
good subway maps, each with its merits.
The first subway line in Seoul was built in 1974, so it is the oldest,
as well as the most extensive, system in the country. The stations
and facilities on all lines, even the oldest lines, are clean, safe
and efficient. All carriages on lines 2 and above are air-conditioned.
Unfortunately, some subway carriages on line 1 are not air-conditioned
and have only fans, but these are gradually being replaced. All stations
and carriages are heated in winter. The subway systems in the other
cities were constructed more recently and use only ultra-modern carriages.
There is a timetable, but as trains come every few minutes you don't
need to be concerned with it. The subways operate from the early hours
of the morning to late at night. Check the websites above for the times
of the first and last trains if you are planning to travel very early
or very late.
Each line is color-coded and numbered, station names are written in
English as well as Korean and maps are displayed at numerous locations
inside the stations and carriages, so you should have few difficulties
navigating the system. If you ever do get lost, simply look lost and
a friendly English-speaking Korean passenger will soon approach you
and help you out.
Unlike the subway systems in some other countries, you don't need to
buy a new ticket when you change lines within the subway system. The
one exception is the Seoul and Incheon subway systems. You will need
to change trains and buy a new ticket in this case.
Advantages
· For visitors who don't speak any Korean, it is a very reliable
way of getting to from A to B without getting lost and comes highly recommended
for this reason.
· It is not subject to traffic congestion, so it will generally
beat other modes of transport during rush hour.
Disadvantages
· Subway carriages tend to be crowded. For busier times of day,
there is a moderate to high chance that you won't be able to get a seat for
part, or all of, your journey.
· The subway is generally comparable in terms of travel time with
other forms of transport, but in a few cases, the fact that you have to go
by a very indirect route, can mean that these trips can take considerably longer
than other forms of transport.
· Getting into and out of subway stations and changing trains
requires you to walk up and down steps. (Very long ascents and descents have
escalators or elevators.) In a few cases, changing trains also involves walking
several hundred meters, with no or a gentle incline, between platforms. (Check
the website for information on access for the disabled.)
Things to be Aware of
· When changing trains, you need to look for signs displaying
the color of the line you want to change to, but you need to also be very conscious
of the direction you want to travel in. For some lines, there is one platform
and trains heading in both directions leave and depart from a single central
platform but other times there are two platforms with two trains in the middle.
In the second case, you need to be sure to get on the correct platform in order
to make sure that your train takes you in the right direction. If you do find
yourself on the wrong platform, you may be able to simply walk up and down
some stairs to get across to the other platform, but at a few stations this
is impossible and you will have to retrace your steps in order to find the
correct exit. Generally, the platforms do not have platform numbers. Instead,
direction of travel is indicated on signs by showing the names of a few major
stations that follow. If the sign indicates the names of stations in both directions,
it may mean that there is only one central platform and hence only one way
to go to transfer, or it may mean that you should go that way and will have
to branch off later to get to the right platform. Therefore, as you will be
unfamiliar with the geography of the city, you will need to carry a subway
map with you whenever you take the subway in order to allow you to find the
correct direction when you transfer.
· The trains can be very packed during morning and evening rush
hours, so getting to the right door in time to exit requires you to start your
move in advance. If you are in the middle of the carriage, start moving towards
the doors a few stations before the station you want to get off. If you are
near the doors, start moving towards the side where you should get off the
station before. (In most carriages there are LED signs near the door that indicate
which side the doors will open. Alternatively, watch which way the other passengers
are moving.)
· The exits at each subway station are numbered. The exit number
is very important information because going out the wrong exit may mean that
you are on the wrong side of a busy road or a long way away from the where
you should be and heading in the wrong direction. If you have arranged to meet
someone inside or near a subway station, be sure to ask for the exit number.
Also, be aware that at stations where several lines meet, the station name
will be the same, but there will be a set of exits for each line, so there
will more than one exit of the same number. Be sure to confirm the line number
or color as well as the exit number in such cases.
· The red number one line is connected to the dark blue
Korean National Rail line, which has no line number. The lines are
owned by different bodies but there is no need to change trains or
buy a new ticket, so from a user's point of view the two are just one
line.
Taxi
It is generally not difficult to find a taxi and they are very reasonably priced.
There are three types of taxis in Korea - the grey (silver) regular taxis, the
black luxury taxis and the jumbo taxis. The regular taxis are by no means bad
but, naturally, the luxury taxis are better. You get air-conditioning, leather
seats and a smoother ride with the luxury taxis in exchange for a higher fare.
The jumbo taxis have the same color scheme as the luxury taxis as well as the
same price, and are very useful if you have a lot of luggage or many people.
Taxis drivers are generally honest and polite and will do their utmost to get
you to your destination. Despite the difficulties described below, traveling
by taxi is still recommended.
The biggest difficulty with traveling by taxi is communicating your
destination to the driver. Drivers generally don't speak English but,
with all taxis in Seoul at least, you are able to access a free interpreter
service. Simply say the word "interpreter" to
the driver and he will call the service for you on his cell phone.
However, it will probably be the Korean address system rather than
the language barrier that is the biggest hurdle.
In Korea most streets don't have names and buildings don't have numbers. Instead,
cities are divided into various regions and those regions are divided into further
sub-regions and buildings are identified by their names, so giving the postal
address to the driver may not be much help and looking up a street directory
won't help him either. Generally, the passenger tells the driver the name of
the larger region or well-known landmark when he gets in and then has to explain
the way to the driver as he approaches the final destination. If the passenger
knows how to get to the final destination and can explain it to the driver then
this system works fine, but this would obviously be very difficult for a foreigner
and impossible if he had never been to the place himself before. On the other
hand, if your destination is a well-known landmark such as a subway station,
large park, hotel, or department store, the driver should be able to find it
easily. If the destination is not well-known generally but is well-known to people
who live in that local area then the driver will probably be able to find it
by asking one of the locals.
By all means, have the postal address of your destination, but realize that generally
it will not be enough for the driver to get you there. Try to find out the name
of a well-known landmark nearby and get the cell phone number of a person at
the destination who may be able to assist the driver in getting there.
At busy times of the day drivers will pick up additional passengers if the destination
of the other passengers is along or near the route of the first passenger. This
is illegal but universally practiced and accepted, so there is no point complaining.
The driver will slow down and drive slowly past people who are waiting for a
taxi and the people will state their destinations at the driver and he will either
stop to let them in if they are going the same way or speed off if not. If other
passengers get in the taxi with you, you may end up going a little out of your
way, but it shouldn't be too bad. If you are the first passenger, you will be
charged according to the meter reading. If you get in after the first passenger,
your fare will be less than the fare shown on the meter and will be estimated
by the driver based on the flag charge plus the distance charge. If you are trying
to catch a taxi with passengers already in it, be prepared to state your destination
when the taxi slows down but be aware that you will need to be quite general
when giving your destination under these circumstances.
Bus
There are four types of buses in Korea operated by numerous private companies.
1. Village buses operate between residential areas and subway stations or bus
terminals. 2. City buses follow circular routes and transport people between
various locations within the city. 3. Limousine buses are air-conditioned coaches
that operate between two distant points in the city and have limited stops in
between and allow passengers to save a considerable amount of time compared to
going by subway. 4. Intercity buses are air-conditioned coaches that operate
between two or more cities and have limited stops in between. Intercity buses
will be discussed in more detail in part two of this article appearing in the
next issue of the eZine.
Village and city buses can be a good way to travel but the language barrier will
be a major problem. Bus routes are numbered but the destination sign on the front
of the bus and route maps inside the bus are all in Korean and drivers don't
speak English, so knowing which bus to catch and where to get off is a big problem.
If there is a journey that you need to make often and there is a Korean who can
tell you the bus number of the bus you should catch and where to get off, it
may be worthwhile catching the bus, but generally I would recommend that you
avoid it because it is easy to get lost. If you do catch a village or city bus,
prepare to be rocked. These buses usually travel at high speeds and stop, start
and change lanes unexpectedly and suddenly, so hold on tight!
The airport express bus is a type of limousine bus and, like all limousine buses,
is a safe, convenient, comfortable and economic way to get to and from Incheon
International Airport to Seoul. There are a number of buses going to various
parts of Seoul so you need to make sure you catch the right one. Check out the
following website or enquire at your hotel or at the airport.
http://www.airport.or.kr/Eng/transportation/bus.jsp
5.
Korea-Related Terminology
There are not too many words that have come into English from Korean.
Two examples that come to mind are Tae-kwon-do and Hap-ki-do, two Korean
martial arts.
Expats living and working in Korea use quite a number of Korean words
when speaking English to Koreans and other expats that relate to their
work, workplaces or living in Korea, but most readers will never come
in contact with these words and needn't concern themselves with them.
There is a third class of Korean words that you are more likely to
come across and would need to know - terminology used in Korean English
language publications. Most Korean English language publications are
written by Koreans living in Korea, not Americans or Koreans living
in America. Also, the largest market for such publications these days
is probably Koreans who read them in order to learn English, rather
than the original audience of Western businessmen and diplomats in
need of information about Korea in English. Nevertheless, the information
they give is still very valuable for Western businessmen and diplomats.
Some of these words may be of Korean origin while others are English
words or phrases that describe something uniquely Korean and therefore
unfamiliar to the reader. In coming months I will seek to explain some
of these words for the benefit of readers of the eZine. If at any time
you come across a word you would like explained, you can get a prompt
answer to your enquiry by visiting www.askakorean.com.
Chaebol - A collective and singular noun describing the large Korean
business conglomerates, some of which will be well-known to Americans
while others will not. e.g Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Hanhwa, Daewoo, Haitai ¡¦
Pyongyang - Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea. In accordance
with the common practice of journalists of using the capital of a country
to refer to the actions of the government of a country, the word Pyongyang
is often used in the sense of the North Korean regime.
Ruling party - refers to the political party that is in power.
GNP - GNP stands for the Grand National Party and is the English name
given to the major conservative political party in South Korea. The
party was formed in 1997 when true democratic elections were first
held in South Korea but has never been in power but does have links
with the president at the time, Kim Yong-Sam, and past military regimes.
MDP - MDP stands for the Millennium Democratic Party, a liberal political
party established by former president Kim Dae-Jung shortly before he
ran for president in 1997. The MDP was in power from until 1997 until
2004.
Uri Party - The Uri Party is a liberal political party and is the ruling
party at the moment and was formed in 2004 after a number of politicians
decided to separate from the MDP to form a new political party prior
to the presidential elections.
Pyeong - A pyeong is a commonly used Korean unit of area. One pyeong
equals approximately 35 square feet.
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