land of many clocks
at 1:13pm on Sunday, 12th March 2006
The UNCTAD report on investment and technology policies for competitiveness (a little light bedtime reading!) notes that Korea is an 'old tiger'. It's two economic miracles - one of whiplash-inducing catch-up growth, and then again its recovery from the 1997 crisis, are well-known. And yet it's going for a third, which they hope will take off on a platform of ubiquitous IT and RFID infrastructure. But will this give the old tiger new stripes? I'm not predicting whether they've hit on a successful new innovation model, but how to succeed remains a constant question for the Koreans.
This photo is of a clock-covered head, 4 feet tall, in the middle of a gallery on what I think is the coolest street in Seoul. And time -- whether it's 'pali pali' (hurry hurry) to get to a meeting or the rapid political and economic transformation -- ticks audibly, counting down. When will Korea be the best it can be? When can it relax?
In the last few weeks, while meeting with policy makers, scientists, academics, bloggers, activtists, entrepreneurs and artists, I've seen a number of sides of Korea, and they are old, new and everything in between. It's not a surprise that when you're in Seoul, the center of the world is, well, Seoul.
Catch-up, competitive spirit remains strong. China looms large. Korea seems to be aware of what's going on there much faster than we are. Since 2003, they've been reforming their government support of S&T to make it even more central to national policy. It would be a good bet that the pressure of China was one major driver for those changes. Though some have cautioned,'it's not all about China.'
Their slogan is 'dynamic Korea' and the longer I'm here, the more I feel how apt that is. Within NE Asia, this is the most open democracy, the biggest economy, and the most successful at bridging urban/rural divides. But the challenges in transitioning to a knowledge economy, growing their service sector and fundamental science base, are not insignificant. But I have no doubt about Korea's capacity to take on those challenges, and continue to surprise.
Find out more about atlas of ideas, the project I'm working on here.
The UNCTAD report on investment and technology policies for competitiveness (a little light bedtime reading!) notes that Korea is an 'old tiger'. It's two economic miracles - one of whiplash-inducing catch-up growth, and then again its recovery from the 1997 crisis, are well-known. And yet it's going for a third, which they hope will take off on a platform of ubiquitous IT and RFID infrastructure. But will this give the old tiger new stripes? I'm not predicting whether they've hit on a successful new innovation model, but how to succeed remains a constant question for the Koreans.This photo is of a clock-covered head, 4 feet tall, in the middle of a gallery on what I think is the coolest street in Seoul. And time -- whether it's 'pali pali' (hurry hurry) to get to a meeting or the rapid political and economic transformation -- ticks audibly, counting down. When will Korea be the best it can be? When can it relax?
In the last few weeks, while meeting with policy makers, scientists, academics, bloggers, activtists, entrepreneurs and artists, I've seen a number of sides of Korea, and they are old, new and everything in between. It's not a surprise that when you're in Seoul, the center of the world is, well, Seoul.
Catch-up, competitive spirit remains strong. China looms large. Korea seems to be aware of what's going on there much faster than we are. Since 2003, they've been reforming their government support of S&T to make it even more central to national policy. It would be a good bet that the pressure of China was one major driver for those changes. Though some have cautioned,'it's not all about China.'
Their slogan is 'dynamic Korea' and the longer I'm here, the more I feel how apt that is. Within NE Asia, this is the most open democracy, the biggest economy, and the most successful at bridging urban/rural divides. But the challenges in transitioning to a knowledge economy, growing their service sector and fundamental science base, are not insignificant. But I have no doubt about Korea's capacity to take on those challenges, and continue to surprise.
Find out more about atlas of ideas, the project I'm working on here.
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