Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Pursuing North Korea with IP

In case you did not know, North Korea is involved in producing and exporting counterfeit cigarettes. I am glad this story as resurfaced (I remember it from a Wall Street Journal article about a year ago), since it allows me to share an idea.

In the past as well I have mentioned the case of Mr Hong Sok Jung, a North Korean writer. A North Korean "Foundation" is trying to enforce his copyrights in South Korea. A rather unique way to obtain hard currency (for all of you who think Mr. Hong will see any of the money, the "short bus" is here to take you home). In the last article about the Foundation's efforts "for" Mr. Hong there was this observation from the foundation's South Korean lawyer:

Chung Yeon-soon, the lawyer of Hankyul who represents Hong, said the writer brought the case through the Foundation of Inter-Korea Cooperation, which North Korea entrusted with copyrights of the North’s writings...[Chung said] Hong is entitled to file the suit, as the Constitution stipulates that the territory of the Republic of Korea is the Korean Peninsula and nearby islands. Thus, the Korean law is effective in the North.

|f that is true for copyright law, it should also be true for laws such as Trademark Law and Unfair Competition Law. Perhaps somebody should find out a little more about the counterfeiting in the North and file a criminal complaint here in the South. 




Monday, January 30, 2006

Korean Playboys

Many in Korea had a good laugh last week at finding out a few men turned out compete for the "Playboy 2006 Korea Model Contest". However I ask many of your to consider this, is this a sign for things to come for the Playboy franchise in Asia?

I refer to this recent International Herald Tribune article on the release of a new Playboy magazine in India which will not carry the typical bunnies:

In a little-noticed milestone for the world of adult entertainment, Playboy said in December that it would seek to do in India what it had never done before: publish a magazine with its usual fare - except for its name and its nudes. The Indian version of Playboy would be Hugh Hefner meets Henry Ford: You can have any bunny you want, so long as she's clothed.  


"This is quite a departure for us," Christie Hefner, Playboy Enterprises' chief executive, told reporters in December. 

What will the Indian Playboy look like? Ms. "Hef" offers a clue:

Christie Hefner has said the Indian version of the magazine "would be an extension of Playboy that would be focused around the lifestyle, pop culture, celebrity, fashion, sports and interview elements of Playboy." But the magazine would not be "classic Playboy," she warned. "It would not have nudity," she said, "and I don't think it would be called Playboy."

What gets me about the article is this observation and quote in the article:

Among the opportunities India offers Playboy is a chance to return to its gentlemanly roots. India is not only on the brink of a sexual revolution, it is also overflowing with ambition, as a small but burgeoning class of young, urban, world-traveling men, wielding disposable income, seeks to clamber its way toward upper-crust bearing and savvy.  


"Upwardly mobile. Reasonably affluent. He would be a sort of midlevel executive upwards, a man who probably already drives a car," said N. Radhakrishnan, editor of Man's World, the Indian publication that would be a competitor to a watered-down Playboy. 

Now compare that to this statement in the Korean article:

The sponsor said that they have returned the applications of the five men, speculating that they may have interpreted the word "playboy" literally and thought it would be a contest for "playful men."

Is playboy due for re-branding in Korea on par with there Indian counterpart? Will other countries in Asia follow? It seems like there may be a market for a new "Playboy".

Friday, January 27, 2006

Samsung Life


Samsung Life Photos
Originally uploaded by Drambuie_man.
Who knew Samsung Life's mascots were so cute?

Who knew the Star had blue "equipment"?

Happy holidays everyone!

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Korea Times Gains New Cash

Or well thats what this article should be titled. Here is the opening paragraph:

The Korea Times has forged a strategic partnership with Pickupphone, one of the nation's top English education firms. 

Who? You ever hear of them? What do you say we start a pool on how much this cost "one of the nation's top education firms."?

Anyway, I bring this up to share an old semi-joke I have. You know what would be the biggest money generator in Korea? English language phone-sex. Seriously, phone-sex makes money, pseudo english instruction by phone makes money. Think what the combination could yield.

Korea top music downloader

According to an OECD study, 80% of Korean students  download music, the highest among OECD nations. How many of those do you think are doing it legally?

The "K"

Apparently the new 5000 won bills do not take to water. You got to love the way the Joongang Ilbo puts this:

One man said that an accidental wetting of his trousers led to the near-disappearance of some of the printing.

I hope he sees a doctor about that. Thats both embarrassing and expensive.

Dispatch from the porn belt

CNN on the plan to show panda porn in Bangkok. As any seasoned traveler in Asia knows, its not finding the porn in Bangkok that is the problem. The problem is making sure your panda is a panda and not something else in fancy make-up.

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

3M Infrigement


3M Infrigement
Originally uploaded by Drambuie_man.
Hey 3M Call your IP counsel in Korea. Found this in a major chain store in Seoul.

Economic Impact of Hwang

A regular Korea Times columnist, Chang Se-moon, tries to explain the economic impact of the Hwang scandal. I say "tries" since when ever I read his work I am disappointed as it reads as a introduction to economics for 12 year olds. This is not to degrade his work, it is very likely that this is what he is tasked to do considering the average persons unfamiliarity of the subject, and the standard for reading English in Korea is Newsweek which is written at a 6th grade level. Anyway, I could quibble, but I won't. On the whole it does a good introductory survey of the sources of costs resulting from the scandal. However I want to share it for this howler of statement:

"Two members of the Korea's stem cell research group went to Pittsburg [sic] to hand over $10,000 to one Korean researcher and $20,000 to another Korean researcher who were working on the project at the University of Pittsburg [sic]...Since it is highly unlikely that the government funds allow such payment, I am assuming that private funds were used to make such payment."

How the heck is it difficult to believe that government funds were not used? Even more inexplicable, Chang goes on to list possible corruption in the private sector. Why is difficult believe that the government was not also involved? Or for that matter give the fact the Korean government has already been found previously to bribe nefarious people for Public Relations (yes this means you Kim Dae-jung), how is it difficult to believe it is not reverting to type?

Sorry, mini-rant over.

Ubiquitous Watch

OK so it does not use the ubiquitous misuse of the word, but a class traffic accident of a article in the Dong-A: "On the morning of January 12 in the meeting room of the Trade Tower in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, the “explanation event for strategic partnership under the certification system of the comprehensive logistics industry” was held by the Korea International Logistics Council (KILC) of Korea International Trade Association. Presidents and employees of small- and medium-sized logistics companies flocked to the event."

And amazingly that beginning paragraph could be classified as the high point of the article.

I hope Math Department was not involved

The Dong-A has an interesting round up of the results from the first essay exams used for the college entrance exams. Most of the observations are unsurprising for a seasoned observer, particularly the "sameness" of the essays of those who relied on cramming schools. However I have big problem with this subhead:

Score Distribution is Diamond-Shaped

This term "Diamond Shaped" is used repeatedly in the article. Now I took a fair amount of statistics for my Economics degree, and I have yet to hear of a "Diamond Shaped" distribution. I sure hope the math department was not involved in the grading.

Finally if you want to test yourself, check out this sample:

  This year’s Hanyang University essay topic for Liberal Arts College was “The Identity of Humans in the Future World and Mutual Relationship between Men and Machines.” Many applicants wrote such as “The difference between animals and humans is emotion,” or, “Robots can feel neither friendship nor love.”

Do  you think students got extra credit for using "paradigm", "ubiquitous", or "blue ocean strategy"?

Korea's Protest Culture

Doing my part to promote Korea's protest culture I point to this caption:

Flatfish and gray mullet lie on the road in Gwanghwamun, downtown Seoul on Tuesday after fishermen dumped them in protest against government measures following the detection of the carcinogenic dye malachite green in domestic freshwater fish. 

Click through to see the picture. What exactly is a green dye doing in fish, and why are the farmers protesting not being able to use it?

Ubiquitious Watch


mobile_RFID
Originally uploaded by Drambuie_man.
The new Konglish we all love to hate.

Who wrote this headline?

Ban ducks on bogus cash, North - Headline, Joongang Ilbo, January 25, 2005

And perhaps for good reason, the Joongang is still looking for editors.

Hwang may get EU Patents

The British magazine New Scientist reports that Hwang's patent applications may still be valid despite demonstrative fraud on his part. The key part is there is no need to prove "workability" of the patent under EU law. I mentioned this possibility before in regards to Korean Patent Law

Depends Who You Ask

LG Posts Poor Performance Due to Export Lull - Headline, Chosun Ilbo, January 24, 2006

LG Electronics Profits Soar on Gains From Sister Company - Headline, Korea Times, January 24, 2006

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Korean Logos

I am still on the fence on what to think of Choe Yong-shik, an advertising critic that writes for the Korea Times. I can agree with his logic, but disagree with his argument. Recently he had large article talking about the new crops of Cheabol logos and their creation. He aptly points out part of the problem is that these companies want their brand to be everything to everybody.

However, what I think is notable, all these slogans would not be as damaging as long as the companies' butts can cash the checks their brands write. Perhaps the real problem is not only a lack of focus in the branding, but also a lack of business focus. If they had a more properly defined product set, the brand takes care of itself. Much can be said in this regard for the McDonand's logo. By itself it does not mean much, nor does the company invent over-wrought fantasy explanations like SK does. However, everyone knows what the arches mean with their limited product set.

Then again, you have a very focused company in KT&G with the puzzling tragic branding campaign of "Korea Tomorrow and Global". Like I said I am on the fence.

If life gives you lemons...

An inadvertently hilarious press release was made by a auto parts seller trying to promote its Hyundai replacement grilles. Well worth the full read here so you can see what goes into Hyundai's corporate identity, including the classic Korean over-wrought explanation of their logo. What I love its this line trying to put the best face on the situation:

Looking at popular culture, the Hyundai has been part of this. In one episode of The Simpsons, there was one reference to the “H” logo of the Hyundai that Principal Skinner had stolen from one of the bullies in their community. Also, in a Family Guy, there have been several references to the Hyundai. Some of the dialogues refer to it, the Black Knight stating, “Get back in the Hyundai!” and an announcement over the announce booth that says, “The owner of a blue Hyundai, your car is being towed.”

 ... Hyundai owners and enthusiasts can buy top quality discount Hyundai grilles from http://www.fastbodyparts.com online store. Browse through the store’s online inventory of Hyundai parts that are quality made.  

"Hyundai Enthusiasts"?

KDU - Konglish Disasters and You!

A while ago the Taehan Sugar Corp changed its retail arm (franchise owner of Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robins as well as owner of Paris Baguette and others). While I could not understand it at the time, they change the name to the inexplicable letters SPC. Well in a Korea Times article recently the beans were spilled. SPC means "Superb company with Passionate & Creative people"...HAB! "Head needs Aspirin to make it feel Better!"

Can somebody explain this to me?

From the Chosun Ilbo:

Foreign Workers Can Report Departure by Fax 

The Korean government is taking steps to better accommodate the estimated 400,000 migrant workers in the nation. For starters,. foreign workers may be able to handle complicated departure procedures without having to leave their homes. 

A. How many people have a fax? Seriously. I have yet to see one outside of an office or the rare corner stationary shop in Korea.

B. How does fact you have to fill out the same burdensome paper work routine and fax it make it more simple? 

Tax Service to Forgeiners "Give Us More, You Spend Too Much"

In a sure sign that will promote Korea as the foreigner friendly Hub of Northeast Fantasyland the Tax Service is auditing firms for puzzling reasons:


So let me get this straight, in one of the most expensive places in the world for a foreigner to do business, known for a complicated costly distribution system, known for excessive red tape, and anecdotally known for overcharging foreigners the National Tax Service is surprised to find companies with high operating costs? 

Woori At It Again

For some time Woori Bank has been under fire for its name. "Woori" means "our", and "our bank", especially considering Korean social and linguistic habits, can create much confusion. Well now the bank is selling its self as a "Native Bank", and as you can tell selling patriotism. The bank's president froths with nationalistic fervor unseen since the first signs of the Hwang disaster:





One could say this is a publicity stunt, what bothers me however is Woori is the last large bank owned by the Korean government. Is this a position held by the government? What kind of sign does this send as they encourage finance companies to buy into the "hub" idea? We also have to point out the obvious, the only reason why Woori is a "native bank" is its management balance sheet is so bad that its was the ugly girl at the foreign acquisition ball. I mean who could forget a few years ago when Woori was giddy as a school girl when HSBC looked at her?

Friday, January 20, 2006

KT&G Investment Thoughts

A big story was in the Korea Times recently on the fact that Carl Icahn is has bought a small stake in the company, and because of Icahn's history takeover rumors are swirling. There is this odd quote from Cho Sung-ok of Korea Investment and Securities:

“Most of all, KT&G has no attractive affiliates like other Korean conglomerates that foreign investors seek to acquire, ”

I would like to propose that is indeed the fact WHY a takeover of the company could be considered. Unlike most Korean companies management is not distracted by various business units, and further because of its lack of expansion into other areas it likely has a much better debt portfolio than other Korean companies. Oh and as the article says, the fact it is undervalued and has a 75% share of the local market makes it a pretty good target as well.

What makes Arirang TV so HAPPY!

In a post I just wrote I noted Arirang TV, a satellite TV channel funded by the Korean Government to promote Korean culture and tourism worldwide. For some of us who live over here it is a source of derision. However if you keep the premise in mind, its a 24 hour long Korea infomercial, it is actually well done in my opinion. That said I do not watch it for the sole reason I can not take its contiguously upbeat attitude. Even when the nightly news comes one, the reporters seem to be ghoulishly cheerful in reporting rare bad news they have on Korea.

Apparently we find out why Mr. Happy makes such a large presence at Arirang TV. The President of the station, Samuel Koo, has been controlled by Mr. Happy according to the Korea Times:

Koo cited bad health as the reason for his [resignation] decision. However, local media reports said complaints of management inefficiency...and accusations of sexual harassment by a female employee of Arirang played an important role in his decision. A committee yesterday began investigating the sexual harassment charges

Man, imagine the pick-up lines the head of Arirang TV uses "You know that 12 part 36 hour long series on Korean pottery? That was my idea!", "Whata say we go back to my place for some wonderful traditional Korean culture?", or "Hey baby you want to kiss my little Admiral Yi?"

 

Another Apologist Makes Me Queasy

Why are there so many violent protests in Korea? Is it because protesters, like the "Hong Kong 11" find nothing wrong with attacking police with steel pipes, slingshots, and improvised firearms? Is it because of lax enforcement? Is it because elaborate protests and rallies are an excepted main stream form of political dialogue?

Why of course not silly! Its all the media's fault:

"Members of the panel mostly agreed that only peaceful rallies should have media spotlight, but not the violent ones,'' said [activist] Ham after the inaugural meeting of the panel [to promote peaceful rallies].

Again, I promote the opposite tact, promote this. Come up with tourist packages. Have a hour long daily protest round up on Government funded english language Arirang TV. Perhaps "Famous Activist" trading cards with stats like "In 2004 Pak was able to produce enough blood to use it to write a 150 page epic on how Dokdo is Korean land" or "Wields metal pipe right, throws molotov cocktails switch".

What are you wearing under that robe?

remember reading about this a while ago, I am glad to see the chapter closed. The Korean Supreme Court upheld a ruling against a Korean dairy company that used "performance artists" to promote its brand. The publicity stunt as described by the Korea Times:

The dairy company held the performance in central Seoul, during which the three female models appeared wearing only a coating of wheat flour on their bodies. They then poured the yogurt over their bodies, which revealed their nudity. The drink was distributed to the audience as part of a sales promotion in 2003.

A slightly different version of the events appeared in the Chosun as a quote from the court ruling:

"The obscene act of young nude female models whose bodies are caked in wheat flour spraying each other with yogurt from vaporizers until the naked form underneath is revealed.”

One wonders what the court defines as "young" since the aforementioned Times article says one person involved was "A 37-year-old woman, identified as Park, who worked as a nude model in the promotion event."

In any case, court's statement on the law in the Chosun:

“The law defines ‘licentious or lascivious acts’ as behavior that stimulates the sexual desires of ordinary people and incites arousal"

So lets put the two above Chosun quotes together slightly differently:

"Young nude female models...caked in...flour...spraying each other with yogurt" "Simulates the sexual desires of ordinary people and incites arousal."

Wow! Kinky!

EU Chamber Cites IP

At another "We keep telling you this 'Hub' idea ain't going to work." conference, this one sponsored by the Korean Federation of Industry, EU Chamber of Commerce VP cites IP infringement as one of the hurdles to foreign investment in Korea.

What is he smoking? Where can I get some?

At a seminar in Seoul held by the Korea Institute of Industrial Economics and Trade (which some how is represented KIET):

Takashi Omori from Japan’s Cabinet Office...insisted that the two countries team up with each other to market Asian values and their own cultures to the world.

I love to be a fly on the wall when that trial balloon is offical floated. These are two countries that are fought a bitter battle worldwide if the english spelling is "Kimchi" or "Kimuchi" (Korea one that one by the way)

Amusing Headlines

You got to love these two headlines printed in the Korea Times on the same day:

 

Hyundai Seeks Smooth Transition to Next Leaders

 

Hyundai Head Was Murdered, Monthly Claims

Australian Cites Korea as Origin of Fakes

From The Australian:

In Japan it is legal to import fake goods as long as they are for "personal use". This has led to a network of "mules" carrying counterfeit goods into the country under the pretence that they are for their own use. Most fake goods come from China or South Korea.

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Party Animal

I try to keep my politics out of this site, but I got to love this dispatch from the Wall Street Journal's Brendan Miniter:


Rep. John Boehner, also running for majority leader, is sounding a similar note, quoting the 40th president [Ronald Reagan] extensively in his 37-page proposal on how to get the party back on track.


I am pretty sure anybody who takes 37 pages to spell out his approach to the GOP and govrenment is not in the Gipper's mold.

Attention iRiver

You can't get better product placement for your MP3 player than this. Apple beware!



Thanks to the Lost Nomad

Site Updates

I am getting the hang of this Blogger interface and added Frappr! map for the fun of it. See it on the bottom left. I am awfuly lonely in the world at the moment (sniff!)

Perhaps I really should do a links page to all you wonderful people who have linked to me.

Marketing 101


Blu Poo
Originally uploaded by Drambuie_man.
Lesson: When you decide on a logo for your city, make sure it cannot be described as "blu-poo".

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

North Korean Copyright Licencing Pact Signed

The title says it all.

Pirated Software Drops in Korea

A government body called "Program Deliberation and Mediation Committee" (likely a bad translation) announced that in 2005 the percentage of programs in use that are pirated dropped for a third year. The current rate is 32%.  By user 16% of businesses and 43.4% of households used pirated software. For businesses the most popular pirated programs were utility and maintenance programs. Households tended to steal multimedia software, graphics and CAD, and web development tools.

Now that is the article I read. What I do not understand is most of the pirated software for "Households" are business applications. As I mentioned before about flawed polling methodologies being rampant in Korea, I wonder they are defining a "business" versus a "Household".

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

"At least the dressed well" Award II

The Central Radio Management Office (CRMO) Monday said it had seized 6,574 illegally-cloned handsets last year, roughly eight times more than 858 in 2004. ``Indeed, the number of cloned phones uncovered by us rose substantially last year. But that does not mean that phone cloning is exploding,’’ a CRMO official said

So you were lazy, negligent, or incompetent before?

For information on this entry title click here.

Monday, January 16, 2006

Copyright Standards Set by Procecution

Adding all the recent developments into one compendium, the Seoul Central Prosecutors Office sets down its guidelines for what they consider prosecutable copyright infringement. In a nutshell, if you don't make money off of it in anyway, its legal. They say the reason for the ruling is partly due to the cost of investigating thousands, and the impact of making thousands of minors criminals. Most notably, such a move would make the NoFree collation move to prosecute individuals more difficult. 

Wrong Shoulder

The headline "Mixed Charts Lead to Wrong Surgeries" in the Korea Times reminds me of story from my youth. About 15 years ago my sister had an operation on her left shoulder. When my sister was out cold minutes before the surgery my dad entered the room she was in. My dad prosecuted many malpractice cases in his days as a young lawyer, and in the room he pulled out a Sharpie and in his characteristic humor wrote on the right shoulder "WRONG SHOULDER DUMMY!!!" My dad thought it was very funny. My sister did not find the humor when she awoke. No idea what the doctor thought of it. Hopefully  he never saw it. 

Three Cheers

A hearty "attboy" to Sean Hayes for nailing it on the head in the Korea Times.

Bad Graphs

Seriously, couldn't the Hankook Ilbo make this graph line begin in a slightly diffrent place:

(Insert Penis Joke Here)

From the Chosun: Three-Legged Bird to Replace Phoenix on State Seal 

Coke Bottle Nation

Funny how I get done with one post about crappy survey methods to get slapped in the face with another in the Chosun:

One of eighth-grade students from St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Papakura, New Zealand taken last May, the other of first-grade students from a middle school in Gangnam, Seoul taken during their winter vacation this January -- makes for some startling data. In the New Zealand picture, four students out of 34 wear glasses -- two of them Koreans. In the photo of Korean middle school students, in contrast, 15 out of 35 wear glasses. Including the three who left their glasses off, perhaps for aesthetic reasons, the figure rises to 18 or half the class. That would suggest 4.4 times as many Korean students wear glasses as their New Zealand counterparts.

That's the best they can do data wise? They make that conclusion out of sample like that? How sloppy can you get?

The article goes on to quote different experts making unsupported speculations on the causes of this dubious statistic. For all the actual facts presented it reminds of other articles. Perhaps they should have found a doctor that says poor eyesight is caused by eating kimchi.

Survey Results

As many of you know, a pet hobby on this blog is to poke holes in erroneous statistics. I was asked recently about why I am so distrustful of Korean surveys and statistics. One reason is because the methodology of the surveys are usually flawed. Take this one:

The Corea Image Communication Institute specializes in conducting surveys on foreigners with questions about Korea. But this time the institute gave a similar questionnaire to more than 1,400 Koreans, to see what Koreans think of other countries...The Koreans who took the e-mail survey were also asked what images pop up when they think of foreign countries.

The problem I have with this survey is the fact it was conducted by e-mail. Despite Korea's vaunted internet penetration rate, this is still flawed methodology to me since there are a number of factors that influence the randomness of this survey. Foremost is the fact that respondents self-select themselves. Think about it, if you got a survey from a random company, would you fill it out unless your really care about the matter?

Bad Boy Maker a Bad Boy?

I do not know enough about this section of Korean law to form an opinion, but its worth noting. The Chosun Ilbo reports that a woman who's old yearbook photo was included in a scene in the popular Korean movie Old Boy is suing the makers of the film. Apparently due to the circumstance where who photo came it "damaged [her] social position". She asks for the removal of her image from copies of the movies distributed by video media and the internet.

Samsung Comes In at #5

Samsung was recently ranked #5 among the top US Patent winners in 2005. However I do not think it was "Deluge" as the Chosun says as you look at the competitors. It is interesting to note that many of Samsungs more focused competitors have the same number of patents. If you ask me with Samsung's aspirations to lead technology in so many broad areas they should be getting many more patents.

Welcome to Dynamic Korea. DUCK!

There is much talk of the initiative to place names on riot police uniforms, and such has spawned various other measures to cut down on violent protests. I would like to introduce an idea that has captivated me for a while to cut down on these things, promote it as an extreme tourist attraction. That right I recommend "Celebrating Korea's Protest Culture".

Think about the tour, Day one you visit the riot police academy for simulated training and breifing into common protester tactics (poles, slingshots, Molotov's, improvised firearms, etc.). The next day you take a tour around downtown Seoul seeing not only the traditional sites, but all the scattered protests in the city that day. This tour culminates in getting your head shaved in protest. On day three you get to sit on on planning sessions by one of the various groups to organize turn-out, transportation, and organize the protest inspirational speakers (there's a circuit don't you know). Day Three highlights include learning to sing all 3+ verses of "Fucking USA" out of one side of your mouth while saying the protest is not anti-american with the other side. All this culminated on day four with going to the one demonstration in Korea that will turn violent that day. Since these places are fixed normally, you will be placed in an observation post to see how the whole thing develops. Please note it is rude to toast marshmallows on the man who self-immolates himself in the protest that day.

Lets turn this into an asset Korea! Think of all the fun new programing on Arirang! Think of "Let's learn Korean by writing in blood!"

A Classic Statment on Corruption in Korea

This passage from the Dong-A almost speaks for its self:

The tax office investigated the lawyer and imposed an income tax of 4.58 billion won after concluding that “excluding over 7.8 billion won in his report is an unrighteous, fraudulent behavior where a tax imposable period of 10 years could be applied.” In general, the period is five years since the day national tax could be imposed. 

At this, the lawyer claimed, “Back then, it was a widespread practice to exclude additional contingency fees from the tax report. Therefore, this is not a fraudulent behavior but a simple unreported earning, for which the imposable period is five years. Those five years have already passed.” 

Dispatach from the Porn Belt?

I do not know how to classify this translation in the Dong-A:

The Institute of Public Relations and Culture (IPRC) of the Japanese Embassy in Korea in Anguk-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul will hold a “New Year’s Japanese Culture Exhibition” starting January 16 to mark the new year... DVD screenings of Japanese films and animated movies, such as “Vibrator” will be also held.

Bring you tissues, I am sure it will be a tear jerker, or well some type of...well never mind.

Korean Ads Reconsidered

Last week I had a conversation with a friend of mine in the ad biz here in Korea. Its always nice to compare notes with him. While we racked up our complaints and observations, one thing was perhaps unsaid. "Will Korea grow out of this phase?" I was reminded of this thought as I saw over the weekend a catalogue of old cigarette advertising. Consider the following ads, and how much they are like current Korean ad conventions:





What is wrong here? First note the clutter, way to much information. Compare this with a Korean ad. Second, a rather weak link between the spokesman (Santa here) and the product. I am reminded how recently a private loan company used, no joke, peeing Santa's to promote the service. Finally note the two products. Normally these would go to two distinct markets, yet the advertisers in one shot, there by weakening the brands of both. Again sound familiar?




Here we have the co-opting of, at that time, the made up word "Streamlined" when in fact there is nothing in the product that relates to such thing. Echoes of the popular "Green" and "Well-being" anyone?




Note here the use of pseudo-scientific system of the "T-zone". Sound like a familiar tool in Korea today?


This all reminds me of something a friend said when I fell into the Advertising business in Korea a few years ago. He pointed out that being from the west we are so media savvy to ad tricks and devices we not just filter out such things, but look at the filter and go "Ewwww". All ad markets when through a "Ewww" time, perhaps Korea just needs to evolve some.

Interesting little factoid about the current US Ambassador to Korea via the Korea Herald:

[Amb. Vershbow] is also the only ambassador with his own gold record, which was given to him because of his work with the Recording Industry Association of America to protect copyright laws in Russia.

Makes me wonder how aggressive the US will be now on IP in Korea.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

More money to science

A quick note, according the Joongang Ilbo the government just gave grants to 11 scientists. The grants, up to around US$2 million are part of a new "Star Scientist" program. I wonder if the "Stars'" previous research underwent background checks.

Samsung and AU cross licence

Just a quick note for the record, Samsung and AU Optronics of Tawian agree to cross license patents on displays (LCD, OLED, etc.)

Hwang's Legacy (again)

I find humor in the way that every week one Korean blog or another points to another Korean blog and proclaims the essay the "ultimate" say on Hwang. Let be frank, the magnitude of Hwang's perfidy and the uniquely Korean circus around it will insure that Hwang be an infamous touchstone and whipping boy for some time. As the chattering classes continue to top each other with profundity, the outside world makes its own comments. Bloomberg has in interesting story on the impact of it all in Korea. Some highlights:

Korea ``is no longer a leader in stem cell research,'' Arthur Caplan, a University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine ethicist, said by e-mail on Jan. 10. ``It will take years to regain that status.''...

The world ``is shocked by the magnitude of Hwang's transgressions and will look very skeptically for some time on any `breakthrough' research achievements coming from Korea,'' Ronald Green, an ethics specialist, said.

``Sadly, Korean science as a whole has been damaged by this episode,'' said Green, director of Dartmouth's Ethics Institute in New Hampshire, in an e-mail on Jan. 11. ``Certainly, American and European researchers will be very wary of collaborating now with any Korean researchers.''

Speaking of "ultimate" words on Hwang, the Bloomberg article has this quote that reminded of Oranckay's comments:

Lee Soo Hyun, a 56-year-old in Seoul with a spinal injury, said in a telephone interview last month that he desperately wants to believe in Hwang's work.

``If it turns out that Hwang had hoodwinked everyone, I would despair, feel utterly betrayed. I don't want to think of that possibility. That would be too horrible.''

Those who do not learn from history...

An interesting article on China's service industry on in the Economist. The funny thing, if you would substituted "China" for "Korea" it would be almost as true. I do know know if this says more about China or Korea. However I think it may means that such hurdles my be more difficult to overcome in China given Korea's experience. A sample from the article, "Koreanized":

The reason for this is a...bias towards manufacturing—“[Korea's] ‘real-men-make-stuff' attitude,” as...[a global consulting company's Seoul] office puts it. This has led to a plethora of ill-thought-through regulations for services, made worse by [Korea's] continuing suspicion of [non-chaebol] business, which is mostly concentrated in the services sector...

Worse, though [Korea] took a...decision to invite foreign direct investment into manufacturing, it has been reluctant to open up services. [A major global] consultancy's think-tank, argues that allowing more foreign investment in services could bring “not just capital and technology but a competitive dynamic...The presence of Carrefour and Wal-Mart leads to domestic copycats, creating innovation and productivity growth.”

Yet in many services—from telecoms, to the postal service and the media—[Korea] thwarts foreign firms with onerous regulations and inconsistent policies. In banking and other financial services, foreigners face limits on ownership and the types of business they can conduct. In legal services,...Lawyers' poor quality (the practice of bribing judges and rote learning of law means few can argue a case) could be helped by training from foreign firms. Yet foreign lawyers are barred at every turn. They cannot practice or comment on [Korean] law, cannot appear in a [Korean] court...

A shortage of well trained people—a complaint of almost every foreign multinational—is also holding back services growth. Many [Korean] employees, even qualified graduates, think rigidly rather than creatively and do not challenge authority or ask questions. That may be appropriate in a factory, but not when the client wants to find a clever way to win this contract or that license.

Read the article, the above changes surprisingly small. Good luck China.

Second thought, if this truly represents the service sector in both countries, it seriously begs the question why Korea should be hub of northeast Asia rather that Shanghai.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Taiwan over takes Korea?

News story form Reuters: Taiwan breeds transgenic, fluorescent, green pig

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Spot the Idiot

Does this Dong-A editorialist read is own work? How can you be so stupid, or careless, as to make this statement:

 [Spy satellites] are so powerful that one can even read the newspaper a person is holding in Central Park from as far away as hundreds of kilometers above the earth. The KH-12, a reconnaissance satellite the U.S. deployed in the early 1990s, can identify what a certain object is as long as it is bigger than 10 to 15cm by 10 to 15cm. The KH-13, launched in the late 1990s, can identify a certain object on the earth as long as it is bigger than four centimeters long and four centimeters wide.

Hey Mensa wannabe, if the best you can see is 4cm x 4cm you likely cannot read the 9 point font of the New York Times!

Customs Seizes More Counterfeits

The Korea Times reports that Korea's Customs Service seized last year around US$19 million in fakes in a "series of crackdowns". I put that in quotes since its used often in Korean, but it always makes me wonder what they are doing otherwise. As part of the statistics they released, they noted that counterfeits (or rather the detection of counterfeits) are up 50% from last year. Apperlea was the most likely to be counterfeited (and caught) followed by wallets and handbags, and shoes.

The Customs Service also seized about US$37 million in good with mislabeled origins.

It depends what fame of mind you put in in.

The Minsitry of Commerce, Industry,and Energy is changing the standards of what makes some made in Korea be labled "made in Korea". The idea is to combat firms that import forgien made products, do some minimal final assembly, then stamp "made in Korea". What struck me about the article is it becomes a perfect example of why experts say Korea has no chance in becoming a hub, unclear and burdensome govrement regulations. Can you make sense of these two statements:

The new product origin standard will call for at least 51 percent of a given product’s manufacturing cost to have been created in the country, and for the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) designation for raw materials and parts to be different from the end product made here. 

...

However, he said that to address complaints raised by fur and cement manufacturers that have to import raw materials and make the finished products here, a waiver on the CS code requirement will be made. 

``If value-added wealth created in South Korea exceeds 85 percent of the manufacturing cost, then the product will be considered Korean-made,’’ Kim said.

So which is it? 51% by origin or 85% of the value added? Will it vary by industry? How many different classifications are there then? Granted much of this is not settled by the article, but the simple fact they take one simple rule, and then complicate it is a symptom of the problem in my opinion. 

As a related question how much of a role of nationalism play in the selection of cement? "Oh I am not going to move into that building, it does not use Korean cement!" "I am jumping off this building to protest Dok-do, but I am jumping off the northside to make sure I go 'splat' on KOREAN cement!"

Definitions in Chutzpah

From a Chosun op-ed: The Korean demonstrators awaiting trial for their part in violent protests in Hong Kong have demanded that the government pay their legal fees and give them a living and clothing allowance plus travel expenses for families visiting them, the Government Information Agency has revealed. The protesters also demanded that the government vouch for them so Hong Kong lets them go home until their trial. They were turned down on both counts. 

The Korean Job

The Korean Institute of Criminology released statistics on the crimes us dirty foreigners commit in Korea. Mostly the offenses are immigration related, However most interesting is this:

15.5 percent of foreigners caught for prostitution, credit card fraud, small arms smuggling and other crimes in Korea had come to the country for no other purpose.

Oddly Iranians were the biggest offenders.

Arn't I so special!

I do not know if I am just in bad mood this morning, or "the stupids" are made the rounds in Korea yesterday. Apparently Korean President Roh Moo-hyun thought the best way to encourage everyone was through an email:

"Let’s dramatically boost the competitiveness of the government"

Exactly which other government in South Korea is Roh's government competing with?

"[Let's] establish many examples regarding innovation so that the world can learn from us. Let’s enhance our national image so that the world can perceive Korea as a ‘nation in the vanguard of innovation.’”

"Examples regarding innovation"? "Nation in the vanguard of innovation"? I suggest the blue house (or the Dong-A) get a new translator/editor team first. Other than that pithy comment, one would think the post "Hwang" era, one would make a point of the necessity of HONESTLY enhancing the national image.

“I have just finished a book, ‘Jangseong County Inc.’"

Wow! A whole book! Were there nice pictures? Did you get help?

"The book taught me that people can change the world, and education can change people."

A leader recommending little books saying how people can change the world and education can change people...hmmm...where have I heard that before?

"This made me reflect on ourselves if we had not underestimated the important role of education in pursuing innovation, and if we could have done more to create the right environment where more Koreans can participate in the pursuit.”

"The pursuit"? The Pursuit of what, "education" or "innovation"? and for that matter what is this "we could have done" bit? Is it not in the past, and you want to talk about the future? For that matter Roh, instead of moping about the issue, what are you, as a leader, going to do to change it?

I also politely recommend that Roh read his countries own newspaper to learn the perils of creating an environment where the pursuit of innovation is more important than the pursuit of truth. Incidentally you, do you think society leaders glowering over innovation without mentioning honest would have anything to do with creating such an environment?

So lets summarize the message "Your leader read a book, now you should innovate more!" Great way to set an example!


Wednesday, January 11, 2006

LOTA LOTUS

One of the more problematic things about registering trademarks in Korea is the Korean pronunciation.  When one registers an English word as a trademark in Korea, they receive protection for the implied Korean language pronunciation of that brand. The problem is the Korean Intellectual Property Office, its Tribunal, and the Patent Court have can have very odd (and inconsistent)  interpretations of how English marks are pronounced in Korean. Further problematic is that Korea tends to give the benefit of the doubt to applied trademarks that could only arguably have a different pronunciation from a registered brand. Take the case of Hyundai Motor v. Lotus Group.

Hyundai applied for the mark LOTS, which was objected to by Lotus, owner of the registered mark LOTUS. In Korean "Lotus" would commonly be pronounced "Ro-Tu-Su". LOTS however would normaly be prounced "Rot-su", however arguably one could pronounce this "Ro-ti-su". True to form, the Patent Court gave Hyundai the benefit of the doubt, and cleared the way for registration of LOTS.

It is for reasons such as this that wise for companies, especially foreign ones, that they identify and register possible Korean homonyms and other arguably similar marks. There are no hard and fast rules to identify such, and you may even be mistaken on some, but businesses should be aware of it. Most problematic in my experience has been the pronunciation of individual letters (such as the above) and the "L/R" sound at the end of syllables. That sound may be the best way to recreate the english, but in everyday Korean the sound is normally dropped and thus technically creates a new name in Korea.

In another issue in the Hyundai case, the Patent Court ruled that Lotus is NOT a famous worldwide brand. I can not say it strongly enough, "You know what you call a company relying on its worldwide fame in Korea? One that gets screwed.". In general if you do not have substantive sales in Korea using that brand, your chances of proving worldwide fame reduce substantially (its possible, but I wish you luck). This is why it is recommendable not only to file under the Madrid convention (which gives you some protection), but also to register your key brands in Korea, regardless of actual use (there are further problems with this tactic, but it will give you some protection).

The Korean Job

The Korean Institute of Criminology released statistics on the crimes us dirty foreigners commit in Korea. Mostly the offenses are immigration related, However most interesting is this:

15.5 percent of foreigners caught for prostitution, credit card fraud, small arms smuggling and other crimes in Korea had come to the country for no other purpose.

Oddly Iranians were the biggest offenders.

Customs Seizes More Counterfeits

The Korea Times reports that Korea's Customs Service seized last year around US$19 million in fakes in a "series of crackdowns". I put that in quotes since its used often in Korean, but it always makes me wonder what they are doing otherwise. As part of the statistics they released, they noted that counterfeits (or rather the detection of counterfeits) are up 50% from last year. Apperlea was the most likely to be counterfeited (and caught) followed by wallets and handbags, and shoes.

The Customs Service also seized about US$37 million in good with mislabeled origins.

Spot the Idiot

Does this Dong-A editorialist read is own work? How can you be so stupid, or careless, as to make this statement:

 [Spy satellites] are so powerful that one can even read the newspaper a person is holding in Central Park from as far away as hundreds of kilometers above the earth. The KH-12, a reconnaissance satellite the U.S. deployed in the early 1990s, can identify what a certain object is as long as it is bigger than 10 to 15cm by 10 to 15cm. The KH-13, launched in the late 1990s, can identify a certain object on the earth as long as it is bigger than four centimeters long and four centimeters wide.

Hey Mensa wannabe, if the best you can see is 4cm x 4cm you likely cannot read the 9 point font of the New York Times!

Aren't I so special!

I do not know if I am just in bad mood this morning, or "the stupids" are made the rounds in Korea yesterday. Apparently Korean President Roh Moo-hyun thought the best way to encourage everyone was through an email:

"Let’s dramatically boost the competitiveness of the government"

Exactly which other government in South Korea is Roh's government competing with?

"[Let's] establish many examples regarding innovation so that the world can learn from us. Let’s enhance our national image so that the world can perceive Korea as a ‘nation in the vanguard of innovation.’”

"Examples regarding innovation"? "Nation in the vanguard of innovation"? I suggest the blue house (or the Dong-A) get a new translator/editor team first. Other than that pithy comment, one would think the post "Hwang" era, one would make a point of the necessity of HONESTLY enhancing the national image.

“I have just finished a book, ‘Jangseong County Inc.’"

Wow! A whole book! Were there nice pictures? Did you get help?

"The book taught me that people can change the world, and education can change people."

A leader recommending little books saying how people can change the world and education can change people...hmmm...where have I heard that before?

"This made me reflect on ourselves if we had not underestimated the important role of education in pursuing innovation, and if we could have done more to create the right environment where more Koreans can participate in the pursuit.”

"The pursuit"? The Pursuit of what, "education" or "innovation"? and for that matter what is this "we could have done" bit? Is it not in the past, and you want to talk about the future? For that matter Roh, instead of moping about the issue, what are you, as a leader, going to do to change it?

I also politely recommend that Roh read his countries own newspaper to learn the perils of creating an environment where the pursuit of innovation is more important than the pursuit of truth. Incidentally you, do you think society leaders glowering over innovation without mentioning honest would have anything to do with creating such an environment?

So lets summarize the message "Your leader read a book, now you should innovate more!" Great way to set an example!


Yum!

The headline says it all...and its not a joke!:

Be Your Own Mess Cook With Army Chow CD-ROM 

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Be careful what you say...

The last time there was a big dust-up in the brand-new field of cloning research, University of Pittsburgh researcher Gerald Schatten wrote a scathing letter to the nation's premier scientific journal.

 "Legitimate scientists submit evidence," he warned in his 2003 letter to Science, labeling claims of cloned babies by a private company a "destructive hoax."

World Cup as Mareketing Tool

An interesting little article on how Korean companies are trying to capitalized on the World Cup, without actual invoking its name. The name can only be used by official sponsors, but everyone wants to profit of the games. Interestingly they mistakenly point out that KTF use of "Korea Team Fighting" was a success, when in fact in favored horribly in comparison to the grassroots slogan "Be the Reds" of the Red Devil supporters. Perhaps in a grudging show of acceptance, KTF signed an agreement with the fan club this year.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out if Korea does not go far in tournament. On one hand, you can say Korean ad dollars for these things are fickle, but on the other we are pretty much in unchartered territory for the Korean ad business.

It will also be interesting to see how many foreign companies get on this ad bandwagon and how they will be accepted. Particularly those that are part of FIFA's normal sponsorship (Coca-cola, Toshiba, Yahoo, etc.).

Monday, January 09, 2006

Life Imitates South Park

Anybody remember South Park's "Cow Days" celebration. Its coming to Korea. Consider the headlines:

Pyongyang Beefs Up Offensive

Seoul-US Beef Talks Begin Monday

Hwang's cows also under scrutiny

That last one may be the last shoe to drop in the Hwang case. Hwang has patents in Korea and the US for cow cloning.

Korean Netiquette Graded F

Thats the headline of a Dong-A piece today. Most Koreans give there fellows in Cyber space a failing grade regarding politeness on line. More:

In particular, the respondents of the survey selected “insults, including abusive language” (57.4 percent), “personal information leakage” (47.9 percent), and “defamation, including the circulation of false information” (35.6 percent) as typical anti-netiquette acts. Those surveyed picked the “sex trade in cyber space” (19.4 percent) and “cyber sexual harassment” (15.3 percent) as the first things that should be eradicated as well. 

I comment on because of something that happened me me recently. I have lived in Korea for six years now, and have not learned Korean fluently despite various attempts. Further I am now stymied since I have learned enough day-to-day Korean that most learning tools are overly formal and incongruous with my daily life.

One language tape taught me a phrase first off I have NEVER heard in Korea. Considering its import, you would think you would hear it a lot. That phrase "ChiLaeHamNiDa" (my romanization is likely wrong) means "Excuse Me", again a phrase I have never heard in six years in the country. I also got a good laugh when they discussed how to say "no" in Korean. Anybody here long enough can tell you there are two basic ways to say "No" in Korean. One way is to loudly suck air through your teeth making a "sssssh" sound, that means "No, but maybe". Second is to loudly sound out "Ah-ssssssh" which means "definitely no".

That Theiving Shatten - Uptdate

IPBiz, who has been following the Hwang thing in the US, posts on the patent an claims of Shatten's patent application . The application includes human cloning,  but does not give any example of such in the detailed description. 

Patentability aside, I think any claims that Shatten "stole" a patent or research, if we were to look at the patent, would likely come down to the detailed description on the workings of the invention.

Stay tuned.

Breaking News...well sort of

I saw this coming over the weekend, but could not find the time to do the research for a proper post. However since I knew this would drive the bloggers in Korea crazy, I thought I should post a bit on what has been said. Over the weekend the Pittsburgh Tribune talked about how one Hwang collaborator Gerald Schatten is trying to patent cloning technologies:

The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office is processing a application -- still active as of Friday -- filed on April 9, 2004, by reproductive biologist Gerald Schatten, who heads the university's Pittsburgh Development Center at Magee-Womens Research Institute in Oakland.

Obviously it talks some about the Hwang controversy. Some how the Korea Times frames the story in this headline:


'Schatten Stole Hwang's Patent'

The Times article is essentially a rehash of the Pitt Trib, however they do have some comment from Seoul National. Funny however they leave out this passage from the original, emphasis mine:

Hwang and other South Korean researchers filed for an international patent Dec. 30, 2004, to protect their methods for deriving stem cells from cloned human embryos. 

Schatten is not listed as an inventor on the international patent application -- filed eight months after the Pitt researcher applied for a U.S. patent for a similar method, according to documents obtained from the World Intellectual Property Organization. The 46-page international patent application also does not cite any of Schatten's previous research. 

Similarly, Schatten's 18-page U.S. patent application makes no reference to Hwang's work, including another paper published by the Korean scientist in Science the month before that which outlines supposed breakthroughs in the same cloning field.

Who is stealing who's work?

I think I am going to have to go after the WIPO documents today or so. I did try the USPTO, yet the application link on the USPTO website is not working at the moment. However, (assuming I did my search right) this is the link info for the Schatten patent mentioned in the first part of the article:

App#: 20040268422
Title: Methods for correcting mitotic spindle defects associated with somatic cell nuclear transfer in animals

Based on the title, I fail to see how this "steals" Hwang's work based on his earlier patents and applications as outlined before. In fact, much of the doubt of Hwang's work came from shoddy mitotic DNA evidence as I recall.