On a side note, did you notice that Samsung is not suing Apple in Korean courts? Because Samsung is seen by many South Koreans as being in collusion with the Korean gov't, Samsung would not dare to apply for an injunction in its own country lest it anger South Korean consumers due to the likelihood that the court will side with Samsung and thus deny consumers the ability to buy an iPhone.
I wouldn't be holding my breath on that if I were you.
Have you ever been there? As I said, if you have you'll already know that all it takes is a quick glance at the cars passing by to see that "market trending" or nay 'Made-in (and by) Korea 'continues to hold, as does a Korean "buy local" mindset. Did you simply ignore the figures I just posted (that the Kia-Hyundai market share actually increased in Korea from 78% in 2010 to 81% in 2011. The Korean media and auto manufacturers acknowledge this, so are you now saying their figures are wrong too? That some (unnamed) foreign brand has increased sales there by 300% might seem like an impressive jump, but when your starting market share is only .002% to begin with, or something equally insignificant, it doesn't mean much at all when total Korean-owned brands are continuing to climb too.
The reason for that is simple and not based on patriotic values. Most Koreans can only afford the cheap cars made by Hyundai-Kia. The average price of a sold vehicle in Korea is lower than the average price in the U.S., Japan, or Germany. Once BMW closely matched the price of its 5 series to the Hyundai Genesis, guess what happened? Sales of the Genesis plummeted while the 5 series' sales propelled BMW to its record profit year in Korea. So please stop repeating your claim that Koreans have a "buy local" mindset because it is not as prevalent as you think it is. And I've lived in South Korea for most of my life.
The reason for that is simple and not based on patriotic values. Most Koreans can only afford the cheap cars made by Hyundai-Kia. The average price of a sold vehicle in Korea is lower than the average price in the U.S., Japan, or Germany. Once BMW closely matched the price of its 5 series to the Hyundai Genesis, guess what happened? Sales of the Genesis plummeted while the 5 series' sales propelled BMW to its record profit year in Korea.
Sorry to sound blunt, but for you to suggest that Koreans OVERWHELMINGLY buying local brands isn't tied to patriotic values is pure ignorance on your part. I don't claim that this is the case with every single Korean but it IS an incredibly nationalistic, even xenophobic nation. I have to ask you again if you've ever even been there? Or perhaps you are Korean yourself?
Sorry to sound blunt, but for you to suggest that Koreans OVERWHELMINGLY buying local brands isn't tied to patriotic values is pure ignorance on your part. I don't claim that this is the case with every single Korean but it IS an incredibly nationalistic, even xenophobic nation. I have to ask you again if you've ever even been there? Or perhaps you are Korean yourself?
You could be entirely right if this were 1997 or even 2007. But in 2011, the under-40 South Koreans don't give a damn about national champions like Samsung and Hyundai. When chaebols make money, they buy a $60 million private jet. That's what Hyundai's chairman did after he cut 2000 jobs in the Ulsan Hyundai plant and moved them offshore to.... the US of A. Yes, I am Korean.
That would make sense if the punk was making money and hurting you, but its obvious that's not the case so the judge didn't want to pick on said punk. And Psystar was a whole different animal, they were actually using Apple's SW on their hardware.
The other difference in this situation is the amount of money and brand recognition Samsung has vs. that of Psystar.
A U.S. judge is going to be much more considerate of a global multi-national with deep pockets (deep enough to bribe numerous elected and appointed officials in South Korea for YEARS)...because Samsung likely has highly influential political 'friends' in the U.S. The wealthy generally get away with theft - whether it's land (think North and South 'America'), people (think slavery), and our banking system. The law does not in truth consider all persons as equal. Which is why the pickpocket, petty thief, and drug-user go to jail.
Oh, and to echo someone earlier, I definitely won't be purchasing Samsung products. I know that I can't control the components used in a device which I purchase, but I can avoid purchasing branded Samsung products. In fact, I just did - I purchased an LG smart/internet-hdtv with wireless etc, and I purposefully excluded Samsung from all of my product comparison evaluations. I know it's small potatoes to a company like Samsung, but I won't be giving them my dollars willingly. And, on the subject of components, it seems apparent that Apple IS migrating their manufacturing to other suppliers (just with the manufacturing placements with Sharp and Fujitsu recently in the press). I would imagine that this has been a huge focus for them over at least the last year+.
Then I bought a white Galaxy Note 3 weeks ago from Hong Kong, thinking that I had bought her a substandard smartphone. Galaxy Note amazed me. It rocks. I had thought that Iphone 4 was the ultimate smartphone by experience from friends and relatives' Iphone 4. The Note completely changed that. There is so many things that she could do it with, with bigger screen and amored display. Now even my kids are playing with the Note more.
I'm really interested in the Note as a phone and notebook replacement. For reference, I borrowed a friend's iPad2 with a stylus; I've heard the capacitive tablets are pretty crap for drawing and I can now confirm that. Just gotta get myself to a store to try the S-pen so I can compare.
The one thing making me wary of buying the Note is that it seems logical they would come out with a S-pen enabled Tab pretty soon, and then I might want the tablet and a slimmer, non-Note phone?
You could be entirely right if this were 1997 or even 2007. But in 2011, the under-40 South Koreans don't give a damn about national champions like Samsung and Hyundai. When chaebols make money, they buy a $60 million private jet. That's what Hyundai's chairman did after he cut 2000 jobs in the Ulsan Hyundai plant and moved them offshore to.... the US of A. Yes, I am Korean.
So you mean that the tens of thousands of Koreans who took to the streets in 2008 (read link and see amazing pics below) to protest something as seemingly unimportant as imports of US beef into South Korea were only having a momentary, unexplained withdrawal into uber-nationalism/protectionism to relive the glory years of 2002's 'Be the Reds'? Or that these same people would now (only three years later) 'logically' prefer to buy an American car than a Korean one? Dude, c'mon we weren't born yesterday.
So you mean that the tens of thousands of Koreans who took to the streets in 2008 (read link and see amazing pics below) to protest something as seemingly unimportant as imports of US beef into South Korea were only having a momentary, unexplained withdrawal into uber-nationalism/protectionism to relive the glory years of 2002's 'Be the Reds'? Or that these same people would now (only three years later) 'logically' prefer to buy an American car than a Korean one? Dude, c'mon we weren't born yesterday.
But no matter what you say, the 81% market share enjoyed by Hyundai and Kia in Korea (up from last year) speaks for itself. End of story.
The first commenter who posted on the Boston.com link and was at the demonstration said "...this protest has little to do with US." "I never heard a single voice against US itself. People are simply there to "catch mouse(a nickname for our president)."
So what is your point? You want people here to know that South Koreans detest their president? I don't think people would be interested to know that although it generates news headlines in South Korea.
I wonder how all of this will affect Samsung sales in the US, across all their product lines.
I, for one, will not be buying any more Samsung products going forward. All the legalize aside, it is clear to me that Samsung has targeted Apple products and design. The Samsung TV on the wall of my family room will be my last.
I hope Apple puts a knife into their business. First by moving all of their component business away. Second, by launching iTV which sucks all of the remaining profit out of the TV business
If Apple's lawsuit is tossed out and Samsung gets off scotch-free, do you think South Koreans will get so incensed over Apple's "frivolous" IP case that they will boycott Nike shoes, Starbucks coffee, McDonalds hamburgers, Citibank banking services, Burger King hamburgers, KFC chicken, Coca-Cola sodas, P&G skin and hair products, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf beverages, Microsoft Windows 7, HP laptops, Gatorade, Intel chips, Columbia sportswear, Boeing planes, and last but not least Apple products that are all sold in Korea and bring huge profits to these American companies? I'm not proud of Samsung. But South Koreans wouldn't want to put a knife into Boeing's business if their planes crash with Korean passengers on board due to a faulty plane part.
The first commenter who posted on the Boston.com link and was at the demonstration said "...this protest has little to do with US." "I never heard a single voice against US itself. People are simply there to "catch mouse(a nickname for our president)."
So what is your point? You want people here to know that South Koreans detest their president? I don't think people would be interested to know that although it generates news headlines in South Korea.
Wow. So now you're actually saying that there are no massive anti-US demonstrations in Korea. It's become a part of the culture. Beef imports, Walmart, American plots to take credit for 'Dr' Hwang's 'stem cell miracles', the schoolgirl accident demonstrations that went on and on and on, tirades against Anton Ohno (the American-Jaoanese skater), etc. etc. Do you want me to post the hundreds of links and photos that are out there for anyone to see of hilarious Korean nationalism and xenophobia? Where exactly have YOU been living since 2001? Clearly NOT in South Korea unless you're bind or in denial.
Wow. So now you're actually saying that there are no massive anti-US demonstrations in Korea. It's become a part of the culture. Beef imports, Walmart, American plots to take credit for 'Dr' Hwang's 'stem cell miracles', the schoolgirl accident demonstrations that went on and on and on, tirades against Anton Ohno (the American-Jaoanese skater), etc. etc. Do you want me to post the hundreds of links and photos that are out there for anyone to see of hilarious Korean nationalism and xenophobia? Where exactly have YOU been living since 2001? Clearly NOT in South Korea unless you're bind or in denial.
If you want to focus on the actions of some ignorant people and describe them as representing the majority then that's your prerogative. A lot of people around the world probably think Americans are warmongering folks with a southern accent like Bush.
Btw, Costco stores are doing great in South Korea. There are about 4 Costco stores in Seoul alone. Wal-mart closed because their stores were just average.
If you want to focus on the actions of some ignorant people and describe them as representing the majority then that's your prerogative. A lot of people around the world probably think Americans are warmongering folks with a southern accent like Bush. Btw, Costco stores are doing great in South Korea. There are about 4 Costco stores in Seoul alone. Wal-mart closed because their stores were just average.
You're making this far too easy for me.
In FACT, Koreans basically stay away from these types of foreign companies, which usually end up being driven out of business or being sold off to Korean competitors. Carrefour Korea had to sell all of its 32 outlets to Korean company E-Land in 2006, and Wal-Mart had to be sold to another Korean company, Shinsegae Department Stores.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Google were boycotted by Koreans so local search engines Daum and Naver dominate. As another example, I can distinctly remember trying to find the latest Nokia cell phones there always to be told by shop owners that they were "out of stock". In fact they never carried the latest foreign models and by great coincidence, about six months later LG or Samsung would come out with a phone that totally aped Nokia's latest technology.
Korean universities would simultaneously use pirated versions of Windows throughout all their departments but buy only Samsung or LG computers for their faculty and staff. They would also photocopy thousands of foreign textbooks and even sell them to Korean students (at times even changing the names of the foreign authors to a Korean name, I kid you not.)
It's a sad fact, Koreans will make just about any foreign company operating in Korea go bankrupt if they possibly can. The exceptions seem to be some western franchise operations like MacDonald's or Starbucks which are owned locally by Koreans. And I won't even go into the blatant logo infringement of the Starbucks logo by Korean coffee shop chain StarPreya (http://www.seattlepi.com/business/ar...-s-1216969.php ) Not surprisingly, the Korean patent court sided with the Korean company even when the ripoff was totally obvious to anyone.
Do you want me to go into how K-pop bands have been sued time and time again by western musicians who get tired of seeing their songs ripped of by these cheesy Korean “musicians”? But then again you probably deny that SamDung have completely ripped off the form factor (albeit not the function, lol) of Apple’s iPad.
Keep the denials coming, I’m happy to refute them with more and more (and yet more) examples of rampant Korean protectionism, xenophobia, and blatant ripoffs of western or Japanese products (that list is much longer than my arm will ever be). It'd really just be easier for you if you admitted that it's not just a "few individuals" but rather, a national tendency. Apple is right to take this fight to the courts and I wish them well.
If you want to focus on the actions of some ignorant people and describe them as representing the majority then that's your prerogative. A lot of people around the world probably think Americans are warmongering folks with a southern accent like Bush.
Enough of a majority of voting Americans (southern accent or not) voted for Bush the second time around that they might have been be correct to make that generalization. No contretemps ("The French don't have a word for that" ) from me there.
Korean universities would simultaneously use pirated versions of Windows throughout all their departments but buy only Samsung or LG computers for their faculty and staff. They would also photocopy thousands of foreign textbooks and even sell them to Korean students (at times even changing the names of the foreign authors to a Korean name, I kid you not.)
Do you want me to go into how K-pop bands have been sued time and time again by western musicians who get tired of seeing their songs ripped of by these cheesy Korean “musicians”? But then again you probably deny that SamDung have completely ripped off the form factor (albeit not the function, lol) of Apple’s iPad..
Every Samsung or LG laptop comes preinstalled with Microsoft Windows.
The majority of cheesy K-pop songs were ripped off from J-pop. Yes, some western songs were ripped off too but they were quickly called out for copying by South Korean listeners and the songs would fall out of the charts. Have you listened to the tracks "MMMbop" and "Unpretty?" They're pretty much the same. But the Hanson Brothers didn't sue TLC. And "Unpretty" charted pretty well in the top 40.
Korean universities would simultaneously use pirated versions of Windows throughout all their departments but buy only Samsung or LG computers for their faculty and staff. They would also photocopy thousands of foreign textbooks and even sell them to Korean students (at times even changing the names of the foreign authors to a Korean name, I kid you not.)
Do you want me to go into how K-pop bands have been sued time and time again by western musicians who get tired of seeing their songs ripped of by these cheesy Korean ?musicians?? But then again you probably deny that SamDung have completely ripped off the form factor (albeit not the function, lol) of Apple?s iPad.
I'm not sure why you're posting my comments and nothing else, but....ok. As you like.
In FACT, Koreans basically stay away from these types of foreign companies, which usually end up being driven out of business or being sold off to Korean competitors.
It's a sad fact, Koreans will make just about any foreign company operating in Korea go bankrupt if they possibly can. The exceptions seem to be some western franchise operations like MacDonald's or Starbucks which are owned locally by Koreans. And I won't even go into the blatant logo infringement of the Starbucks logo by Korean coffee shop chain StarPreya (http://www.seattlepi.com/business/ar...-s-1216969.php ) Not surprisingly, the Korean patent court sided with the Korean company even when the ripoff was totally obvious to anyone.
So you claim that Koreans won't shop at a foreign retailer like Costco. Then why does Costco keep opening another store in Daegu and Busan? Very strange.
And I've never seen a StarPreya coffee shop anywhere in Apkujeong, Gangnam or anywhere in the country for that matter. That Korean company might have won in the courts but their business went to the dumps.
McDonalds, KFC, Domino's Pizza, TGI Fridays, Microsoft, BMW, P&G, Mercedes-Benz, Citibank, Lone Star Funds, Nike, The North Face, Starbucks, Boeing, U.S. defense contractors and Apple are doing quite fine here. Lone Star Funds made $4 billion this year alone just in South Korea. And the fund made off with $2 billion in the preceding years.
There is a bias towards procuring military weapons only from the U.S. So I guess South Korea is not being fair to European defense contractors in that regard.
As another example, I can distinctly remember trying to find the latest Nokia cell phones there always to be told by shop owners that they were "out of stock". In fact they never carried the latest foreign models and by great coincidence, about six months later LG or Samsung would come out with a phone that totally aped Nokia's latest technology.
It's funny that you take Nokia as an example because you really don't know your facts. Nokia had a factory making cell phones in South Korea back in the 80s but they didn't see much potential in the nascent South Korean mobile phone market. So they just exported the phones and didn't try to sell their phones here. Nokia's CEO admitted that they should have taken South Korean manufacturers seriously but the Finnish execs thought they were better than some scrappy South Korean maker that nobody in the world had ever heard of. When Nokia finally woke up and tried to sell their cheap bar phones in South Korea they sold them at the retail price of $800. You think a South Korean consumer would be willing to pay $800 for a bar phone in the early 90s? Back in the 90s, that's more than half the monthly salary of a typical South Korean worker.
Nokia eventually pulled out of South Korea because their $800 bar phone wasn't selling well. And years later, Nokia's CEO admitted they committed a big blunder by pulling out. If Nokia had stayed and taken the competition seriously, he said Nokia wouldn't be where it was at the time. Don't blame the shop owner, please. Blame the execs in Finland who pulled the plug around the time you were shopping for a Nokia.
(Btw, the Nokia bar phone might have been priced at upwards of $1200 in Korea. I vaguely recall my mom saying she couldn't afford the Nokia phone because it was over $1000. So she ended up buying a phone from Nokia's inferior competitor. And of course, it broke down often. So their CEO had a fit over the phone's poor quality and burned a pile of them to show what a disgraceful product it was to his employees.)
So you claim that Koreans won't shop at a foreign retailer like Costco. Then why does Costco keep opening another store in Daegu and Busan? Very strange.
And I've never seen a StarPreya coffee shop anywhere in Apkujeong, Gangnam or anywhere in the country for that matter. That Korean company might have won in the courts but their business went to the dumps.
No, what I wrote was they made sure that Wal-Mart and Carrefour were bought out by Korean companies. Costco is simply an exception (to date anyway) that proves the rule.
The example of StarPreya is not so much about StarPreya as it is about the Korean courts siding with a Korean company against a foreign company in a blatant example of trademark or IP infringement. It's also about a HUGE tendency of Koreans (no, of course not every single individual, but a national tendency)-from retailers to technology companies to fast food chains to jeans lines (Revi's anyone?) to the the very 'music' and films Korea produces - to blatantly copy western or Japanese products and styles rather than try to come up with something equally as good themselves, which judging by K-pop alone they seem incapable of doing. Korea has some good things it can be proud (soju, Bong Jun-Hoo, some cool, generous and relaxed people who aren't rabid nationalists, for example) but in general ORIGINALITY doesn't seem to fit well with its Confucian 'copy the master' mindset. With that history of suppression of originality (a history which carries into 2011) it's no surprise that companies like SamDung continue to mostly imitate western styles or companies like Apple. DO you see that?
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On a side note, did you notice that Samsung is not suing Apple in Korean courts? Because Samsung is seen by many South Koreans as being in collusion with the Korean gov't, Samsung would not dare to apply for an injunction in its own country lest it anger South Korean consumers due to the likelihood that the court will side with Samsung and thus deny consumers the ability to buy an iPhone.
I wouldn't be holding my breath on that if I were you.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09...ne_5_in_korea/
Have you ever been there? As I said, if you have you'll already know that all it takes is a quick glance at the cars passing by to see that "market trending" or nay 'Made-in (and by) Korea 'continues to hold, as does a Korean "buy local" mindset. Did you simply ignore the figures I just posted (that the Kia-Hyundai market share actually increased in Korea from 78% in 2010 to 81% in 2011. The Korean media and auto manufacturers acknowledge this, so are you now saying their figures are wrong too? That some (unnamed) foreign brand has increased sales there by 300% might seem like an impressive jump, but when your starting market share is only .002% to begin with, or something equally insignificant, it doesn't mean much at all when total Korean-owned brands are continuing to climb too.
The reason for that is simple and not based on patriotic values. Most Koreans can only afford the cheap cars made by Hyundai-Kia. The average price of a sold vehicle in Korea is lower than the average price in the U.S., Japan, or Germany. Once BMW closely matched the price of its 5 series to the Hyundai Genesis, guess what happened? Sales of the Genesis plummeted while the 5 series' sales propelled BMW to its record profit year in Korea. So please stop repeating your claim that Koreans have a "buy local" mindset because it is not as prevalent as you think it is. And I've lived in South Korea for most of my life.
The reason for that is simple and not based on patriotic values. Most Koreans can only afford the cheap cars made by Hyundai-Kia. The average price of a sold vehicle in Korea is lower than the average price in the U.S., Japan, or Germany. Once BMW closely matched the price of its 5 series to the Hyundai Genesis, guess what happened? Sales of the Genesis plummeted while the 5 series' sales propelled BMW to its record profit year in Korea.
Sorry to sound blunt, but for you to suggest that Koreans OVERWHELMINGLY buying local brands isn't tied to patriotic values is pure ignorance on your part. I don't claim that this is the case with every single Korean but it IS an incredibly nationalistic, even xenophobic nation. I have to ask you again if you've ever even been there? Or perhaps you are Korean yourself?
Sorry to sound blunt, but for you to suggest that Koreans OVERWHELMINGLY buying local brands isn't tied to patriotic values is pure ignorance on your part. I don't claim that this is the case with every single Korean but it IS an incredibly nationalistic, even xenophobic nation. I have to ask you again if you've ever even been there? Or perhaps you are Korean yourself?
You could be entirely right if this were 1997 or even 2007. But in 2011, the under-40 South Koreans don't give a damn about national champions like Samsung and Hyundai. When chaebols make money, they buy a $60 million private jet. That's what Hyundai's chairman did after he cut 2000 jobs in the Ulsan Hyundai plant and moved them offshore to.... the US of A. Yes, I am Korean.
That would make sense if the punk was making money and hurting you, but its obvious that's not the case so the judge didn't want to pick on said punk. And Psystar was a whole different animal, they were actually using Apple's SW on their hardware.
The other difference in this situation is the amount of money and brand recognition Samsung has vs. that of Psystar.
A U.S. judge is going to be much more considerate of a global multi-national with deep pockets (deep enough to bribe numerous elected and appointed officials in South Korea for YEARS)...because Samsung likely has highly influential political 'friends' in the U.S. The wealthy generally get away with theft - whether it's land (think North and South 'America'), people (think slavery), and our banking system. The law does not in truth consider all persons as equal. Which is why the pickpocket, petty thief, and drug-user go to jail.
Then I bought a white Galaxy Note 3 weeks ago from Hong Kong, thinking that I had bought her a substandard smartphone. Galaxy Note amazed me. It rocks. I had thought that Iphone 4 was the ultimate smartphone by experience from friends and relatives' Iphone 4. The Note completely changed that. There is so many things that she could do it with, with bigger screen and amored display. Now even my kids are playing with the Note more.
I'm really interested in the Note as a phone and notebook replacement. For reference, I borrowed a friend's iPad2 with a stylus; I've heard the capacitive tablets are pretty crap for drawing and I can now confirm that. Just gotta get myself to a store to try the S-pen so I can compare.
The one thing making me wary of buying the Note is that it seems logical they would come out with a S-pen enabled Tab pretty soon, and then I might want the tablet and a slimmer, non-Note phone?
You could be entirely right if this were 1997 or even 2007. But in 2011, the under-40 South Koreans don't give a damn about national champions like Samsung and Hyundai. When chaebols make money, they buy a $60 million private jet. That's what Hyundai's chairman did after he cut 2000 jobs in the Ulsan Hyundai plant and moved them offshore to.... the US of A. Yes, I am Korean.
So you mean that the tens of thousands of Koreans who took to the streets in 2008 (read link and see amazing pics below) to protest something as seemingly unimportant as imports of US beef into South Korea were only having a momentary, unexplained withdrawal into uber-nationalism/protectionism to relive the glory years of 2002's 'Be the Reds'? Or that these same people would now (only three years later) 'logically' prefer to buy an American car than a Korean one? Dude, c'mon we weren't born yesterday.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/200...s_over_us.html
But no matter what you say, the 81% market share enjoyed by Hyundai and Kia in Korea (up from last year) speaks for itself. End of story.
So you mean that the tens of thousands of Koreans who took to the streets in 2008 (read link and see amazing pics below) to protest something as seemingly unimportant as imports of US beef into South Korea were only having a momentary, unexplained withdrawal into uber-nationalism/protectionism to relive the glory years of 2002's 'Be the Reds'? Or that these same people would now (only three years later) 'logically' prefer to buy an American car than a Korean one? Dude, c'mon we weren't born yesterday.
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/200...s_over_us.html
But no matter what you say, the 81% market share enjoyed by Hyundai and Kia in Korea (up from last year) speaks for itself. End of story.
The first commenter who posted on the Boston.com link and was at the demonstration said "...this protest has little to do with US." "I never heard a single voice against US itself. People are simply there to "catch mouse(a nickname for our president)."
So what is your point? You want people here to know that South Koreans detest their president? I don't think people would be interested to know that although it generates news headlines in South Korea.
I wonder how all of this will affect Samsung sales in the US, across all their product lines.
I, for one, will not be buying any more Samsung products going forward. All the legalize aside, it is clear to me that Samsung has targeted Apple products and design. The Samsung TV on the wall of my family room will be my last.
I hope Apple puts a knife into their business. First by moving all of their component business away. Second, by launching iTV which sucks all of the remaining profit out of the TV business
If Apple's lawsuit is tossed out and Samsung gets off scotch-free, do you think South Koreans will get so incensed over Apple's "frivolous" IP case that they will boycott Nike shoes, Starbucks coffee, McDonalds hamburgers, Citibank banking services, Burger King hamburgers, KFC chicken, Coca-Cola sodas, P&G skin and hair products, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf beverages, Microsoft Windows 7, HP laptops, Gatorade, Intel chips, Columbia sportswear, Boeing planes, and last but not least Apple products that are all sold in Korea and bring huge profits to these American companies? I'm not proud of Samsung. But South Koreans wouldn't want to put a knife into Boeing's business if their planes crash with Korean passengers on board due to a faulty plane part.
The first commenter who posted on the Boston.com link and was at the demonstration said "...this protest has little to do with US." "I never heard a single voice against US itself. People are simply there to "catch mouse(a nickname for our president)."
So what is your point? You want people here to know that South Koreans detest their president? I don't think people would be interested to know that although it generates news headlines in South Korea.
Wow. So now you're actually saying that there are no massive anti-US demonstrations in Korea. It's become a part of the culture. Beef imports, Walmart, American plots to take credit for 'Dr' Hwang's 'stem cell miracles', the schoolgirl accident demonstrations that went on and on and on, tirades against Anton Ohno (the American-Jaoanese skater), etc. etc. Do you want me to post the hundreds of links and photos that are out there for anyone to see of hilarious Korean nationalism and xenophobia? Where exactly have YOU been living since 2001? Clearly NOT in South Korea unless you're bind or in denial.
Wow. So now you're actually saying that there are no massive anti-US demonstrations in Korea. It's become a part of the culture. Beef imports, Walmart, American plots to take credit for 'Dr' Hwang's 'stem cell miracles', the schoolgirl accident demonstrations that went on and on and on, tirades against Anton Ohno (the American-Jaoanese skater), etc. etc. Do you want me to post the hundreds of links and photos that are out there for anyone to see of hilarious Korean nationalism and xenophobia? Where exactly have YOU been living since 2001? Clearly NOT in South Korea unless you're bind or in denial.
If you want to focus on the actions of some ignorant people and describe them as representing the majority then that's your prerogative. A lot of people around the world probably think Americans are warmongering folks with a southern accent like Bush.
Btw, Costco stores are doing great in South Korea. There are about 4 Costco stores in Seoul alone. Wal-mart closed because their stores were just average.
If you want to focus on the actions of some ignorant people and describe them as representing the majority then that's your prerogative. A lot of people around the world probably think Americans are warmongering folks with a southern accent like Bush. Btw, Costco stores are doing great in South Korea. There are about 4 Costco stores in Seoul alone. Wal-mart closed because their stores were just average.
You're making this far too easy for me.
In FACT, Koreans basically stay away from these types of foreign companies, which usually end up being driven out of business or being sold off to Korean competitors. Carrefour Korea had to sell all of its 32 outlets to Korean company E-Land in 2006, and Wal-Mart had to be sold to another Korean company, Shinsegae Department Stores.
But that's just the tip of the iceberg. Google were boycotted by Koreans so local search engines Daum and Naver dominate. As another example, I can distinctly remember trying to find the latest Nokia cell phones there always to be told by shop owners that they were "out of stock". In fact they never carried the latest foreign models and by great coincidence, about six months later LG or Samsung would come out with a phone that totally aped Nokia's latest technology.
Korean universities would simultaneously use pirated versions of Windows throughout all their departments but buy only Samsung or LG computers for their faculty and staff. They would also photocopy thousands of foreign textbooks and even sell them to Korean students (at times even changing the names of the foreign authors to a Korean name, I kid you not.)
It's a sad fact, Koreans will make just about any foreign company operating in Korea go bankrupt if they possibly can. The exceptions seem to be some western franchise operations like MacDonald's or Starbucks which are owned locally by Koreans. And I won't even go into the blatant logo infringement of the Starbucks logo by Korean coffee shop chain StarPreya (http://www.seattlepi.com/business/ar...-s-1216969.php ) Not surprisingly, the Korean patent court sided with the Korean company even when the ripoff was totally obvious to anyone.
Do you want me to go into how K-pop bands have been sued time and time again by western musicians who get tired of seeing their songs ripped of by these cheesy Korean “musicians”? But then again you probably deny that SamDung have completely ripped off the form factor (albeit not the function, lol) of Apple’s iPad.
Keep the denials coming, I’m happy to refute them with more and more (and yet more) examples of rampant Korean protectionism, xenophobia, and blatant ripoffs of western or Japanese products (that list is much longer than my arm will ever be). It'd really just be easier for you if you admitted that it's not just a "few individuals" but rather, a national tendency. Apple is right to take this fight to the courts and I wish them well.
If you want to focus on the actions of some ignorant people and describe them as representing the majority then that's your prerogative. A lot of people around the world probably think Americans are warmongering folks with a southern accent like Bush.
Enough of a majority of voting Americans (southern accent or not) voted for Bush the second time around that they might have been be correct to make that generalization. No contretemps ("The French don't have a word for that"
You're making this far too easy for me.
Korean universities would simultaneously use pirated versions of Windows throughout all their departments but buy only Samsung or LG computers for their faculty and staff. They would also photocopy thousands of foreign textbooks and even sell them to Korean students (at times even changing the names of the foreign authors to a Korean name, I kid you not.)
Do you want me to go into how K-pop bands have been sued time and time again by western musicians who get tired of seeing their songs ripped of by these cheesy Korean “musicians”? But then again you probably deny that SamDung have completely ripped off the form factor (albeit not the function, lol) of Apple’s iPad..
Every Samsung or LG laptop comes preinstalled with Microsoft Windows.
The majority of cheesy K-pop songs were ripped off from J-pop. Yes, some western songs were ripped off too but they were quickly called out for copying by South Korean listeners and the songs would fall out of the charts. Have you listened to the tracks "MMMbop" and "Unpretty?" They're pretty much the same. But the Hanson Brothers didn't sue TLC. And "Unpretty" charted pretty well in the top 40.
You're making this far too easy for me.
Korean universities would simultaneously use pirated versions of Windows throughout all their departments but buy only Samsung or LG computers for their faculty and staff. They would also photocopy thousands of foreign textbooks and even sell them to Korean students (at times even changing the names of the foreign authors to a Korean name, I kid you not.)
Do you want me to go into how K-pop bands have been sued time and time again by western musicians who get tired of seeing their songs ripped of by these cheesy Korean ?musicians?? But then again you probably deny that SamDung have completely ripped off the form factor (albeit not the function, lol) of Apple?s iPad.
I'm not sure why you're posting my comments and nothing else, but....ok. As you like.
In FACT, Koreans basically stay away from these types of foreign companies, which usually end up being driven out of business or being sold off to Korean competitors.
It's a sad fact, Koreans will make just about any foreign company operating in Korea go bankrupt if they possibly can. The exceptions seem to be some western franchise operations like MacDonald's or Starbucks which are owned locally by Koreans. And I won't even go into the blatant logo infringement of the Starbucks logo by Korean coffee shop chain StarPreya (http://www.seattlepi.com/business/ar...-s-1216969.php ) Not surprisingly, the Korean patent court sided with the Korean company even when the ripoff was totally obvious to anyone.
So you claim that Koreans won't shop at a foreign retailer like Costco. Then why does Costco keep opening another store in Daegu and Busan? Very strange.
And I've never seen a StarPreya coffee shop anywhere in Apkujeong, Gangnam or anywhere in the country for that matter. That Korean company might have won in the courts but their business went to the dumps.
McDonalds, KFC, Domino's Pizza, TGI Fridays, Microsoft, BMW, P&G, Mercedes-Benz, Citibank, Lone Star Funds, Nike, The North Face, Starbucks, Boeing, U.S. defense contractors and Apple are doing quite fine here. Lone Star Funds made $4 billion this year alone just in South Korea. And the fund made off with $2 billion in the preceding years.
There is a bias towards procuring military weapons only from the U.S. So I guess South Korea is not being fair to European defense contractors in that regard.
As another example, I can distinctly remember trying to find the latest Nokia cell phones there always to be told by shop owners that they were "out of stock". In fact they never carried the latest foreign models and by great coincidence, about six months later LG or Samsung would come out with a phone that totally aped Nokia's latest technology.
It's funny that you take Nokia as an example because you really don't know your facts. Nokia had a factory making cell phones in South Korea back in the 80s but they didn't see much potential in the nascent South Korean mobile phone market. So they just exported the phones and didn't try to sell their phones here. Nokia's CEO admitted that they should have taken South Korean manufacturers seriously but the Finnish execs thought they were better than some scrappy South Korean maker that nobody in the world had ever heard of. When Nokia finally woke up and tried to sell their cheap bar phones in South Korea they sold them at the retail price of $800. You think a South Korean consumer would be willing to pay $800 for a bar phone in the early 90s? Back in the 90s, that's more than half the monthly salary of a typical South Korean worker.
Nokia eventually pulled out of South Korea because their $800 bar phone wasn't selling well. And years later, Nokia's CEO admitted they committed a big blunder by pulling out. If Nokia had stayed and taken the competition seriously, he said Nokia wouldn't be where it was at the time. Don't blame the shop owner, please. Blame the execs in Finland who pulled the plug around the time you were shopping for a Nokia.
(Btw, the Nokia bar phone might have been priced at upwards of $1200 in Korea. I vaguely recall my mom saying she couldn't afford the Nokia phone because it was over $1000. So she ended up buying a phone from Nokia's inferior competitor. And of course, it broke down often. So their CEO had a fit over the phone's poor quality and burned a pile of them to show what a disgraceful product it was to his employees.)
So you claim that Koreans won't shop at a foreign retailer like Costco. Then why does Costco keep opening another store in Daegu and Busan? Very strange.
And I've never seen a StarPreya coffee shop anywhere in Apkujeong, Gangnam or anywhere in the country for that matter. That Korean company might have won in the courts but their business went to the dumps.
No, what I wrote was they made sure that Wal-Mart and Carrefour were bought out by Korean companies. Costco is simply an exception (to date anyway) that proves the rule.
The example of StarPreya is not so much about StarPreya as it is about the Korean courts siding with a Korean company against a foreign company in a blatant example of trademark or IP infringement. It's also about a HUGE tendency of Koreans (no, of course not every single individual, but a national tendency)-from retailers to technology companies to fast food chains to jeans lines (Revi's anyone?) to the the very 'music' and films Korea produces - to blatantly copy western or Japanese products and styles rather than try to come up with something equally as good themselves, which judging by K-pop alone they seem incapable of doing. Korea has some good things it can be proud (soju, Bong Jun-Hoo, some cool, generous and relaxed people who aren't rabid nationalists, for example) but in general ORIGINALITY doesn't seem to fit well with its Confucian 'copy the master' mindset. With that history of suppression of originality (a history which carries into 2011) it's no surprise that companies like SamDung continue to mostly imitate western styles or companies like Apple. DO you see that?