Head of UKTI South Korea, Bradley Jones, shares his thoughts with us after completing one year leading the team in Seoul.
When I first arrived in South Korea, just over a year ago, my knowledge of the country was limited to the iconic images from the country that have made a significant impact internationally - the World Cup and Olympics, kimchi, Samsung smartphones, Hyundai cars and, of course, Psy.
But South Korea is all the above and much, much more - rugged and mountainous, not unlike Scotland, it offers huge, untapped tourist potential to British travellers. It is a land undergoing social and demographic change - the most rapidly ageing population in the world, and a highly educated young generation seeking to live and work in a different way from their parents an grandparents but still keen to preserve the values and traditions that make them Korean.
This all has relevance for British businesses seeking opportunities here - while a call on a senior executive of an old-school chaebol (Korea’s Family owned conglomerates) might well still involve formal, structured meetings in which hierarchies and rank are respected, (and with an interpreter on hand to tackle language difficulties) followed perhaps by golf, dining, soju and noraebang (Korea's version of karaoke), a meeting with a young start- up entrepreneur will more likely than not take place in Starbucks with the deal being concluded over some fusion cuisine in Gangnam.
Another contradiction that those seeking to do business in Korea need to be mindful of is that while, in some ways it is a very open and internationalized economy (with more bilateral free trade agreements signed than any other country and with the chaebols winning major infrastructure contracts in places as diverse as Abu Dhabi, Rwanda and, of course the UK - Samsung C&T's contribution to the Mersey Gateway project being an example), there are still regulations in place that can inhibit opportunities - toothpaste is one example, where the ban upon one ingredient common to pretty much all toothpastes around the world mean that familiar names such as Colgate are absent from the supermarket shelves, while domestically made alternatives that comply with this regulation are ubiquitous.
The EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement has managed to whittle down these market access barriers, and UK goods exports to Korea have grown by 60% since 2011 as a result. Foreign cars were almost non-existent in Seoul a decade ago, but the reduction in import duties as a result of the FTA has now led to Korea becoming Jaguar Land Rover's fastest growing overseas market. Products as diverse as Brompton Bikes, Portmeiron Pottery and Lush bath products are succeeding here because of three simple factors - the iconic style and reputable quality of their products, support from UKTI and its partners, and the FTA making their products affordable for Korean consumers. Our focus for the remaining year of FTA implementation is to score some successes in the services sector, particularly in the liberalization of legal services.
One consistent in my first year here has been that, as a team, we have needed to be agile and responsive to new trends and growth opportunities. The sudden growth in Fintech in Korea needed quick action from us if we were to convert it into business success for British investors.
In a breathtakingly short period of time, the Prosperity and UKTI teams in Seoul jointly developed a campaign of engagement on Fintech. A high level mission led by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England followed, and within months we had scored a £4.9m Business Win and have a healthy pipeline of further investment lined up.
We are now trying to capture the zeitgeist in other sectors too. Hiking through the slopes of Mount Bukhansan earlier this year, I couldn't help but notice the love of trekking, and high-end trekking gear, that Koreans of all ages seem to possess. My team are now trying to nudge Korean hiking consumers towards British products, and we will be hosting our "Great Outdoors" event in Seoul early next year to help UK companies in this sector.
Korea is perhaps the most connected place on Earth. I am quite possibly the only human being in Seoul that doesn't have a smartphone, but I can see all around me how technology has transformed this nation and fostered a mindset that is passionate about being first adopter of new innovations. This is not a nation that rests on its laurels, and while shipbuilding, automotive and ICT still contribute a significant proportion of Korea's GDP, there is much thought going into what the leading industries of the future here might be - creative industries, perhaps? Or biopharma?
We are scaling up the work we are doing to support British companies in Korea - we are working closely in partnership with the British Chamber, who are now starting to deliver a range of business support services on our behalf, and we are about to follow up the research we commissioned last year on Korea's future with a new study, to commence later this year, on E-Exporting opportunities in this market for UK companies.
Finally, what's with the hippos? Well, when Colchester Zoo faced some regulatory barriers hindering the export of one of their hippos to Seoul Zoo, the UKTI team in Seoul stepped in, engaging with the relevant government agencies to ensure Juli had a pleasant flight and was able to settle into her new surroundings in Seoul without worrying if she had complied fully with all the regulatory burdens placed in her way.
Whether your business is in helicopters, umbrellas, insurance, organic honey, valves for nuclear power stations, lip balm, children's' books or digital gaming (all sectors we have supported in recent months) we and the British Chamber in Seoul will help you succeed in one of the most vibrant and exciting business environments in the world! We will be attending all of the Explore Export roadshow events in the UK in November, and look forward to meeting British companies seeking new opportunities here.
Find out more about UKTI's Export Week events, including Explore Export