The South Korea is exporting Korean culture as if it were raining… but what do we know about Korean technology? How giants work chaebol (재벌) among which we find Samsung, LG, Hyundai and co? Why do Koreans long to work for these behemoths? We will answer these – and many questions – with the help of Julia Pompilijournalist, expert on South Korea, Taiwan and Japan.
Fasten your seatbelts because today, THE LIFE OF TECH takes you to the other side of the world more precisely in South Korea.
South Korea tech is not like Silicon Valley
Excuse the French but this episode rocks a lot. South Korea has an economic and technological ecosystem that is very far from our thinking and our schemes. The economy is based on about forty family-run giants called chaebol and which are very powerful: they produce technology, sweets, own shipyards and insurance companies. In short, a distant planet compared to the western one. But how much does all this affect the technological and automotive products that invade our markets every day? But above all: how much is Korean soft power influencing us?
If you are curious, to know all this and even a little more… I suggest you do not miss our interview with Giulia Pompili.
Le Vie del Tech… listen to it as a podcast!
Le Vie del Tech is also available in podcast format so you can listen to it whenever you want: in the car, on the plane, before going to sleep or while you are training in the gym or when you go for a walk.
Questions to Giulia Pompili
In the unfortunate event that you are only interested in some of the topics of the interview, the video has been divided into chapters which correspond to a question.
00:51 Who is Giulia Pompili
01:09 Why do we know nothing about Korean technology (if not the products?)
02:40 What are chaebols and why are they the “miracle” of the South Korean economy?
06:15 Why Korean companies “don’t produce wealth”?
08:00 Why do Koreans dream of working for these conglomerates (chaebol)?
09:19 AM Is there room for tech startups in South Korea like in Silicon Valley?
11:00 The “single” comes after the community… when does tradition flow into this?
12:00 South Korean Silicon Valley is called PANGYO VALLEY, how does it work?
12:49 What is the Cultural Technology industry?
15:30 Migration policies… how much do they penalize South Korean industry?
19:07 In South Korea, technology is at the service of whom? Citizens, government or is it just business?
20:37 Why doesn’t Google Maps work in South Korea? North Korea has something to do with it…
24:24 But are North Korean hackers a legend or are they that strong?
27:11 Samsung is very strong on semiconductors… but how is the situation in Asia?
30:00 Why did Hyundai buy Boston Dynamics? What can be the grand plan?
32:52 Japan… what is its role on the Asian tech chessboard?