‘Balancing cultural ties’ with Thailand

BANGKOK Korea’s cultural cooperation with Thailand has far exceeded cooperation with other Southeast Asian nations in the same field, so what comes next for the two partners?

Tourism numbers are impressive on both fronts; about 1 million Koreans enjoy the land of smiles and almost 300,000 Thais visit South Korea each year.

The Korean Wave has taken Thailand by storm, with countless restaurants serving food for Korean travelers looking for a taste of home and Thais who want to enjoy something exotic.

As for entertainment, Thais cannot seem to get enough of Korean movies, dramas and singers, but there is more to come as explained by Korean Ambassador in Bangkok Chung Hae-moon.

“Some Thai movies are either being completely shot or partially shot in Korea,” he said in an interview with The Korea Herald.

One Thai film in particular that is enjoying record box office sales in Thailand is “Hello Stranger” which was produced entirely in Korea. 

“Also, (some) Thai TV dramas have been shot and produced in Korea and I think this is one area we can expand our cultural cooperation,” Chung said.

Educating the future Thai stars is another area where cultural ties have reached new heights with Thai entertainers being trained in Korea for about 2-3 years.

“With the knowledge, inspiration and technologies they learn in Korea, they can start up similar entertainment businesses in Thailand,” he said. “That is another way of balancing cultural exchanges between the two countries.”

Korean popular music, or K-pop, is a phenomenon that has been taking Asia by storm and no other place in Southeast Asia is it greatest than in Thailand. 

When any big name K-pop group or singer visits Thailand, tickets to their 40,000 seat stadium are generally sold out within 4 hours. 

“This is an enormous cultural phenomenon,” Chung said.

Hyundai E&C sale grabs investor attention

Investors appeared to be eyeing Hyundai Engineering and Construction with interest following the creditors’ announcement of the sale. 

Boosted by the rising momentum, the construction firm’s stocks shot up during daytime trading, closing at 71,200 won on the Seoul bourse, up 3.19 percent from Monday. Analysts said they expected the rally to continue. 

On Friday, Korea Exchange Bank, along with eight other financial institutions, issued an announcement of its intention to sell a 34.88 percent stake in the construction firm. 

The bidders must submit letters of intent by Oct.1. The creditors hope to select a preferred bidder by the end of December.

The pending sale of Hyundai E&C would tie up some of the last remaining loose ends at Hyundai, which underwent a wide scope of restructuring and spin-offs starting in the 1990s amid the Asian financial crisis.

Hyundai Group and its former sister company Hyundai Motor Co. will now be neck and neck in the race to get back the construction arm.

Both firms have already expressed their intention to submit a bid by the deadline set by the creditors. 

Korea considers underwater tunnels to China, Japan

The Korean government is considering building underwater tunnels with China andJapan, as a key component of an envisioned integrated East Asian transportation network. 

The Ministry of Land, Transportation and Maritime Affairs said Tuesday it commissioned the state-sponsored Korea Transport Institute last year to review the technical and economical feasibility of the projects. The results will be available by the end of the year, it added.

“We have decided to just assess the validities of the Korea-Japan and Korea-China underwater tunnels regardless of potential political or budgetary issues. There has been an active discussion in the private sector regarding them,” a land ministry official said. 

English, ballet part of Tesco bid to outdo rivals

Tesco Plc. is teaching Koreans English and ballet at its Homeplus stores as part of a campaign to become market leader there within three years. 

The classes, costing about 40,000 won ($34.46) for three months, help the grocer improve its standing in the community and win customers, said Seung-Han Lee, chief executive officer of the Korean unit, in an interview in Seoul. The 1 million pupils spend more than twice the average Homeplus customer at the stores, according to the Cheshunt, England-based retailer. 

With a 5.5 percent share of the $92 billion Korean grocery industry, Tesco trails leader Shinsegae Co.’s E-Mart in its biggest market outside the U.K., based on figures supplied by the British company. In a bid to overtake E-Mart’s 6 percent share, Lee is opening franchised convenience stores, boosting online sales and adding one Express store a week. 

Tesco’s business in the country is “still a growth stage, not a mature stage,” Lee said in an interview in Seoul last week. “We will be No. 1.” 

Industry researcher Planet Retail forecasts food spending in Korea will grow 12 percent this year and predicts total retail sales for the country of $208 billion in 2010. 

LG Chem to supply battery to Mitsubishi

LG Chem, Korea’s No.1 chemicals company, will jointly develop a lithium-ion battery system with Mitsubishi Motors Corp, the Japan’s Nikkei business dailyreported on Sunday.

The two firms hope to use the system for some small electric cars that will be launched by fiscal 2012 and new plug-in hybrids introduced in 2013, the paper said.

LG Chem declined to comment on the report. “Such an agreement is usually announced by automobile companies,” its public relations official said.

The development may lead to the first case of a Japanese automaker incorporating lithium-ion batteries made overseas.

LG Chem is supplying batteries for hybrid cars to Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. and also signed electric car battery contracts with General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Volvo Car Corp., Chongqing Changan Automobile Co. and Eaton Corp. 

The company expects it may increase operating profit by about 19 percent this year, helped by strong demand for petrochemical products and batteries for mobile phones. 

Operating profit may be about 2.5 trillion won ($2.1 billion) in 2010, compared with 2.1 trillion won last year, the company said in July.

Net income jumped 36 percent from a year earlier to a record 645.7 billion won in the three months ended June 30, driven by Chinese consumption of materials used to make plastics. 

Sales of smart phones will boost demand for LG Chem’s batteries in the second half of this year, the company said.

No worries about Korean Grand Prix: F1 boss

With less than four weeks until Korea’s inaugural Formula One Grand Prix, the Korean International Circuit has not yet passed its final inspection, triggering speculation that the race might have to be cancelled. 

However, the F1 boss insists that he has no doubts the Yeongam circuit will be ready in time for the inaugural race on Oct. 24. 

Korea wins Women’s U17 WC title; no report from news wires

South Korea won their first World Cup title on Sunday after a thrilling penalty shoot-out victory over Japan at the U17 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago.

The teams were tied 3-3 after 120 minutes, and again went 4-4 in the penalty shoot-out. In an extra-round penalty, Japan’s sixth kicker rattled the crossbar, and Jang Sel-gi comfortably converted the penalty to claim the country’s first ever FIFA trophy.