Alex talks with two business people about the opportunities and challenges of trading products and services with Korea. Firstly Alex talks with Tim O’Sullivan CEO and Co-Founder of Bae Juice. Tim imports Korean pear juice into Australia and sells it across Australia in supermarkets, liquor stores and health food shops. His story is an inspiring one for anyone whose thinking about what they could possible export of out Korea.
Next, Alex talks with Christopher Lai is the director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in Korea. Alex and Christopher talk about the opportunities that exist for Hong Kong and Korean businesses to work together. They also talk about how the pandemic has perhaps turbocharged the digitization of trade between the two Asian economies as well as how important it is to maintain productive working relationships.
Today’s episode is brought to you by The Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, stylish elegance in the very heart of the city.
Alex talks Tim O'Sullivan CEO and Co-Founder of Bae Juice and Christopher Lai, Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in Korea
Alex Jenson 0:08
You’re listening to career biz cast with the KBLA. I’m Alex Jensen. And it’s Tuesday, October 12. Have you had yet another good long weekend, perhaps you took the chance to brush up on your hunger or whatever you got up to another working weeks upon us here in Korea and the country continues to return to full swing. Back in April 2020. South Korea suffered a current account deficit as the pandemic forced a slump in exports. It was recently announced that the country had posted a surplus for a 16th straight month though, that was in August, and today we’re going to have a bit of a trade theme. Have you got a product in mind that you think would be perfect for an export market? We’ll hear from Australian and Hong Kong perspective shortly. Today’s episode is brought to you by the Four Seasons hotel, Seoul, stylish elegance in the very heart of the city.
So we start with a particular example of a product moving from South Korea to Australia and not just a particular product, but also an individual with a special story. That man is a Bae Juice co founder, Tim O’Sullivan is joining us from Melbourne. Great to connect with you.
Tim O’Sullivan 1:25
Thanks, Alex. Happy to be here. And yeah, very excited to share about the highs and the lows of my experience. That’s for sure.
Alex Jenson 1:32
Well, thank you, I know that you have this amazing journey on a personal level that I think we’ve got to hear. And Bae Juice itself is based on the Korean pear or Bae. So there’s that angle too. Where do you want to start? I mean, where did this whole idea start? Perhaps the best place?
Tim O’Sullivan 1:51
Yeah, for sure. Well, I think the best place to start is is probably 2017. And when I first visited South Korea for the first time, just simply on on on a holiday, and also to visit Sumin, my girlfriend at the time, her family. We went there with her friends, her high school friends, work colleagues, and everything. So Sumin was living in Melbourne, and she still lives in Melbourne. And so then that’s when we started seeing each other around 2017. So we were a year into our, our relationship and it was time to, to you know, hop on a plane and go meet everyone, which was like the most exciting thing ever. And yeah, so we landed in Seoul in 2017 at the end of and I pretty much ate and drank my way through the whole city, I think over a two week period. So I think definitely Seoul was the place to start back then. So yeah, I think I There’s so much I can unpack if there’s anything you want to go on particularly, but um definitely that first arrival.
Alex Jenson 2:48
So it was basically more of a personal thing to start off with. There was no particular idea for you to check out Korean products to bring back to Australia.
Tim O’Sullivan 2:56
No, no, absolutely not. Which is even funnier. Yeah, no, there’s no even thought process or anything of that sense. But um, but but at the time, you know, I do own a cafe and I did then as well. So I’ve always been very passionate towards hospitality, customer service, and food and alcohol and just sort of social setting. So there’s no better place to be really than Seoul with the amount of food and different drinking cultures. How multicultural it is. So, I didn’t go there with a plan. But um, I think that, you know, my mindset, you know, I am a creative sort of a thinker, so I was there, you know, just soaking up every minute of that amazing city.
Alex Jenson 3:39
And at what point did you have your first encounter with pear juice, or even just a Korean pear to eat as it is?
Tim O’Sullivan 3:47
Yeah, well, it wasn’t until sort of a few a few nights of drinking. We sort of went bar hopping and a few different areas around so some of the larger universities as well there’s amazing nightlife and meeting or Sumin’s friends and yeah, it was just amazing. It was I remember everything in this restaurant just sitting there and we’re just chatting and I was like, oh, you know, I was just talking about my hangovers and we were laughing about getting older and Sumin’s friends said why don’t you just drink Dae juice, it’s really good for your hangover. And I didn’t really understand I’m like well what do you mean is it just hydrating? She was no no the Korean pear is known to really benefit your hangovers. My my my mum drinks it my granny my halmoni drinks it everyone drinks it. So I was shocked. And to the point where I first learned about it and started chatting about it. I was standing up. I was connecting to the Wi Fi asking the bar manager, “Oi, what’s the Wi Fi password? I need to be Googling all this stuff.” So I’m googling does Korean pear help with hangovers and there’s all these different reports and placebo testing, animal testing, human trials and it just most of the results were yeah Korean pearr does help with hangover. so I was just just shocked other was the coolest thing ever. So we went to the nearest convenience store and bought all different peardrinks, a big one, a bubbly one, one in a can, the old RBH one. And we just sort of went pear mad for the whole night. And everyone’s drinking talking about it. And then we’re trying to Google is their Korean pairs in Australia? Can you buy it? Can you drink it? So there was this like, whilst you know, as a little bit alcohol fueled the excitement and the chat. Everyone was just like, on this crazy level in this really cool bar, just researching it, talking about it. And that was sort of the real birth of it as to trying it and then discussing about it and the coolest thing is hearing about, you know, family members and aunties and uncles that all do it. And I remember when I was a kid, I used to always drink it after you know, Thanksgiving, so I always hung over. So it all blended from Yeah, one restaurant in Seoul and my very first trip, and I was just addicted just absolutely madly addicted with researching it and eating it. I had Korean pear soup, I had Korean pear alcoholic cocktails. I made kimchi with Sumin’s halmoni in the countryside. And we used all the pear and we crushed it out with all the garlic. So I became pretty much obsessed with Korean pears from that trip.
Alex Jenson 6:13
An alcohol fueled idea, what could possibly go wrong or say ‘pear shaped’? But actually, the pear shaped plan has worked out brilliantly well. And it’s a fun journey that you’ve been on. Let’s just quickly establish what a Korean pear is versus any old pair. In my mind, based on what I used to have in England growing up, a pear was like, very much the traditional pear shaped with like, a much larger bottom end. But here in Korea, they basically seem to look like large apples a bit a bit of bland looking sort of a pale color, but not the typical pear shape. Am I right in saying that?
Tim O’Sullivan 6:52
Perfectly said Yeah, yeah, I just I usually say the round big and yellow. Just just just to make it easy for people to visualize and to not start thinking about, yeah you’re right, the sort of kidney sort of shaped green pear. But yeah, you know, that’s been one of the barriers, just people having no idea, the different color and the different size. And so it’s all all those little things you get to work on, you know, with marketing and your branding that, that all that all comes together. So yeah, you said that perfectly.
Alex Jenson 7:20
And just take us through the journey with a bit of speed. Now you go from being obsessed with pears. And that’s actually a great starting point for any business. But then comes the hard yards and finding ways to actually turn that into a business model. You had a platform with your cafe. But how do you take that into a product?
Tim O’Sullivan 7:40
Yeah, I guess it’s and this is where this is my favorite part. This is where I get all excited, and I probably don’t breathe. But if it wasn’t, it was mad. I came back to Melbourne, I went and saw my best friend Liam and I said, “Liam, there is a hangover product in South Korea, and it’s natural.” In Australia, it’s pressed juices, there is a big vegan push at the moment. Everyone’s a vegetarian. And I was like these things are 100% natural and it’s just a fruit juice. But there’s an enzyme inside it from the reports that speeds up the metabolism of alcohol and he went No way. So we went to the kt Mart then he was Korean supermarket seminar. Some of the shop attendants a queen get some Korean pear juice and only had a few like a box of 12. And that was it. So already the demand wasn’t there, which is great. So we’re happy with that. We took it to the cafe on a Friday afternoon, I’d be making a latte or a cappuccino and I’d speak to someone so you’re gonna go out tonight on a Friday, Friday morning, go yep. I’m like, Ah, if you trust me as your barista You can trust me with this hangover cure. Drink this sachet of juice before you go out tonight. Have a few drinkies and let me know next week how you pulled up. So I did all this crazy market research as soon as I got back, and this is solicitors dentist optometrist, and they’re all drinking came back a month ago. And what was that juice tastes really nice, actually. And the data are sort of woke up a bit fresher. My eyes were a bit had a bit more clarity, and I was less dehydrated. And I was like, Yeah, mate, I’m gonna bring this over. I’m gonna rebrand it’s gonna be huge. So we went crazy. We did all this market research. I’ve got 57 first cousins. So I’m part Iris. So that kind of connects that I think. And so we all tried it. I sent it to friends Christmas. Solomon house was absolutely bonkers. It’s 57 partners, or 57 cousins plus partners. So it’s wild and I’m at the front with the trestle table, giving everyone this random do sachet and everyone’s drinking come with the Health TV, what’s the what now? And then the reports backward. They felt great. So I’d validated that the product worked. Everyone loved the idea and then I knew a fair bit about it straightaway. So people really back to me. And that was when right okay, we got to do this. And mean soon without speaking to a marketing company. Looking at our budget. We flew to Korea, and we went landed in Seoul again. So this is 2018 said to her dad, Don Juan, we need to find a manufacturer of Korean pet. And then souviens mum’s from Guangzhou. She said we should go to Nigel it’s the most famous part of Korea for the pet. We said don’t let’s go there. Hop on a bullet train at 5am The next Day, we just got off our flight. And we’re sitting in a meeting with one of the largest manufacturers of cream pear in Naju. Mind you at the time, I’m 22. I’ve got tattoos on my arms and my legs. And it was sitting in this meeting is big boardroom saying, Yep, we want to bring Korean pear juice to Australia. And they were like, cool, okay. And I said, Look, this is the retail opportunity. This is the drinking culture. I’d statistics on the you know, $15.4 billion spent on alcohol, yada, yada, a bit of that spill. And they got a cool look, we think you’re great energy. We love that you’ve got a hospitality background. You got to you know, your bit of funding behind you, which I might have lied about. And then they said, Cool, let’s do it. They gave me they gave me a hairnet and some gumboots. And we’re looking through the plant and it was incredible. Watching it all been done. They took us through the process, the pasteurization, the blending to keep the skin on it keeps it healthier. So obviously, I’m Korean pear obsessed. And we’re like, okay, they said, if you go back to Melbourne, you build a brand, a bit of a business structure, and we will supply it for you. So we went nuts. So we did everything we had to we had no idea what we’re doing. I’m walking into a bank on how the hell do I start a business account, and they go Come with me, we sit on what you want to call it. And so we’d had the name by then our directors, our partners, and it was it was on it was just every single day, it was just putting this idea together. And the sachet was a rich sachet, we decided to put a cap on it for easy consumption, and just all these little things. And then we finally got there. And we go, how do we get it here. So we ordered 50,000 units, and seven and a half 1000 kilos, a Korean pear juice. And my favorite line ever is I’ve never I’ve never posted a letter. I’ve never even sent a path. I don’t think I’ve ever been into a post office unless I was with my mom when I was a kid. So now I’m trying to bring a 40 foot container of juice from South East Asia, to Australia. So it was frightening. But you know, we reached out to people and you know, we had a lot of support. So this is January 2019. Now, and our first batch had arrived. So we had a big container arrived. We had a storage unit heaps of energy, it was January, everyone’s partying, it’s summer in Australia. And that was that crazy period from drinking the juice to it arriving within that. So the that whole lesson was almost 12 to 18 months, maybe even less. So it was crazy. It was pure madness. Yeah,
Alex Jenson 12:17
like listening to the story, even though I know it’s got a happy ending. I feel like no, that’s what happens if there’s a problem with this shipment or if no one’s interested in the juice despite your great family sample size. But it obviously worked out. But at this point, the funding what was it then? Was it all based on a bank loan initially? Or did you have someone to offer some security?
Tim O’Sullivan 12:42
Yeah, now we’ve never had a loan we’ve never had any capital, we just did it sort of paycheck by paycheck. So at the time at the cafe, I was getting paid 700 bucks a week, our business partner was getting about something similar and Sumin was getting something similar. So 714, we’ll call it between the three of us. We were making 2k a week. We’re living in our parents at that time being so 22-23. So at our disposal, we had $2,000 per week to spend on something. So the first week was, let’s get the logo and the landing page. That was all of our paychecks flushed, gone. Done. Next week, we will get paid. What do we need to do next? We need to get a shareholders agreement. We need to get some manufacturers agreement some exclusivity agreements. Okay, that’s another two grand done. Okay, week three, we got to grant again, what else can we do? Okay, well, we need to rebuild a proper website, not a landing page, we need to tweak our design, we need to get a graphic designer on board to help us with some decks and proposals and do a style guide so we can start rolling out some social media. So it was it was honestly honest to god just paycheck by paycheck for that first, almost 12 months, I don’t reckon I would have saved 100 bucks a week from our savings per week for some beers and some food just to try be normal for a little bit. But as genuinely, there’s no capital outlay. And it’s something I really do like talking about. And that was the pure raw sacrifice of wanting to build this brand and start this company. And to be fair, they might my parents, the comfortable. And so there’s occasions where we fell 5k short, maybe on our second shipment, or we needed to this marketing activity and I’d borrow five or 10 grand from dad at different times and paying back in increments. And then our first shipment. We were about 20k Short and assuming his dad who To be honest, doesn’t speak English. He was there in the original meetings and and he saw the brand developed from the very start. He lent us $25,000 To help us with our first shipment. And then that was it. So from that from that day on not really anything so we had 50,000 units sitting in a shed. We had our little hatchbacks lots of stock and lots of energy but no business plan, no marketing strategy and not $1 in the account, just a ton of stock,
Alex Jenson 14:58
but you were curing a lot of Have hangovers and and you found yourself really landing some success in Australia. Can you summarize that part of the story for us where it went from there?
Tim O’Sullivan 15:09
Yeah, yeah, sure. And I’ll sort of leapfrog a little bit as much as possible to get through. But that sort of first 12 months was just pure ask going to a few stores. Nothing too crazy, getting some cafes, on boards, and local bottle O’s. Anyone who reached out to the page would send us some stock and would ship it out. So we sort of went from zero to 20 to 50, stores over that sort of six to 12 month period. So nothing crazy, we sort of got our E commerce site up and running. So we started selling online. And once we sort of developed a good little story and was sort of given it to a few influential people, and we got a few stores on board. We actually started doing some amazing PR, so we got lots of media attention that wow, is it true, there’s a $4 fruit drink that can cure your hangover, and it’s super healthy as well. And it’s from South Korea. So we actually had a quite a nice little headline. And it’s that talking about a barista and a hairdresser being mean, assuming it’s a nice little pool, really, you know, go on a lovely holiday and discover this new hangover cure. It’s taking over Australia. So we hit all these media and we’ve got some articles in The Daily Mail and some local stuff and some nationwide stuff in business. He reviews and lifestyle magazines and stuff. So we built our brand in our profile. And then it sort of wasn’t until this time last year, we’re in about 100 stores. Our brand was pumping. We’re sponsoring different events and doing influencer campaigns. And that’s when we put your pitch to Woolworths. So it’s incredible. And this is my favorite thing people ask how did you get into Woolies, we weren’t in 100 stores. We had no budget, we don’t have an office. There’s three of us. You know, and we just we just got to deal with it was just short of 1000 stores across the entire country of Australia. So it was a Monster Monster deal. And it all comes down to just having a niche product. It was the it was the rolling the dice on something people weren’t familiar with. But Willie’s I really understood that and we said to him that, you know, people are still going to buy orange juice, people are still going to buy apple juice, but they’re also going to buy baby juice at the same time, rather than replacing a sale. And they were quite optimistic and confident the approach gone. You know what, we reckon you’re right, as well. So that was our pool. That was our retail approach it was we are doing everything possible to build this brand we will take we will do anything to build this brand, but we just need your support on the retail front. And that’s when they saw it on you know what you can’t buy a cream paid us anywhere else. We’re the only Korean pear juice company in Australia or really sold anywhere. So we’ve always had a really good leg to stand on. So 12 months ago, we landed 1000 store deal. We’re now doing container after container per month. And then following that we landed largest liquor distributor called Dan Murphy. So they sell all your beer, your wine spirits, and that was another 250 stores. After that we got another four to 500 stores that another large bottle Oh, and within 12 months, we’ve gone from 100 stores to 2000. And it was as stressful as I can possibly sound. Yes, but
Alex Jenson 18:09
it’s really the energy of you that carries it, it seems and I’m sure your partners as well. It’s just amazing. Sometimes that positive energy is the best antidote for stress as well as your product is apparently a great antidote for a hangover. But back here in Korea, the hangover market is actually pretty saturated with various different products that promise I think with varying degrees of success to to solve that particular problem. I knew thank you for bringing this product, back home full circle, or perhaps not even bothering with the shipping but just selling baby juice directly here in Korea.
Tim O’Sullivan 18:49
Absolutely. I always have it and I’ve found a few little distributors, I’ve spoken to a few different extracts that you know, that one’s a bit of a Melbourne local so I thought you know, that could be my entry level or conversation but it’s there to be done. I think, you know, it really can be you know, we obviously wouldn’t do the same unit prices is in here in Australia so you’d be able to you know, you still got to work with all the margins and everything but I think people just love the brand. The brands the brand is exciting, it’s pink, it’s got the mastered in it’s just a should be able to be sold anywhere. We’ve got some great opportunities that are coming outside of Australia already. But Korea’s always been up there for me. It really makes sense. And then I love that you mentioned that there’s so many different hangover drinks and companies and they’re all different concoctions and one helps your liver and the milk thistle and all these other things that that make a lot of sense. They do they make sense while they’re in the product and an odd back drinking that product. I had a lot of great experiences on Morning recovery. Those that know not wanting coffee. What’s it called? Morning care? Yes, yes, that’s it. And so I had some great experiences about but this is where it’s amazing about a brand and marketing and being fun and just to feel good. product and you know there’s those products out there but I still back that people would buy beige juice because when you’re holding it just to feel great, it’s cool. It’s delicious with all these other concoctions It tastes a bit medicine and a bit cost syrupy. So we’ve got that natural angle. We’ve got Korean writing on the packaging to pay homage to Korea, really. So yeah, so I’d love to bring it to Korea. I really would.
Alex Jenson 20:23
Well speaking of the Korean writing on the packaging as well as we’ve just celebrated hunger day as well as the substitute holiday here in Korea. It does seem like you are coming into a foreign market whether it’s Australia or anywhere else at the right time. Never has it been easier to sell Korea as a country right and and I presume it’s products.
Tim O’Sullivan 20:44
Yeah, definitely the products the food. And this is just me following so many pages on Instagram and everything and just reading everything and processing and being a brand owner but they used to always talk about Milan Fashion Week. That was the big that was it. It was always Milan Fashion Week. But now it’s sold now it’s all about Seoul Fashion Week. And that’s not be me being a fashionista. That’s just me looking at the media. And I feel like there’s such a big hype around it. And it’s a massive celebrities go there’s so much hype. So there’s the fashion, there’s the food component. There’s kimchi everywhere, like absolutely everywhere in every independent grocery, even whether it’s in the metro or out of the metro. You can make kimchi anywhere in Australia. Korean barbecues. They’re taking over the CBD. And they have lines out the front. It’s just just incredible. What did we just get on recently? Is it pelicans is that the fried chicken Pelicano. They’ve just launched in the CBD. What else is there but yeah, mostly just sort of the food, the fashion. And then especially soju. And this is what I love its growth is in Dan Murphy’s where we stopped. That’s where we used to buy it from. There used to be two rows of it. So there’s two bottles, and then long way deep. Now there’s a whole section. It could be 15 bottles long. 15 different flavors. There’s soju everywhere, and it’s really taking over. I’ve got people that work at the cafe, I’ve got my everyone everyone is drinking soju at the moment, so and then with the timing of squid games, you know, we’re just another Korean product in the blow up of Korean culture here in Australia,
Alex Jenson 22:22
Timo solo and keep riding that wave. Although it sounds like you’re having your own success before a lot of those other products started to find their own success with for example, the recent release of squid game, which I know has given a lot of people a boost, something that you didn’t necessarily need, but certainly sounds like you’ll benefit from nonetheless. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with us.
Tim O’Sullivan 22:45
No, no, thank you. I really appreciate and I’ll tell you what, I cannot wait to get back to Korea, that’s for sure.
Alex Jenson 22:49
We look forward to catching up with you here and maybe sitting and drinking pages together the Korean home version
Tim O’Sullivan 22:56
done deal. Absolutely do. So now. Thanks. I really appreciate it.
Alex Jenson 23:00
We’ll get to that Hong Kong perspective in just a moment. But let me say again, thank you to our sponsor, Four Seasons hotel, so and invite you to email info@ktla.net If you want to join our community, or share any ideas for future episodes.
Our next guest is seeking to help keep relationships alive and foster new ones during the pandemic. Christopher Lai is the director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in Korea. And good to have you with us also.
Christopher Lai 23:36
Thanks for inviting me, Alex, hope you’re well,
Alex Jenson 23:38
Well, all the better to be able to welcome a new voice on the podcast and you haven’t actually been here that long, have you? It was the winter time you told me when you first stepped foot on Korean soil, at least for this current position.
Christopher Lai 23:52
You’re right. I arrived here at the end of January this year. So just a little bit over a month or so. And in fact, I’ve not been to Korea before. So this is a brand new experience for me. And I have to say it’s been very interesting. So over, a little bit difficult because of the pandemic. But I mean, it’s a fascinating city, both from a personal perspective and from a business perspective. And I look forward very much to my term here.
Alex Jenson 24:22
And just to put that in further context, I know you’ve been working already with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and you’ve got around 50 offices around the world. Is that right?
That’s correct.
Alex Jenson
So what’s the main purpose of the council?
Christopher Lai 24:35
Well, we are a sort of statutory body in Hong Kong. We are a nonprofit organization and we’re tasked with helping Hong Kong based companies to identify business opportunities and partners from anywhere outside of Hong Kong. To clarify that, however, we are not simply focusing on indigenous companies. So any company who will have a business registration in Hong Kong, it’s part of the community that we have to service. And, you know, we are sector agnostic. We cover every sector the economy deals with. And in terms of business relationships, we cover everything from, you know, say exporting and importing to providing services through two investments, big and small. You are correct. Just now we have 50 offices around the world. And you know, each, of course, is the main task is to facilitate more bilateral economic relations between the host economy and Hong Kong. And that’s what our team here in Seoul is tasked with as well.
Alex Jenson 25:40
I guess we can add that to the list of descriptions for koreabizcast as well, sector agnostic. What was the situation like for trade between South Korea and Hong Kong, before the pandemic,
Christopher Lai 25:52
Actually, Korea and Hong Kong have been strong trading partners for for quite some time, for quite a number of years now. You know, and a lot of that have to do with, you know, sort of more traditional sectors such as electronics, components, machinery, and perhaps also things like garments, and of course, the in recent years, you know, as the popularity of Korean culture is increasing exponentially. I think culture related exports is also seeing growth. So not just in terms of entertainment, but even related products, say design brands, you know, even food, for example. So, in terms of trade, we have a very strong relationship. And and, of course, that’s why we have a team here. And so not just to reinforce those relationships, or maintaining those relationships, but also to identify new areas that we can add on to to the already robust relationship before the pandemic.
Alex Jenson 26:53
Just to be clear, when you say, Korea, you are referring to South Korea?
Christopher Lai 26:57
That’s correct. Sorry, I’ll keep that in mind.
Alex Jenson 27:00
Because it’s not out of the possibility that you would be interested in North Korea as well. It’s something that China obviously has maintained an interest in, in a number of years. So maybe that’s a whole other topic we can pick up another time. By contrast, how are things shifted during the pandemic for you?
Christopher Lai 27:21
I think we have to separate the pandemic to two parts, I think, the beginning the first few months of the pandemic, I think that was when everything was up in the air, we’re not really sure what’s happening, you know, the vaccine hadn’t developed yet, we’re not even sure how it how the how the virus works, and, you know, understandably, you know, not just in Hong Kong or South Korea, but around the world, you know, there was, you know, very real negative impact on all sorts of business activities, people were consolidating, or, or, you know, holding on to cash, instead of, you know, expenditures or investments, you know, just to make sure that, you know, the business are in good shape. So, at the, you know, the first few months or half a year of the pandemic, of course, things are difficult. And I haven’t even mentioned, you know, industries such as travel or retail, you know, Hong Kong and South Korea, in fact, you know, the tourism industries are very important. And, of course, those suffered, those industries suffer quite significantly as well. But I think, you know, after the first few months of, you know, instability and you know, unsure about what’s happening, once things were a little bit more clear, not necessarily in terms of concrete timeline, but there was sort of a sort of a general idea of what the pandemic is about, how we can go about addressing it you know, that was starting this beginning stages of vaccine developments etc, etc. And some of the companies are starting to having already consolidated the bases consolidated the infrastructure, trade picked up. And in fact, because the pandemic has made travel, business travel or personal travel very difficult, ecommerce, as you can understand also picked up and in fact, a trading between Hong Kong and Korea has remained very strong. For example, I mean, the first half of 2020 the inputs, the inputs from or from, from Hong Kong, sorry, the imports of Hong Kong from Korea actually increased by seven and a half percent and that for the first half of 2021, the Year and Year increases over 35%. And that, you know, reflects some of the things I mentioned before, not just in terms of traditional industries like electronics and components, but also things like food and beauty products. I recall reading a couple of months ago that the exports of kimchi from Korea to Hong Kong has reached record levels. And I think the cosmetics industry is experiencing record levels of growth as well. So I think in terms of trade, particularly merchandise, trade things, looking very well, of course, there are still, you know, industries that are still suffering. And I think it’s first consistent across the world because of the pandemic. And, you know, for the economies of both Hong Kong and Korea to really recover from the pandemic, I think we’re still some time to go. But I think we’re in good shape, at least in the right direction.
Alex Jenson 30:37
Very good to hear, by the way, on a number of those fronts, but a big part of your job, presumably, is getting people networking, ideally, in person, how are you getting around that as we have a prolonged period of at least some form of social distancing guidelines in this country, it might not be locked down. But big events are still largely off the table,
Christopher Lai 30:58
you brought up a very, very good point, actually, you know, we are in an age where, you know, things or sort of hot terms or topical terms, like digital transformation, and disruption is in the news every day. And you know, and we very much agree that, you know, all companies need to, you know, look into digital transformation is not something they can put off, particularly during the pandemic, but even afterwards, I think that is a very real and key component of any business going forward. But, and I’m sure, most of our listeners, and most members with a Korean community here and of course, the business community, in Hong Kong and elsewhere would agree, face to face interaction remains very crucial in doing business. It’s, it’s how you meet new people, it’s how you maintain relationship. And, and of course, it’s how you strike deals. I mean, just, for example, if you are a high tech hardware, have you in the in the business of high tech hardware, or, you know, find jewelry and you’re not going to make a purchase over zoom or over one of the multitude of other platforms, you need to see the products, you need to get in the same room with the other party just to you know, get get a feel of the person, whether you you can work with them or not. So, you know, the lack of networking opportunities so far, since the pandemic began, has been rather difficult for, for us in terms of creating new connections. Of course, what we’ve done is pivoted online, you know, whether it’s no webinars or some of our trade exhibitions or conferences, you know, we’ve pivoted online, and we’ve managed to build platforms on make use of platforms so that we can get the entire experience of those events, even on an online setting. So not just in terms of, let’s use a conference, for example, we’re not just talking about listening to the speakers, we are also incorporating the networking functionality, even across different time zones, we are incorporating sort of one to one matching arrangements so that people can still network with each other. Of course, it’s is, you know, a lot of people will think there’s not the hope there’s not the full effects, you know, you physical is still better. And we are, for example, here in Korea, you know, we are ready to sort of get back into the business of organizing in person activity, as soon as the sort of social distancing restrictions are relaxed somewhat, and it becomes over appropriate and feasible to organize them.
Alex Jenson 33:46
But even so, especially during times of difficulty, but I guess at any time, really, how important is it that you have people in positions like yours, to help to generate business and trade relationships?
Christopher Lai 33:56
I mean, obviously, I’m biased. When I say I think it’s very important. But I think we, we provide a service or we undertake a function that a lot of companies, particularly SMEs, and especially during that time of pandemic, during a time of difficult economic conditions that they may not have the resources to, or may not have the time to, you know, we’ve always say that, you know, in the face of the pandemic, in the face of the current difficulties, you know, it is very important for any business to make sure that they diversify their sort of partnerships, or rather build a larger community partnership, whether they be clients or suppliers or, or investors etc. And of course, you know, during this time, it’s been difficult for a lot of SMEs to to reach out to new clients or new partners or new investors and that’s where, you know, organizations such as ourselves and the initiatives that we organized can come in because you Despite the difficulties, we are still striving to connect people from different places, connect new potential partners through online functionalities. And also, I think what we’re still continuing to do is we are sharing business opportunities, sharing investment opportunities with our contacts around the world, not just in Hong Kong, so that, you know, for businesses, they still have the opportunity to, you know, explore new partnerships with, you know, those from other countries or regions or economies,
Alex Jenson 35:39
just to get to a bit more advice as well. There are a number of major positives right now, in the E commerce sector, for example, you talked about the interest in Hong Kong, for Korean products, which is great to see. But we are speaking now to people in a whole range of different sectors, services, manufacturing, whatever it may be, is there anything else that you feel is particularly pressing to share with us at this moment in time,
Christopher Lai 36:07
Hong Kong is actually the sort of gateway or the entry point to two very interesting markets, for Korean products, whether you know, is the more traditional ones to mention or some of the newer products. One of them is is the ASEAN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Southeast Asia, because Hong Kong has an FTA with them. Hong Kong also have no very long standing infrastructure and logistics connectivity with them. So you know, there is I think, if I if memory serves 650 million population in the ASEAN region, which is twice the population of the United States, so the potential there as consumer market of congruent products is very real. And Hong Kong, of course, has, you know, as a great position to help Korean exports to those markets. The other sort of growth region that, you know, I think it could be very interesting to Korean companies is the Guangdong Hong Kong, Macau Greater Bay Area. This area or this blueprint involves 11 cities in southern China, including Hong Kong and Macau. And it essentially creates a and Bay Area economy with a population of 86 million people. And a GDP of around US dollars 1.7 trillion, which is comparable to South Korea’s GDP. So you can imagine this is a massive sort of potential market. And there’s a lot of things being done now to sort of connect this common market for for lack of a better term, in terms of financial connectivity, infrastructure, connectivity, logistics, connectivity, and you know, this is a very affluent market, and, you know, very ready to take on new products or new services, new technology for exact TRA. And I think, you know, courier company should definitely look into this, as, you know, a very real sort of new growth market for their products.
Alex Jenson 38:15
We have seen years, though, of reports of China targeting South Korean assets, there’s been a rise in anti China sentiment as well, that you might be aware of, what would you say to people who’d be concerned about the business risks associated with that?
Christopher Lai 38:31
I think in this day and age, you know, political tensions or geopolitical tensions permeate I think every regions, is there’s some sort of geopolitical tensions happening. And these type of tensions, I think, over over time tends to ebb and flow. Of course, you know, it depends on the nation. It depends on the time as well. But I think, you know, what happened mentioned is that Hong Kong, and I mentioned earlier, Hong Kong is not just the gateway to China, Hong Kong is a gateway to other parts of the world as well. And, you know, Hong Kong has a very competitive if not the best, free trade agreement with Mainland China. So I think, you know, for Korean companies, for current businesses who, you know, are comfortable with continuing to doing business with outside of external markets, they should definitely consider Hong Kong. And, and I think that, you know, over time, for one Hong Kong’s fundamentals have remained very strong. And Hong Kong has proven its resiliency over a number of years, whether they are more political issues or economic issues, whether they have a regional nature or global nature. And so I think you can rest assured or Korean companies can be reassured that Call remains a great place to do business. So yeah, I don’t think that that makes a huge impact on the business side. And I think, you know, throughout history, I think trade by nature, crosses borders, it connects people. It promotes economic stability and prosperity. And I think if we remain committed to, you know, coordinating efforts and cooperation, then we can pave the way to a more stable and a better future. And to this end, you know, for for us at the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, we are working with a number of partners in from Korea, including, you know, the Korean government and the Korean, the Korea external trade organization and the Korean consulate in Hong Kong, in terms of, you know, initially initiative to make the two business communities aware of new opportunities in each other, aware of the new developments and really encouraging and providing help and providing services for companies is to to look into bilateral partnerships. So, um, you know, we’re confident that, you know, the, whatever tensions there are, whatever issues there are, at a moment, whether they are due to the pandemic or or due to tension, geopolitical tensions, or even for other reasons, we’re confident that, you know, businesses will, you know, sustain and we’re committed that there is they will pave the way for a more stable future
Alex Jenson 41:33
with Christopher Lai, director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council in Korea. It’s been great having you on career biz cast, and thank you very much for sharing your time.
Christopher Lai 41:42
No problems. Thanks for inviting I had a great time. Thanks, Alex.
Alex Jenson 41:46
Thanks to Christopher Lai, and to Timo Sullivan. Before that, there’s got to be some great products still out there or services just waiting to be introduced to the world. And if you’re ready to explore the possibilities then good luck and share your story in the future with career biz cast. Another big thank you to the hotel that brings you stylish elegance in the very heart of soul the four seasons and check out four seasons.com forward slash soul for more. See you again tomorrow from seven
Christopher Lai 42:15
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