Korean Way in Business

It is against this backdrop of shamanism, Buddhism, Confucianism, a strict hierarchal society, and decades of suffering and anguish at the hands of foreign powers, along with internal political strife, that one must view present-day South Korea and its people.

With Rhee gone, Myun J. Chang took over as president, but in May 1961 a bloodless coup led by General Park Chung-hee cut short his administration.
For the next eight years ex-general Park gave South Korea harsh but efficient rule, instituting many reforms and inaugurating the first of a series of five-year plans that were to create an economic miracle.

In 1910 Japan formally ended the Choson dynasty by making Korea a part of the Japanese empire. The Japanese occupation forces immediately began a brutal program aimed at Japanizing the Koreans by outlawing their language and many of their cultural practices, and forcing them to adopt Japanese names.

Russia. Following its successful war against China in 1895 and against Russia in 1904–5, Japan began turning Korea into a colony, taking over the government and all major industries.

Japan’s control of Korea continued until the end of World War II in 1945, when it was defeated by the U.S. and its allies.

To get around the extraordinary problem created by the fact that every other South Korean is either Kim, Lee, Pak, or Choi, South Koreans use titles connected with their profession, place of work, and rank. In companies where there are dozens to hundreds of Lees, Kims, Paks, and Chois, individuals are usually identified by their titles, along with their sections or divisions. If there are two or more Manager Lees in one section they may be referred to as Manager Lee of Production No. 1; Manager Lee of Production No. 2;

Today approximately half of all South Koreans are named Kim, Lee or Park.

Young South Koreans dress and generally act like Americans, for example, but still the prevailing social system includes many facets of traditional Confucianism—close-knit families, a powerful compulsion to achieve the highest possible education, mutual responsibility for the welfare of the family and relatives, and ongoing respect for seniors.

South Korea spends approximately seven percent of its GNP on education—one of the highest rates in the world.)

When Koreans were finally freed in 1953 from the compression chamber in which they had existed for so long, they turned their unleashed ambition, creativity, and energy into building an economic and social superpower in one generation.