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Study Abroad in Entrepreneurship - South Korea
On this study
abroad trip, one of the primary
goals will be do discover why the level of
entrepreneurship is so high in South Korea.
Much of Korea's sucess is
due to entrepreneurs. Many entrepreneurs in
different fields became world-class big conglomerates
such as Samsung, Hyundai, and LG. These three
major conglomerates compose more than 30%
of the nation’s GDP. Korea ranks as
one of the highest levels with a TEA rating
of 14.5, but there are still many barriers
to entrepreneurship. A prevailing negative
attitude towards entrepreneurs, attitude towards
risk and failure, and bureaucracy are major
issues concerning entrepreneurship in Korea.
Considerable efforts are being made to reduce
these barriers and nurture the entrepreneurial
spirit. Organizations are streamlining bureaucracy,
communication in exchanging and sharing information,
and encouraging collaboration within organizations.
South Korea has the third
largest foreign investment market among developing
markets in the Asian region, after China and
Hong Kong with 12,000 foreign firms in operation.
The South Korean government plans to mold
its market into the predominant business and
financial hub of Northeast Asia, working to
boost foreign investment from 9.7 currently
to 20% by 2010. South Korea has shown some
progress in the enforcement of its IPR regulations,
boasting one of the highest per capita Internet
and mobile telephony usage rates and committing
to over $300 billion in infrastructure spending.
Korea is evolving into a more competitive,
transparent, and user-friendly international
business environment, driven by increased
deregulation, local autonomy, entrepreneuristic
activity, and foreign direct investment. The
government is injecting over $90 billion in
funds to recapitalize the banking systems
after the late-1990’s financial crisis,
predicated on the financial institutions’
commitment to international accounting standards
and FLC’s as a provision against non-performing
loans.
On the investment side, Korea
has made remarkable strides. Aggregated limits
on foreign investment in stocks (except for
some state-owned firms) have been eliminated;
restrictions on mergers and acquisitions are
being lifted; financial services of a wide
variety can now be undertaken by foreign firms;
and a range of industry sectors once closed
to foreign investment are slated to be opened
in full or in part.
While there continues to be
reports of anti-import sentiment in Korea,
the Korean government has strongly urged their
fellow citizens to look at foreign companies
as allies in the rebuilding of the Korean
economy. Korea has undertaken a commitment
under the IMF program to overhaul its import
certification and clearance procedures, as
well as bring Korean standards into line with
world-recognized standards. The Ministry of
Commerce, Industry, and Energy is reviewing
laws related to standards, health, safety,
etc. in order to revise them to reduce barriers.
Import clearance and certification problems
are fundamental to the market access concerns
of a broad range of foreign industries and
entrepreneurs attempting to do business in
Korea -- autos, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics,
motion pictures - to cite a few examples.
Best Bets
KOTRA
(Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency)
Korea
Federation of Small and Medium Business
Korean Index
of Exporters
Korean
Federation of Small and Medium Business
Culture/Travel
Doing Business Abroad - South Korea - Cultural
To Do List
Doing
Business in Korea
Media
Chosun
English Newspaper
Articles
Crisis
of Entrepreneurship
Korea's
Regulatory Climate Stifling Entrepreneurship
An
upsurge of Entrepreneurship in Korea and its
Possible Reasons
For more, please see www.InternationalEntrepreneurship.com
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