2005-2162 The Buddha’s birthday illuminates Seoul

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Successive administrations have supported content only in empty slogans. We must break the cycle. Hidden Champions Staying on top of fabric takes latest technology Special Series 06 New Growth Engine Industries industry. At the same time, the government is trying to clearly define the roles that must be carried out by the public and the private sectors. One example of such efforts is the Content Korea Commission that was formed in May. It consists of more than 60 civilian experts, industry representatives and officials from related organizations. Since then, the Content Korea Commission has been gathering opinions from key players in the content industry and has worked to consolidate the government’s policy tasks. The committee has selected developing next-generation convergence content, leading a second revolution in online games and developing global content as the main projects for developing Korea’s cultural product. The KCC presented the projects at the new growth engine report session held on Sept. 22. Having done so, we now have the basic outline for making Korea a strong maker of content. We overcame the painful financial crisis in the late 1990s with our IT industry. In the current situation, the cultural technology industry should play a key role in Korea’s economic recovery. The question now is how to go about achieving those goals. When comparing successful foreign examples, it seems it would be efficient to keep the current model, which maintains a cooperative relationship between the private and public sectors. The government should focus on education, training, developing new technologies and other areas related to establishing industrial infrastructure, while the private sector must concentrate investment in globally competitive areas to generate jobs. In particular, Korea’s content industry will be able to reap maximum results if it is merged with the country’s information technology sector, which enjoys global competitiveness. If the country strategically develops the computer graphics industry, for example, it could lead to a breakthrough to allow the country to compete with Hollywood on the global market. In addition, there is a need for the government and the National Assembly to work together on the problems that have been pointed out and to revise various regulations. The concerned bodies should establish the financial means to develop the industry and set up an organization to control the resources designated for content development, which have until now been scattered among various ministries. If the country is to avoid repeating the empty slogan of “developing Korea into one of the world’s top five content producers,” we need to establish a system for private-public cooperation and carefully draw up policies that reflect the needs of the industry. Younghoon David Kim • Younghoon David Kim is the chief executive and president of Daesung Group. He is the chairman of the Content Korea Commission and serves as the chairman of the Special Committee on Cultural Industry of the Federation of Korean Industries. [Provided by HJC Helmet] Samil Spinning Samil holds 33% of the world market for HWM viscose rayon. Korea once had a competitive edge in the textile industry. But as labor got more expensive it lost ground to countries such as China and Vietnam. Yet Samil Spinning continues to be the world’s No. 1 maker of high wet modulus viscose rayon spun yarn. According to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy in 2007, the company’s high wet modulus (HWM) viscose rayon spun yarn was one of 127 products that had a leading presence worldwide, with 33 percent of the global market in 2007. The viscose rayon fiber developed by Samil Spinning has better tenacity and elasticity when wet compared to regular viscose rayon, yet with the same softness and comfort. The global market is an important source of income for the company, since 95 percent of its revenue comes from overseas sales. Samil was established in the 1970s as a cotton manufacturer, expanding in 1992 to other areas including modal and tensel. Today the company specializes in cellulose, with main products focused on high tenacity rayon. As the local textile industry goes downhill, Samil Spinning has stayed ahead by quickly adjusting. The company has emphasized the latest technology and incorporated it into its production lines. Samil Spinning was once one of the leading fabric companies in Korea, with more than 1,400 employees. Today it has around 250 employees including its Seoul office. Although the number of workers has gone down by more than 70 percent, the company still makes a profit thanks to automation. Almost 90 percent of the fabric manufactured by Samil is machine-made. At the company’s third plant, which opened last year, fewer than 40 employees oversee operations, and all processes use the latest digital equipment. The company invested more than $20 million in the plant, including imports of foreign manufacturing equipment to produce rayon. The promodals manufactured here are sold to over 50 fashion brands including Gap and Banana Republic. The company also outsourced areas that lacked competitiveness. Samil Chairman Ro Hee-chan, who also chairs the Korea Federation of Textile Industries, has always focused on research and development The chairman believes that without facilities investment to stay competitive it is difficult to survive. Already Ro is planning to build a fourth plant in 2013 targeted at producing highend textiles. And to establish a global brand Samil launched “Ecosil” and registered patents in 17 countries. The chairman also stressed the development of high-value fabric materials. He said that while industrial fabric accounts for more than 60 percent of the fabric market in Europe and Japan, Korea’s industrial fabric, only account for 25 percent, and therefore it is necessary to expand such development. By Lee Ho-jeong 50 korea May 2009 May 2009 korea 51 51
Sports Sellout crowds for KBO on opening day Hong Sung-heon of the Lotte Giants gets tagged out at home by Cho In-sung of the LG Twins at an April 7 game at Jamsil Stadium. [NEWSIS] While many look forward to warm spring weather, sports fans eagerly await the season for a whole different reason: baseball! The 2009 Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) season got off to an impressive start last month. In fact, all four opening games were sold out, setting an opening day attendance record of 96,800. It was the first time in KBO history that all four stadiums were filled to capacity on opening day. Though the popularity of baseball had waned in recent years, the Korean team winning the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics last year and placing second at the 2009 World Baseball Classic had fans buzzing about baseball again. The 2009 Season The KBO consists of eight teams, but unlike in America, where the teams are affiliated with a city, teams in Korea are named after their sponsors. Hence the Samsung Lions and LG Twins — and the numerous name changes some teams have endured throughout the league’s history. The regular season consists of 133 games, with four of the top teams advancing to postseason play. The defending Korea Series champs, the SK Wyverns are many fans’ favorite to win the title this year. That would give them three straight titles. The only other club to achieve that feat was the Haitai Tigers. “We are approaching this season with the mindset of a challenger and not the defending champions. We will work to achieve our goal of 80 wins and another title,” said SK manager Kim Sung-geun. While most experts have stated a number of times that all eight teams have a shot at the title this season, a balanced team that has a special chance of dethroning SK is the Lotte Giants. Led by an American manager, Jerry Royster, the powerful duo of Karim Garcia of Mexico and Lee Dae-ho is being expected to produce an exciting brand of baseball. The Past Baseball was introduced to Korea by an American 52 korea May 2009 May 2009 korea 53
Page 1: Opening a communicative space betwe
Page 4 and 5: Cover Story A luminary’s party en
Page 6 and 7: Buddha’s Birthday: A luminary’s
Page 8 and 9: Diplomacy U.S. President Barack Oba
Page 10 and 11: Global Korea KOICA in Ethiopia 18 k
Page 12 and 13: Culture Songs from the Korean soul
Page 14 and 15: Culture [JoongAng Ilbo] Art as frau
Page 16 and 17: Korean Literature Hwang Seok-yeong
Page 18 and 19: Book Human story Provided by The Ko
Page 20 and 21: Human story To Won’s father, June
Page 22 and 23: Korea through the Lens Sun flowers
Page 24 and 25: Travel minutes leads to the ridge.
Page 28 and 29: Sports missionary, Phillip L. Gille
Page 30 and 31: Design The biggest auto show in the
Page 32 and 33: People [Press Q] Father Kevin O’R
Page 34: Foreign Viewpoints Back to a life o

2005-2162 The Buddha’s birthday illuminates Seoul

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