Tuesday 17 August 2010

South Korea



There are 6 weeks of the year when we are in absolute overdrive. 2 weeks at Easter, one week at Whitsun and the 3 weeks at the end of July/beginning of August when the Scottish and English school holidays overlap.

So where is Wilma just now? At the helm driving things forward? In the office organising everything? In her counting house counting out the money?

Well no - I'm in Seoul! Yes, I'm in South Korea.

You see we actually have our first ever export customer. And since we do nothing by halves - we've gone for South Korea (check out http://www.galloway.co.kr/ - their TV promo is impressive - there's a prize for spotting how many times they say Galloway, Rainton Farm and malt whisky.


Mr Lee and his wife visited us back in May 2009. My return visit was supposed to happen sometime between December and February and I was secretly hoping that Mr Lee (our customer - not their president) would not ask me to visit at Christmas. I needn't have worried, he kept delaying and delaying. Then out of the blue he said that I had to visit in August as he had arranged a lot of customer visits, so here I am.

I had always planned to come here with Anne, our production manager. But sorry Anne, we can't both be away in the middle of August, so I've pulled rank. I know you bought a book on visiting South Korea - I've found it invaluable - especially the bit about women drinking in a bar on their own... Haven't actually found that to be true - maybe it is an age thing.

So what is it like? Well it is a long time since I've done any serious foreign business travel - a long time being 20 years. And it is the first time I've been in Asia. So far I've congratulated myself on finding a great cheap hotel that has internet, a kitchen (including an invaluable washer/dryer - it is 35 degrees out there!). It's beside a metro station and the airport bus stops outside it. So result! The fact that the British Embassy and Scottish Trade International staff haven't heard of it (and it is a third of the price of the hotels that they recommend) just makes me even smugger.

I told myself that I wouldn't rely on taxis and that I'd walk or use the Metro. The Metro is fantastic. Every station has a number - a godsend, considering I can't read the name of the station as few are translated. I've only once used a taxi and that was when the person I was meeting wouldn't give me his Metro station number - just his address - grrrr.

Anyway, I managed to impress Mr Lee today, when I was able to lead him through Seoul Station, but I have to admit that I'd done a reccy last night - that's my OCD kicking in.

Tomorrow is another day with the British Embassy. They will be helping me to research the ice cream market in Seoul. Then it is off to Mr Lee's city - Daegu. I'm going by KTX - Korea's bullet train, so I'll see some of Korea's countryside. Mr Lee says it is all mountains and little agriculture. But he's a city boy, and I reckon he just doesn't notice anything agricultural. I've seen plenty signs of polytunnels within greater Seoul, so I'm sure there will be more. Though I suspect it will be intensive indoor livestock.

Organic is big in South Korea, but this seems to be associated with 'organic = healthy'. Animal welfare does not appear to figure. Fairtrade is hardly on the radar.

So where is all this leading? Well who knows? I'm being pragmatic. At the moment, when we are in the middle of a recession in the UK, then business on the other side of the world is very welcome. Is it sustainable? Well, who really knows? Sending ice cream 8,000 miles doesn't seem logical and I'm sure Mr Lee's eventual aim would be to manufacture in South Korea. But if this sees us through the coming 5-10 year recession we seem to be facing, then maybe it is time I was learning the language.....

Meanwhile Howard (not his Korean name), the Scottish Development International representative in Korea, even asked me today if I wanted to be part of his Asia 10 project - a project to grow 10 Scottish Food & Drink companies' turnover in Asia by £1m within the next year. So I must still have a knack for the old bullshit...

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