How refreshing to have a whole day conference on Korea without a mention of hallyu or the DPRK in the detailed programme (though security on the peninsula has a dedicated panel session in the afternoon). Buy tickets for the LSE Student Union’s Korea Future Forum via Eventbrite (top price £40 plus booking fee) LSE SU … [Read More]
Category: Business & economy (page 2)
FT sticks the boot into Reckitt Benckiser
In an article subtitled “Multinational group’s corporate culture is out of step with the public mood” the FT today laid into Reckitt Benckiser for its management and presentation of its troubles in Korea. It was dismaying to see an update mention the “HS Issue” in the same workaday tones as poor sales of the Wet … [Read More]
Event news: King’s College London Contemporary Korea Speaker Series
The London Asia Pacific Centre will be hosting the Contemporary Korea Speaker Series in October-November 2016. Thanks to funding provided by The Academy of Korean Studies, the series will bring to London four top Korean professors to discuss contemporary Korean economics, politics and society. The talks are as follows: 13 October 2016 – Prof Kim … [Read More]
British artist at sea with Hanjin Shipping
Winning a residency programme is often a milestone in a young artist’s career. When Royal College of Art MA sculpture student Rebecca Moss won a residency programme from Vancouver’s Access Gallery, that sounded like a huge opportunity. The residency, entitled 23 Days at Sea, involves sailing in a container ship from Vancouver to Shanghai – … [Read More]
Event news: UK-Korea business seminar
Notice of a seminar arranged jointly by the British Korean Society and the Lord Mayor’s office: UK-Korea Business Seminar Mansion House, 23 September 2016 As follow-up to the Lord Mayor of London’s visit to the Republic of Korea in July, the British Korean Society, jointly with the Lord Mayor’s Office, have arranged a business seminar … [Read More]
Slaves to the System Project launches Poland report
Slaves to the System, a collaboration between EAHRNK and the Leiden Asia Centre, published their first major report on DPRK workers in Poland at a conference held at Leiden this week: On Wednesday afternoon (6 July) in Leiden, the Netherlands, a new in-depth report on the issue of North Korean forced labour in Poland was … [Read More]
The Reckitt Benckiser “death campaign” comes to London
Reckitt Benckiser’s problems in Korea haven’t had much attention in the UK until recently. But a growing campaign to boycott their products in Korea, and a small group of campaigners who came over to picket the company’s annual shareholder’s meeting on 5 May, have brought the issues into the mainstream. A week ago, Reckitt Benckiser (RB) … [Read More]
Event news: Business Opportunities with Korea, in Birmingham
The Korea Trade & Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) is hosting a seminar and exhibition, “Business Opportunities with Korea”, on 15th March 2016 at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Birmingham city centre. “The UK is now Korea’s second largest trading partner in the EU, and this event offers clear and in-depth knowledge of the processes required … [Read More]
Looking back at 2015: Domestic news
Our final look back at 2015: mainly domestic news stories from South Korea. In the news After 62 years of adultery being a criminal offence in the ROK, the constitutional court decided to decriminalise it by a vote of 7 to 2. Four out of ten married Korean males heaved a sigh of relief and shares … [Read More]
Hyundai Motor celebrates 10 years in UK with London photo mosaic
To celebrate its 10th anniversary in the UK, Hyundai are sending their latest hydrogen fuel cell car in a journey to map The Knowledge in partnership with Ordnance Survey. On the way they are taking photos which will be combined together into a time-lapse video and a giant mosaic. Today’s Evening Standard has more details. … [Read More]
EU-ROK FTA used in pro-EU campaign
Interesting to see how the pro-Europe lobby are targeting Korean interests to support their cause. @lklinks, our Twitter account, was recently tagged by @euromove, who describe themselves as “the biggest grassroots, independent, nationwide organisation making the case for the UK’s membership of the EU”, in the below tweet. Also tagged, somewhat bizarrely, were the London … [Read More]
Street food and cooking sauce start-up gets Dragon funding
Congratulations to Ben Ansah and Sue Youn, the couple behind street food and Korean sauce company Yogiyo! who secured £50,000 of funding from one of the investors in TV show Dragons’ Den in the episode screened on Sunday 16 August. You can watch their TV pitch on the BBC website here (43’10” into episode 6 … [Read More]
Kim Sungjoo awarded honorary OBE
The British Embassy in Seoul announced yesterday that Kim Sungjoo, best known in the UK for her MCM fashion brand, has been awarded an honorary OBE. In Korea, her company owns the Marks and Spencer franchise. According to the press release, She has been an energetic and generous supporter of many British institutions and organisations … [Read More]
Looking back at 2014: Domestic news
Our final look back at 2014: mainly domestic news stories from South Korea: The Sewol and safety culture The MV Sewol capsized on 16 April, causing the death of 304 passengers. A number of factors contributed to the disaster, including lax safety inspections, unsafe modifications, unsecured cargo, overloading, and an inexperienced crew hired on temporary … [Read More]
Daewoo, Hyundai and Samsung battle to build the biggest ships
Only two years ago there was the naming ceremony for the world’s largest container ship, the Maersk Triple E built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering. At 398m long and with a capacity of 18,270 twenty-foot equivalent containers, the ship had its own website, www.worldslargestship.com. Two days ago, the newest largest container ship, the CSCL … [Read More]
Chaebols muscle in on craft beer
There’s an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal’s Korean blog about the improvement in South Korea’s beer scene since the relaxation of rules which prohibited you from selling beer unless you were one of the big boys. But the small brewers are now facing competition from a craft beer pub set up by one … [Read More]