Books about Working, Doing Business and Corporate Culture in S Korea

Check the books below, if you are planning to work or do business in S Korea. These books will help you get insight on the Corporate Culture in S Korea and at the same time educate you about the Business Etiquette you need to follow while working in Korea.


corporate_book_sony_vs_samsungSony vs Samsung: The Inside Story of the Electronics Giants’ Battle For Global Supremacy
by Sea-Jin Chang

Sony vs. Samsung is business history at its best! It explores the divergent fortunes of these two electronics giants in the last decade and identifies the true reasons behind Sony’s decline and Samsung’s rise. Contrary to popular belief, Chang shows that success (or failure) does not simply arise from different strategies. Rather, it emerges from major decisions that are deeply rooted in the companies’ organizational processes and their executives’ political behavior.

Refreshingly original and entertaining, this book analyzes major strategic decisions of Samsung and Sony and highlights organizational processes and top management leadership that have shaped their performances.

This is a must-read for all executives who want to understand the strengths and weaknesses of Asian competitors. It also provides penetrating insights to other Asian companies with global ambitions.


corporate_book_samsung_electronicsSamsung Electronics and the Struggle for Leadership of the Electronics Industry
by Anthony Michell

Samsung Electronics and the Struggle for Leadership of the Electronics Industry charts the rise of Samsung Electronics from its origins as a small subcontractor and assembler of consumer electronics to its present status as a dynamic multinational corporation. Author Tony Michell covers the problems of early growth, the crisis of the 1990s and looks in detail at the decade leading up to the company’s fortieth anniversary in 2009. Driven by the Millennium Vision of Vice Chairman Yun Jong-yun, this crucial period incorporates the dramatic challenge to Sony’s supremacy in the realm of consumer electronics, the problems and tensions associated with the aging of the company, and the recent quest for a new strategy to continue the dynamic, growth-led Samsung Electronics.

During the dramatic years of growth from 1996 – 2007, the partnership of Samsung Group Chairman Lee Kun-hee and Yun Jong-yun took the company to new heights through a series of measures aimed at the onset of the digital era but supported by core manufacturing of semi-conductors. Chapters on mobile phones, LCDs and semiconductors and the search for a new strategy complement those on marketing and human resource development. The book also explores the relationship between Samsung Electronics and the Samsung Group and the tensions which exist between the Korean government and the chaebol.


corporate_book_made_in_koreaMade in Korea: Chung Ju Yung and the Rise of Hyundai
by Richard M. Steers

American business folklore is awash with the adventures of successful entrepreneurs. Still, most of these stories are about Americans, neglecting important and courageous entrepreneurs from other countries. Made in Korea recounts the story of how Chung Ju Yung rose from poverty to build one of the world’s largest and most successful building empires – Hyundai – through a combination of creative thinking, tenacity, timing, political skills, and a business strategy that few competitors ever understood. Chung entered the shipbuilding business with no experience and went on to create the world’s largest shipyard. He began making automobiles when foreign experts unanimously predicted he would fail, and he started a global construction company that has built some of today’s greatest architectural wonders. He even convinced the International Olympic Committee to select South Korea over Japan as the site for the highly successful 1988 Olympics. Unlike most CEO’s of major firms, Chung has always preferred the company of his workers to that of the global executive elite. Hard work, creativity and a capacity to never give up – this is the essence of Chung’s life. In each of his ventures, he exhibited a sheer determination to succeed, regardless of the obstacles, and he worked tirelessly to instil this drive in all of his employees.

Even today, in the midst of Korea’s worst economic crisis in over four decades, Chung’s company is busy implementing plans to emerge as an even stronger contender in the world economy. Illustrated with 32 pages of colour photographs not previously seen in the West, including photos of Chung’s recent historic visit to North Korea in 1998, Made in Korea takes stock of Chung’s entire life, highlighting both his contributions to society and the lessons his work can teach to aspiring entrepreneurs.


corporate_book_troubled_tigerTroubled Tiger: Businessmen, Bureaucrats and Generals in South Korea
by Mark L. Clifford

Drawing on his journalistic experiences in the region, Clifford addresses the business climate of South Korea. This well-written book presents Korea’s commercial history since 1961, building on historical, social, cultural, and economic factors. The work probes the tensions between and among business, government, and the military. The 24 specific-topic chapters explore, among other things, Korea’s history, economic growth, specific industries such as steel, the assassination of President Park in 1979, political and business reforms and scandals, chaebol (the giant conglomerates), and the anticipated economic future. While this timely book is recommended primarily for practicing executives and government officials, scholars and advanced students of business and the social sciences should also find it useful.

The book reads as an economic history, moving rapidly from event to event and personality to personality in the chain of events connecting postwar reconstruction to the beginnings of the 1997 financial crisis. It is definitely an outsider’s perspective, however, with little feel for the impact of these events on the average Korean citizen or even the foreign resident in Korea.


corporate_book_korean_business_etiquetteKorean Business Etiquette: The Cultural Values and Attitudes that Make Up the Korean Business Personality
by Boye Lafayette De Mente

This book offers a penetrating view of the morals and values that shape the Korean business personality; cultural “keys” that turn Koreans on and off, and how best to communicate with them.

The book is broken down to the T about many different facets of Korean business culture, including an essential brief history of Korea’s past. The author does a wonderful job not only identifying important characteristics but also explaining the reasons behind them. Though it is mainly aimed for foreign workers in higher positions, employees working for Korean companies can also find use in the information presented.

Korean Business Etiquette will show what really makes Korean workers tick-and how to do business the Korean way. With its authoritative scholarship, practical insights, and guidelines for foreign workers, this book is truly a “must read” for anyone doing business in Korea now or in the future.


corporate_book_the_new_koreaThe New Korea: An Inside Look at South Korea’s Economic Rise
by Myung Oak Kim, Sam Jaffe

In 1953, South Korea was rated by the U.N. as the poorest country in the world. Five decades later, it is the fifteenth largest economy. Now, South Korea’s decisions on how to manage its society and its role as a modern democracy while also establishing its policy regarding reunification with North Korea will determine where the country will go in the next fifty years.

“The New Korea” examines the political, economic, industrial, and societal aspects of Korea today. Will it continue to enjoy an economic boom through new industries while competing against low-wage countries like China and India? Will it return to its role as a stomping ground for other powers? And what should Westerners pay attention to in terms of investment and business opportunities? As South Korea enters the most critical phase of its journey, it is crucial that we understand the factors involving its decisions and evolution. “The New Korea” is a fascinating account of what is and may become the state of this important region.


corporate_book_pop_goes_koreaPop Goes Korea: Behind the Revolution in Movies, Music, and Internet Culture
by Mark James Russell

“Mr. Russell’s book is the first by a non-Korean to explain the rise of Korea’s entertainment industries….the book could hardly be more approachable.” – Wall Street Journal

“For a country that traditionally received culture, especially from China but also from Japan and the United States, South Korea finds itself at a turning point in its new role as exporter.” – The New York Times

From kim chee to kim chic! South Korea came from nowhere in the 1990s to become one of the biggest producers of pop content (movies, music, comic books, TV dramas, online gaming) in Asia—and the West. Why? Who’s behind it? Mark James Russell tells an exciting tale of rapid growth and wild success marked by an uncanny knack for moving just one step ahead of changing technologies (such as music downloads and Internet comics) that have created new consumer markets around the world. Among the media pioneers profiled in this book is film director Kang Je-gyu, maker of Korea’s first blockbuster film Shiri; Lee Su-man, who went from folk singer to computer programmer to creator of Korea’s biggest music label; and Nelson Shin, who rose from North Korea to the top of the animation business. Full of fresh analysis, engaging reportage, and insightful insider anecdotes, Pop Goes Korea explores the hallyu (the Korean Wave) hitting the world’s shores in the new century.


corporate_book_imitation_to_innovationImitation to Innovation: The Dynamics of Korea’s Technological Learning
by Linsu Kim

Linsu Kim examines the pivotal role that technology development has played in South Korea’s dramatic transformation over the last three decades from an economy based on subsistence agriculture to a highly-industrialized global competitor. Kim identifies a pattern in which Korean firms acquire foreign technologies, assimilate and improve these technologies, and, eventually, invest in their own research and development. In the introductory chapters, Kim establishes a theoretical context for analyzing the dynamics of innovation, defining technology as a collection of physical processes to transform inputs into outputs, as well as the knowledge and skills required to carry out these transformations. In the first part, he explores the roles of public policy and the sociocultural environment in setting the stage for Korea’s technological evolution.

In part two, he draws on extensive case studies from large companies in a variety of manufacturing industries, to illustrate patterns of technological development in the private sector. In the final part, Kim considers the implications of Korea’s experience as a potential role model for other catching-up countries. This work is part of the “Management of Innovation and Change Series”.


corporate_book_korean_enterpriseKorean Enterprise: The Quest for Globalization
by Gerardo R. Ungson, Richard M. Steers, Seung-Ho Park

In the 1960s, Korea embarked on an ambitious program of economic development. By the 1980s, the pace of development had accelerated, and Korean companies were beginning to shed their reputation as second-rate, low-tech producers. In the 1990s, strategies of technological and managerial innovation were officially codified by President Kim as Segyehwa, loosely translated as “globalization, ” but more generally understood by Koreans as a philosophy and mission to achieve global status in politics, business, education, communications, technology, and the arts. In this book, the authors trace the evolution of Korea’s globalization movement and assess the prospects for Korean competitiveness in the future. Despite tremendous advances over the past three decades, Korean enterprises face considerable challenges if they intend to sustain a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

The authors identify seven key challenges in the areas of industrial policy, technological innovation, management practice, organizational design, entrepreneurship, and human resource investment. The authors explore the relationships among national culture, management practice, and government policy.