globalEDGE Blog - By Tag: south-korea

As birth rates around the world continue to shrink, world governments are spending billions of dollars to combat this. Yet, there has been little progress in slowing down the continued shrinking birthrates through Europe, Asia, and the United States. This has caused worry in governments around the world about the increased burdens on their economies and the lack of workers needed.

Live concerts and shows have been around for the longest time. The first live concert hosted by the public was conducted by John Banister, a violinist, in London in 1672. However, throughout the years, it has become a social phenomenon for many artists worldwide to partake in for the fans. With every ticket purchase, we not only secure our entry but also engage with the business behind ticket sales. This ties in with the music industry as it is known to build one of the most profitable for artists and record companies besides merchandise and is more modern with streaming services. But what problems are we seeing regarding the business behind artists distributing the tickets and fans obtaining the tickets?

The electric vehicle market has been enormously increasing over the past decade. Large companies such as the Chinese BYD and the American Tesla focus solely on EV production and have become some of the largest companies in the world. At the same time, most other large automotive companies have set lofty EV production goals for the near future.

Last September, the World Bank announced it would begin implementing new steps to lend an additional 100 billion over the next ten years. This, along with other new initiatives, would allow the World Bank to lend 150 billion more to developing countries.

Over the past few decades, the global cultural landscape has undergone a seismic shift as new trends and entertainment forms emerged. South Korea, in particular, has become a powerhouse of integrating culture into Western media; the remarkable success of K-pop groups, the record-breaking rise of Netlflix’s “Squid Game,” and the widespread embrace of Korean cuisine, for example, reveal the country’s unparalleled impact on international business.

We have heard of artificial intelligence from all over the world, and it has been used in various industries. But there are mixed reviews when it comes to the area of music. Many artists have come forward to discuss their opinions on the use of AI in creating music and how it could affect the state of the industry. This can also be an opportunity for companies to further innovate their technologies for efficient and innovative creation, such as their songwriting tools and synthesizers. Whether you are for or against the movement, the important thing is the balance and the measures taken regarding copyright and the way AI is used. 

Happy Valentine's day! Today is one of the most significant consumer holidays after Christmas. With its presence felt in over 30 countries, this celebration isn’t just about love; it’s a lucrative opportunity for industries across the globe.

Sleeping is known to be one of the most essential aspects in our lives; yet, many people overlook it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that more than one in three adults in the U.S. are sleep-deprived, leading to many concerning factors that can affect individuals' health.

As social media keeps dominating our world, there is no denying that it has also collided with many different industries across digital marketing. One of the specific digital platforms that has made a dynamic change over the past few years has been TikTok. They have gathered a massive following with a staggering 1 billion monthly users as of 2023 and will only continue to grow. There is no doubt that with the number of users on this platform, they will have the leverage to keep increasing their profits by gathering new up and coming creators and touching more specifically on the music industry.

Singapore’s economy has seen a dramatic transition in recent years, with the exponential rise of its digital industry. This explosion of the digital economy has had a profound impact on many sectors and has been essential to Singapore’s economic development.

Bubble tea, also known as “boba” or “boba tea,” has been making waves around the world, transcending borders and significantly impacting global businesses and trade. With its unique blend of traditional tea flavors, brown sugar-sweetness, an occasional caffeine kick, and chewy tapioca pearls- its claim to fame-, bubble tea’s journey from small teahouse delicacy to international stardom is a testament to innovation, cultural exchange, and the beverage’s irresistible charm.

As the medical industry continues to advance each year, experts are seeing significant success in collaborations with Artificial Intelligence; the combination of these two markets is helping many patients get their diagnoses faster and efficiently.

Recent examinations have shown that AI has allowed radiologists to decrease 50% of their workloads. Also, instances of false positives given to patients have lessened. This new advanced system may eventually save millions of lives, specifically as experiments continue to measure how AI takes on cancer. 

The Korean skincare industry has taken the beauty world by storm recently. As beauty enthusiasts become increasingly drawn to innovative products and multi-step routines, the focus on achieving flawless and radiant skin has made the Korean skincare industry, in particular, a global trendsetter.

Since the early 1990s, the global economy has experienced significant growth over the last three decades. After an incredible run, the global economy may be headed for a major deceleration. The World Bank has issued a warning that the global economy’s long-term growth potential may be anemic over the next decade, mostly diminished due to Russia’s conflict with Ukraine, ongoing pandemic restrictions, social unrest, and redistribution of global wealth. This situation could potentially result in a “lost decade,” resembling the stagnant and subdued economic conditions experienced in Japan in the 1990s or Latin America in the 1980s.

2022 was a year of major milestones and innovations in the cryptocurrency industry, including the meteoric rise of Web3 and the metaverse, the continued development of decentralized finance, and the introduction of non-fungible tokens. The upward trend seemed like it would continue, with the global crypto community aligning to support Ukraine amid its tensions and ultimate conflict with Russia. Thousands of people and leading brands joined hands to donate crypto funds to Ukraine, which will go down in history as one of the most prominent mass-market uses of blockchain technology to date. But this social unity has not helped hide the dramatic downward shift many crypto coins and exchanges are currently taking.

With the releases of movies and television shows such as “Return to Seoul,” “RRR,” “All Quiet on the Western Front,” and “Alice in Borderland,” 2022 has been an explosive year for the international film industry. In fact, foreign entertainment content has experienced significant growth as streaming service-giants like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime continue to expand their audiences and markets.

The Olympics is one of the few events where people from all over the world gather together. People are competing for their home country while achieving individual accomplishments and record-breaking scores. It is a time of gathering and celebration. However, in order to make this event possible, the host country has to plan years in advance. Sports venues, athletes' accommodations, and transportation improvements are all necessary to prepare for the crowds. The venues, in particular, have received criticism over the past several decades. From the economy perspective, their creation costs are high with a low utility after the event. From the social perspective, millions of people were forced to move in order to make space for the constructions.

The COVID-19 vaccine has been a point of discussion for nearly two years at this point. However, there is a new version that is the current talk-of-the-town: COVID-19 Booster Shots. Today’s blog will discuss what these booster shots are, how they are being implemented, and what it means for some countries to have them when others don’t even have enough doses of the original vaccine.

As shown in a previous blog, global food prices are on the rise, and food security is an ever-growing concern worldwide. In China, there is a new issue. Last week, China urged local authorities to encourage families to stockpile “daily necessities.” Many citizens have seen this as a warning to them and have now induced panic buying.

The housing market is an unforeseen casualty amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the hot housing markets are a global phenomenon. In the United States, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and South Korea, the housing markets are seeing a surge in price growth, in some areas reaching price overvaluation of more than 20%. More specifically, global house prices are now 22.4% higher than their level immediately after the financial crisis and up 29.2% in advanced economies. The Bank of Korea even warned that real estate is “significantly overpriced” in June 2021, along with discussing the growing household debt repayment burden. In the rest of this blog, we will go over the reasons for the increased pricing, how countries and global institutions respond to them, and the actions different countries have taken to lower the costs.

International investing is more appropriate than ever for Asian countries like South Korea, Japan, and India. These emerging markets are predicted to generate big gains for investors due to aspects such as their growing middle-classes, stimulative economic policies, and even the depreciation of the U.S. dollar. 

Trading between cryptocurrencies, also known as virtual currencies, continues to grow as government legalization paves the way for international investment. Japan and South Korea, in particular, have seen significant increases in trading activity and continue to set records for the market.

The Olympics have been a household staple occurring biannually for multiple centuries now. In less than 100 days, PyeongChang, South Korea will join the ranks of other cities who have had the honor of hosting the Games. This event kicks off with opening ceremonies starting on February 9th, with competitive events beginning on the 8th, till the 25th with 102 events in 15 sports. This year will be the first year for big air snowboarding, which is replacing the parallel slalom, mixed doubles curling, mass start speed skating and mixed team alpine skiing. However, with the hype of Olympics still growing, through social media, ticket sales have not been following the same trend.

South Korea has been under tremendous pressure as tensions increase due to China’s boycott of South Korean products, North Korea firing missiles, and the United States insisting that South Korea increase its defense. Recently, North Korea has been testing ballistic missiles and firing them near Japan and South Korea, and this has many countries concerned with their defense systems. The U.S. argued that Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD), “an American missile defense system designed to shoot down short and intermediate range missiles in the terminal phase”, was needed in South Korea to protect the country from the North. Therefore, Seoul's government agreed to increase its defense system and install THAAD on its soil.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission, a corporate regulator based in South Korea, declared that it would fine mobile chipmaker Qualcomm Inc. a hefty $853 million over the company’s purported abuse of antitrust laws. The announcement comes at the end of the Commission's three-year investigation of Qualcomm and constitutes the highest such fine charged to an individual United States-based company. The Commission concluded that Qualcomm broke antitrust laws by refusing patent access to competing chipmakers and by withholding necessary phone chips in order to pressure mobile manufacturers into strict licensing agreements. In addition, the Commission claimed that Qualcomm used patents from other chipmakers without fair compensation. Qualcomm has stated they will appeal this decision to the Seoul High Court, professing that their licensing practices follow decades-old industry standards. 

East Asia is home to three of the biggest economic powerhouses in the world: China, Japan, and South Korea. Thus, the well-being of the global economy often depends on the region's pecuniary health. Central banks already hold the utmost power in this regard; yet, in recent times, each nation's bank has led endeavors to consolidate further economic control. The effects of these measures, along with last week's global market shakeups, have paved a path of economic uncertainty. Here is a look at recent developments in East Asian central banks.

South Korea is in uncharted waters. Amid recent economic turmoil in Asia, South Korea has become a safe haven for foreign assets. Some have speculated that emerging market investors have gotten smarter, and therefore can identify countries within the space that are better long term investments. Another school of thought, however, is that South Korea has transcended from an emerging market to a fully developed nation, and therefore presents more security in the face of economic trouble. 

On Monday, Narendra Modi, the prime minister of India, went to South Korea for a two-day visit with its president, Park Geun-hye. On that day, the duo signed seven agreements dealing with various economic issues, discussed investments and political issues, and improved their bilateral relations. The two countries have vastly improved their relationship, elevating their relationship to a "Special Strategic Partnership". By improving both political and economic ties between the countries and opening up special business deals, Modi's visit is one that could prove vastly beneficial to both countries and potentially the global economy.

Latin America, a region once plagued with high inflation, has seen a drastic shift in spending and consumption trends in the past decade. This shift of consumption has been due to multiple factors, particularly the economic boom and declining poverty of the region. In the past decade, 50 million people in Latin America have joined the middle class according to a World Bank study.

As the international community continues to strive towards clean, renewable energy, South Korea has turned towards an abundant resource to power the future: the powerful waves of the Yellow Sea. Marine experts from Orkney, Scotland have recently agreed to advise South Korean engineers during the construction of a new tidal testing center in the northwestern Incheon Metropolitan City. The European Marine Energy Centre, or EMEC, has been operating in Scotland since 2003, where it has been developing technologies that generate electricity by harnessing the power of waves and tidal streams. Although the turbulent waves of the Yellow Sea have been noted as "very tough to work in," and EMEC spokeman has said that the waters offer some of the world's most tidal conditions, therefore making it a superb resource.

The US Commercial Service is hosting a webinar to highlight the new opportunities and positive outcomes from the recent free trade agreement with Korea. The U.S.-Korea Trade Agreement took effect earlier this month on March 15th and has provided many new business and trade possibilities. Billions of dollars in tariffs are expected to be eliminated due to this new agreement. It is estimated that up to 95% of bilateral trade with Korea will be duty free within the next 5 years. This will benefit a wide variety of industries: agriculture, services, financial services, and more!

This webinar, which will detail more specific benefits, will be held on April 12th from 2-3pm EST and does require a $15 fee along with registration. To find out more information and details about the webinar, please visit the export.gov website. Here you will also find information on how to register for the webinar event!

Over the past years, free trade agreements have proven to be one of the most effective ways to open up foreign markets for businesses looking to export overseas. Trade agreements help reduce barriers for these businesses and eliminate costly tariffs on imports. The creation of more transparent trading promoted by free trade agreements also contributes to an easier environment for the exporting of goods and services. This past week, the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement entered into full force, creating many opportunities for increased trade between the two countries.

As globalization increases, small businesses are gaining many opportunities to export their products overseas. However, less than two percent of all United States companies export to foreign markets. With the National Export Initiative, the United States plans to turn this surprising fact around and double U.S. exports within the upcoming years. Small businesses can play a crucial role in helping the United States accomplish its exporting goals. In fact, some small businesses in the United States have already found success in markets abroad.

With the announcement of North Korea's Kim Jong II's death on Monday, many business and world leaders are trying to figure out what will happen with the historically volatile country. Although the US places strict restrictions on how US businesses can interact with North Korea, other countries are much more liberal and have created many opportunities for their businesses to profit from relations with North Korea.

While many countries look to drive their economies by increasing trade and consumer spending, South Korea is looking in another direction. Renewable energy sources and projects are being used to boost business and promote economic growth in South Korea. The term “Green Growth” has been coined by the country and has become a major national strategy. This strategy has given rise to a vast range of policies regarding waste-management and air-quality control. However, South Korea’s main focus lies within renewable energy technologies with the mission not only to lower greenhouse gas emissions but to also boost the economy.

Online shopping is being used in many countries around the world and its use is becoming more widespread each year. In emerging countries such as India, the e-commerce market is growing rapidly with over three thousand e-commerce centers found online. Recently, businesses in South Korea have taken online shopping to the next level by allowing people to shop in virtual supermarkets with their smartphone.

This past week, the United States passed a trio of free trade agreements removing trade barriers with the countries of Panama, South Korea, and Colombia. The free trade agreements will have many impacts on international trade tendencies between these countries as the pacts will essentially eliminate tariffs faced by exporters in all four countries. Exports of each country are expected to rise as a result of the agreements and many businesses small or large will be able to compete in new markets abroad. The trade relationships between each country will dramatically change as the new trade agreements mark the biggest opportunity for exporting businesses in decades.

Products by large companies such as Samsung and Hyundai are crucial to keeping South Korea’s economy afloat however the country’s small and medium-sized businesses may be even more important. These smaller businesses provide more than 80 percent of the country’s jobs but are beginning to feel the pressure from Korea’s big conglomerates. The number of smaller firms competing in various sectors has been reduced to just a handful because of the difficulties of earning a profit in the face of big company demands. This is not the only concern for small-businesses in South Korea.

In a recent Forbes article, they highlighted the top 10 green companies in the world. These companies have all in some way contributed a global environmental management system by reducing emissions, adjusting their manufacturing process, becoming environmentally certified and doing the best to adjust their performance records into a more positive light.

In 2001, global economist Jim O’Neill labeled Brazil, Russia, India, and China as the premier emerging markets of the world with enormous economic potential. The mainstream BRIC acronym was applied to these countries and the hype surrounding these countries was well deserved. Over the past decade, the countries have contributed to over a third of world GDP growth. Recently, Jim O’Neill named the next tier of large emerging economies using the term MIST – or Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, and Turkey.

Wondering where to go next? The answer is easy, Korea. Approaching the top ten largest economies in the world, it is often overlooked because of its physical distance and the close proximity of its big brothers China and Japan. In fact, Korea has recently doubled its GDP and its imports from the United States. So while recent news may be bringing adverse attention to Korea, it is starting to bring to the spotlight an economy that is growing and is expected to soon become a major economic partner of the United States.

On November 23rd North Korea fired artillery on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong as a response to South Korea performing military drills near disputed maritime border. Besides the obvious restrictions set on North Korea by global super powers, some businesses are also taking steps to protect their employees from the potential threat.

Last week I had a unique opportunity to hear the Korean Ambassador to the United States, Han Duk-soo, speak at a luncheon in East Lansing, Michigan. The event was sponsored by the Global Business Club of Mid-Michigan. The ambassador has been traveling to various locations throughout the Midwest to tout the benefits of passing a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the United States and Korea. Currently, the agreement has been tabled by Congress due to other higher priority matters.

If you're planning a trip abroad in the near future, make time to check out this fascinating article from International Business Times on the world's 10 strangest delicacies. Fried tarantulas, live octopus, balut, and puffin heart! Oh my!

Here's a neat video from National Geographic about eating live Octopus in South Korea.

South Korea and India recently signed a free trade agreement. The comprehensive agreement is the first of its kind for South Korea with any of the BRIC countries, and the first of its kind for India with any major economy. The implications of the deal on the global business world are substantial:

A recent report by the Boston Consulting Group which measures the government policies and corporate performance most encouraging to innovation has Singapore as the number one global leader of innovation, followed by South Korea at number two. Former innovation leaders from the west such as the United States and Germany dropped to numbers eight and nineteen, respectively. What exactly has contributed to this?

A new release by the FTSE Group indicates that South Korea is now worthy of having its name placed among the ranks of the world’s elite “developed” markets. The FTSE’s listing of developed markets is closely monitored by investment fund managers, who use the designation as a means of allocating capital to various markets. South Korea’s new status means that it is likely to benefit from tens of billions of dollars in foreign capital. The boost to national pride from finally being viewed as “developed” is not a bad perk either…