America has had a significant impact on the economy of South Korea because of the close relations between the two countries spanning almost seventy years. South Korea is about the size of Kansas. The small country was home to forty nine million people as at 2010.
This gave the country one of the highest population densities in the world. The small land area makes the country depend on manufacturing and intensive land uses for its economic purposes. The country’s economy is export driven. It manufactures different types of products for its international markets.
The exports include automobiles such as the famous Hyundai brand. The country’s automobile industry is fifth in size after America, Japan, Germany, and China. Other exports include ships, petrochemical products, and manufacturing implements.
The economic growth in Korea has been phenomenal, with the country moving from the lower club of low-income countries into the periphery of the first world economies in about thirty years.
South Korea is an urban-based economy. Most of the people of South Korea live in urban areas, and their numbers are on an upward trend. People migrate to the urban areas to seek opportunities for employment and education.
There is a small migrant community living in South Korea, mainly drawn from East and Central Asia. These migrant communities stimulate trade between South Korea and their native countries by providing the vital link between South Korea and their home countries. There are also American business people doing business in Korea.
When it comes to business in South Korea, there are a number of things to bear in mind. Most of these issues emanate from the Confucian philosophies that stress living in harmony and respect for seniors. In Korea, seniority equals experience, and this is the basis for awarding respect.
Most of the senior people in organizations there are also the most advanced in age. It is generally important to respect the oldest people in a South Korean delegation.
Decision-making takes place across the chain of command but the senior members must approve of any deals before they become binding. Some of the specific elements to bear in mind include observing punctuality, the importance of seniority, the use of language, and the place of gifts in the Korean society.
Time is of the essence for South Koreans. However, their idea of its importance lays in the quality of the time spent with someone and not necessarily its efficient use in terms of speed of deliberations. American businesspersons tend to be brisk and straightforward, as a way of achieving the most out of their time.
To the South Koreans, the idea is to be punctual and to take your time to deal with issues once the meeting is underway. The initial contact meetings are evaluative in nature, usually meant to gauge whether it is sensible to do business. The Koreans feel comfortable doing business with people they like.
They take time to develop relationships before conducting business. It is normal to discuss very little business in the first meeting. Lateness to a meeting is a very disrespectful act hence it is important to keep time.
The second matter to have in mind when conducting business in South Korea is that seniority is very crucial in all matters of the society. In the business arena, the society’s respect for seniority shows in the age of the heads of corporations and senior managers in companies.
When planning business meetings, it is important to know which company officials will attend the meeting because it pays to match their rank with similar level officials from your company. Otherwise, if the Korean company sends senior executives and learns that the officials sent do not match their level, it is unlikely that a productive business relationship will result.
It is also important to keep in mind that South Koreans are polite to a fault. They never say no but use subtle phrases to communicate their lack of interest in the proposal under consideration.
Unlike the American straight-talking style where blunt honesty counts, South Koreans do not entertain open disapproval because it makes one party lose face. As a society built on mutual respect and honor, this is not acceptable.
Therefore, it is imperative to ensure that there is agreement and not to draw conclusions based on polite talk. Whenever Koreans say yes, they often mean they understand what you are saying or that they are sympathetic to your course. However, this never means that they have agreed to work with you.
The key to getting good answers is by asking specific questions in more than one way and analyzing the responses to get the overall drift of the conversation.
Finally, gifts play an important part in business etiquette in South Korea. Gifts are a necessary part of any business interaction hence it is important to include small but high quality gifts as part of business resources when preparing to meet a South Korean business party.
Works Cited
Davis, Irl M. The American Entrepreneur in Asia: A Personal Journey of Global Proportions. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, 2005: Print.
Mongay, Jorge. Business and Investments in Asia. Madrid: ESIC Editorial, 2011: Print.
Walker, Danielle Medina, Thomas D Walker and Joerg Thomas Schmitz. Doing Business Internationally: The Guide to Cross-Cultural Success. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2003: Print.
Whitehall, Arthur Murray. Doing Business in Korea. London: Routledge, 1987: Print.