Telling the Story of GyeongGi Province
After being appointed an official FDI advisor to GyeongGi Province by Governor Kim Moon-Soo (see photo above), one of the first things I did was set up this weblog. But coming up with original content which would also be relevant to investors was harder than I expected since various agencies within GyeongGi Province, as well as other Internet-based information sources, are already doing such an excellent job producing English-language materials about opportunities in GyeongGi. (For links to a wealth of information, check out this post or click on the links in the right and left columns of this weblog.)
Sure, investment decisions are based on data; business information is crucial in this process. But numbers without context often lack the ability to motivate or underpin a sense of excitement about what's possible.
I have been based out of Ansan City, GyeongGi Province (click photo at left), during my entire Korea experience (Click here for my story.) and have developed a unique perspective on what it means to live, work and study here as a non-Korean. It is the subjective side of experiencing GyeongGi to which this weblog and my work in the province focuses; thus, my goal here is to help potential investors and others doing business in GyeongGi gain insights that go beyond printed brochures, business meetings and visits to production sites.
The posts categorized under the "GyeongGi Province Experience" are, in a sense, a commentary on some of my travels within the province. But this "travel log" takes an organic view, looking at snippets of GyeongGi Province and linking them to the greater context to which business is connected in order to tell a story which is more compelling than mere facts and figures alone.
The GyeongGi Province Experience is a Real, Customized Tour
This is also more than just a weblog series; it is the basis for a customized tour of the areas of the province on which I can guide you in person. Contact me before your next trip to Korea and if you can break way from the business meetings for one day, we'll plan an itinerary for a small enough geographical area that we can get to it all within the constraints of your schedule.
During your very own "GyeongGi Province Experience" tour, we will visit places and meet people to complement what I share with you about business, politics, economy, culture, history and more. In other words, we won't just sit down around a conference table to talk about Korean business; we'll learn and discuss the context for understanding business in GyeongGi Province as we visit significant locations together.
Imagine standing in the middle of the Korean War battlefield at Chipyongni to discuss Korean modern history (click photo at right); or sitting with officials of the GyeongGi Provincial government to learn about the Korean political system and how it relates to business. How about lunch at a place your Korean hosts probably wouldn't have thought to take you? Or drop in on a Buddhist temple (click photo above) that's just down the road from North Korea... and the massive LG Display industrial complex (click photo at left)!
To really see and understand GyeongGi Province on a new level, give me a day to take you around. You'll see why local politics, the economy and Korean history and culture influence the total investment equation of doing business here. More than that, once you get to know me, you'll be glad that you've got a resource here who understands, is connected and relates to the overall picture which you see.
This is what the GyeongGi Province Experience is all about!
