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Seoul has Sole
Korea's IT is today's slogan; The IT stands for Innovation and Tradition
By: Choi Jungwha
On January 12 the incoming United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon - seen here with Condoleeza Rice - is being honored with the Korean Images stepping stone award. His election is all part of a national drive to increase the impact of Brand around the world.
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Korea's IT is today's slogan. The IT stands for Innovation and Tradition, for Information and Technology, for Integration and Transformation. To take just the first pairing, Koreans developed the world's first rain gauge, the first metal printing palate, the first semi-conductors and the first CDMA-1XA mobile phones. Today, 80% of private homes have broadband, the highest percentage in the world. At the same time tradition demands that no-one should lose face. And despite the traffic, which can be horrendous, to be polite you must at least be on time, if not early, for meetings.
For those coming to Seoul for the first time, here are some other tips. Do bring at least twice as many business cards as you anticipate using. Make sure your title as well as your name is printed and avoid having your name in red, which indicates you are deceased. Allow plenty of time to get across town as the traffic can be horrendous, and not only during the rush hour (this is why many start work around 8 am each morning).
You may think Korea is a macho society in public, but it is in reality a land of powerful women, led by its Prime Minister Han Myung-Sook. At home it is certainly the women who control the purse strings and many decisions. Men's salaries are paid into the family's bank account, which the wives handle. They also look after real estate and moving house (there is an often-repeated story of a man who knew they were about to move home but he was not told where, so he made sure he was close to the family pet as he knew his wife would at least not leave that behind).
Visitors should make sure they see some of the marvellous old traditional Korean homes known as hanoak. Read more about these marvellous wood buildings, some at least 150 years old, in Hanoak: Traditional Korean Homes, by
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Hong Hung-Oct and others, published by Hollym, 1999. All hotels have excellent choices of different dining possibilities - try Asia Live in the COEX InterContinental, or Marco Polo, a pair of restaurants on top of the 52-floor office building next to the COEX conference centre.
Alternatively, be more adventurous and look at the trendy restaurants in the Cheongdam-dong and Apu-Jungdong area, south of the river (Gorilla, started by young artists and actors, is a favorite). I also enjoy going with my husband to look at clothing and traditional artefacts in Nandemoun market, downtown. To get an idea of the latest global fashion brands, check out the Hyundai department store adjacent to the Grand InterContinental Seoul. Afterwards, to return to the tradition that also makes Korea, go next door to the hotel's lobby lounge where, most afternoons, as a pianist plays during afternoon tea, matchmakers - usually women - are introducing young men and their mothers to young women, also with their mothers. After a few moments' chatting, the olders retire, to allow the younger pair to start talking. If they like each other, fine. If not, one of them quickly gets on the mobile phone to call mum back. IT is what Korea is all about.
Choi Jungwha, a Professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, is President of Corea Image Communication Institute CICI, which promotes Korea worldwide: CICI's board members and lecturers include Chung Myung-whun, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Seoul Philarmonic, and CNN Bureau Chief Sohn Ji-Ae. www.coreaimage.org
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