Business Travel & Tourism South Korean Business. An introduction to business in Seoul


by Paul Symonds - Date: 2007-05-15 - Word Count: 410 Share This!

Seoul, as the capital city of South Korea, is a growing and strong economic area, and now one of the main trading posts in Asia. Korean people have a very traditional business culture and practices and understanding the Korean culture is thus very important if you wish to succeed in business in Korea. Understanding the Korean way of doing things is essential. This article aims to throw light on the Korean business market, Korean business strategies, Korean business trends and Korean business culture.

Korean business is well known for its vertical social structure based on age and social status. Korean companies' organizational arrangement is highly centralized with authority concentrated in senior levels. Individuals having high rank likely to have more authority than their subordinates. Superior's approval is necessary for finalizing a decision.

In Korean business settings, superiors assign responsibility of business to trusted and reliable subordinates. Age is an imperative constituent within a relationship in Korean business. An older person holds a certain level of superiority and it is peculiarly apparent in Korean business settings.

Punctuality is strongly valued in Korean business culture. All their business meetings start and finish on time. However, business people are always busy and due to their hectic schedules they come late occasionally.

For doing business with Koreans, one must have plenteous business cards and it is best to have one side of the card translated into Korean. The cards should carry info, such as designation or qualification. After receiving a card, one must read it and comment on it and should squeeze it into pocket, as this will be viewed as discourteous. Exchanging gifts is also a part of Korean business culture. Gifts are often exchanged to make strong business relationships.

As part of a business deal you will very likely be expected to socialize with the company executives. This may sound strange but the concept is based on the idea that Korean people feel that if you can drink with someone and get on, on a social basis, then you can be relied upon more in the business world. Drinking is often a part of the business deal process and some companies hire professional drinkers for this purpose.

If you can study Korean you will certainly gain more opportunities and find it much easier to become involved in Korean business. At the very least, make every effort possible to learn some basic words, to at least show you have made some effort.


Related Tags: social, business, asia, structure, drinking, korea, south korean, seoul

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