Speech on globalization to Perimeter Optimist Club members

Speech on globalization to Perimeter Optimist Club members

Aug 17 2004

Sunny Park

Globalization: Are you ready

Greetings

Respected members of the Perimeter Optimist Club, Club President STUART

NATERMAN, Mr. Tony Clark, thank you for your invitation and

introduction—I don’t feel like I am at all anybody would be invited to speak

to any group. But you think I am qualified. Well, I am here and you all are

so optimistic and positive.

Really, I am honored to be a part of your effort to make the world better and

assist our future leaders. I visited your Web site and study how I can be

helpful for you to help the world differently. I thought something about the

international community and the global competition would be a good subject

to pick. I just hope I am not too optimistic.



First of all, I am grateful to our troops, the heroic men and women, fighting

for the safety of this great country and the freedom of the people of Iraq.

Without them, we would not be here today having a conference. I pray to

God that He will bless and strengthen each of them and return them home

safely.

.

I came to Georgia in 1978. As a foreign-born American in Georgia, it was

not comfortable for me to travel in the countryside. Many Georgians were

not familiar or didn’t want to be familiar with outsiders such as myself.

One time, I went to Covington, Georgia. It was much more country back

then.

A group of kids followed me around for a long while and I became

uncomfortable and annoyed. I wanted to do something about it. Some of

them had never seen an Asian person in person before.

I stopped and turned my face to them, showing a serious expression and

said, “You have been following me around last 30 minutes and you are to

pay me a dime each minute you look at me.”

So, you owe me $3, the boy got a little scared and then told me, “I only

followed you about fifteen minutes and I should only be charged $1.50.”

That was about a quarter century ago. Metro Atlanta population was about

1.5 million and my income was about $17,000 per year.

Now we enjoying almost 5 million people living in Metro Atlanta, we have

new friends moved from everywhere. You look around, they are from all

over the world, some from Asia and some from South America and we have

some from the north, I am talking about those Yankees. Atlanta is not only

place growing but all places in the globe.

Globalization is a lifestyle. The size of the world is shrinking as the speed of

transportation and information technology improves. It covers all areas:

economics, the environment, culture, education, social interaction and more.

Fiber optic and wireless telecommunication technology carries information

of the world to other side of the globe faster than the speed of sound.

The conflict in Iraq, a small country that is the size of California and almost

four thousands miles away, directly impacts our lifestyle every day.

Our sons and daughters are fighting for freedom.

The flu-like SARS symptom started in China, a country located 7,000 miles

away from us, took only 72 hours to make a trip to the West coast of the

United States.

American blue jeans are the uniform of young people around the world

today.

CNN Headline News of Atlanta covers news from every corner of the world

every half hour.

WTO, the World Trade Organization, NAFTA, North American Free Trade

Agreement, WTO cartel memberships are growing, now reaching 145

nations.

The members of these organizations have one thing in mind; be competitive

in order to reap their own rewards.

In this competitive global market, some will win and some will lose. I would

say that those countries that are ready to compete will win and the countries

ignoring the facts and the realities will lose the international competition.

The world is definitely shrinking and you must realize the changing world

whether you like it or not.

Are we ready for the upcoming new world economy?

With my experiences in limited segments of broad globalization, I may be

able to help you to realize how the foreign investors perceive Georgians as

far as globalization goes.

I hope we can see for ourselves (ourselves is one word) and make changes if

there are any needs to adjust.

Globalization in business means competition. Compete with other countries;

compete with neighboring states and counties.

In the mid 1980’s, there was a wave of Japanese companies investing in

Georgia. Japan remains on the top of the list of those countries that have

made investments in Georgia.

Financially rewarded by its relationship with Japan, The State of Georgia

then started going after Korean companies. Sure enough, When the Korean

electronic giant LG, then Gold Star, was looking for a new site to build a

factory, both Alabama and Georgia competed for this juicy deal by offering

attractive, incentives, tax credits and more.

LG decided to settle in Huntsville, Alabama, because of the incentives

Alabama offered but I heard the inside story later. The real reason was that

they liked the people they dealt with. Georgia lost another big deal with

Samsung (Samsung is one word) to New Jersey--this time it was because we

didn’t have good schools for the children to go to in Newnan, Georgia.

Former governor Joe Frank Harris of Cartersville put so much effort in

economic globalization of Georgia while he was in office. He utilized the

resources of local ethnic community leaders to reach out to lure international

investors to Georgia.

He has done a great job as you can see from his records.

In the early-1980’s, Gov. Harris went to Korea as the head of the Georgia

trade delegation to Korea for a series of meetings.

In most of Asian countries, entertainment is a vital part of deal making.

And, entertainment means there will be a lot of drinking, it is sort of

unofficial requirement and that usually goes until the very late hours of the

night.

As some of you might know, Gov. Harris is a Baptist and never drinks. He

was in a situation that would either displease the potential investors or

disobey the Lord. He came all the way to Korea and the mission at hand was

very important for Georgia, as you can imagine the dilemma he was in.

The staffs decided to use a trick, they asked the waiter to bring a pitcher of

water and a bottle of good-old Georgia Coca-Cola and pour to the whiskey

glass. It looks like a whiskey and the potential investors didn’t know a thing.

I have tried to mix coke with water. I didn’t like the taste of it and neither

does Gov. Harris.

As a result, his team initiated the Korean corporations to shift their attention

to Georgia and landed a big deal. SKC, a major Korean conglomerate built

their polyester film plant in Covington, Georgia, which is still listed as the

largest single foreign investment in Georgia history.

I think he accomplished the goal because he was flexible.

I think “flexible” is the word we want to remember to be successful in

globalization. We also want to be able to honor the rules and customs of

others and invest in the future economy.

I become more flexible when I remind myself to treat others the way I want

to be treated. Sound familiar?

I believe flexibility can be the power source to create ideas and new attitudes

about getting along with the new neighbors in the shrinking world.

Doing business internationally is fun and challenging.

I have dealt with a few investors from around the world looking for

opportunities to make a profit in international market.

From 1998 to 2002, my consulting work at a major American investment

bank helped the company make over $100 million dollars profit, resulting

from a real estate investment in Asia.

The global market is wide open for the people who are ready.

That also means the international market is open to all and every country.

A cargo plane leaving China with merchandise today will land at Hartsfield

tomorrow.

The merchandise will be on the store shelves at Wal-Mart in Rome, Georgia,

by this weekend.

Our competitiveness in certain markets is weaker than most other countries.

The United States has very tough competition for manufacturing consumer

goods.

The average Chinese worker is paid about $100 per month while his or her

average living cost is about $60 per month.

An American blue collar worker’s average wage is about $1,600 per month

while the living cost is about $1,200 per month per person.

The productivity level of other countries is higher than ours. The Chinese

worker work 12 hours per day, including Saturdays.

This means that consumers in Chattanooga and Rome can purchase the

Chinese-made goods at a very low price.

Obviously, the Chinese economy is growing rapidly and so does the market

for us.

China is the country we cannot live without but at the same time, our

potential enemy. I feel confused

Scared? Too bad for those are not ready for globalization, which is here to

stay and it is rapidly expanding.

The question is…are we ready?

Are We Ready?

Sure we are! We have very good news for you. Some of you can take

advantage of the economic environment that America and Georgia created.

I wonder if Americans know the value they have. Many of them are aware

of it I but sometimes I question whether they do.

It is easy for us take things for granted when we have enough.

I often look at myself through the mirror and try to assess my worth. $2

million dollars for two eyes of mine, no…more than that--how about $10

million? Well, still too low but let’s settle for it for the time being.

Let’s say we price $10 million for my two hands, $10 million for my ten

fingers, $10 billion for my brains and so on. My body may be worth $100

billion easy. These tools are free gifts from God but we must use them.

The value of America today is also astronomical.

We are the richest country in the world today.

Some of you may not want to agree but we have the most advanced

educational system and technology in the world.

The English language is the language of international business and we speak

the language already. I think that even a Georgia drawl is considered to be

English, too.

Students from all over the world come here to learn American technology

More than 24% of the PH.D degree recipients at American universities in

2002 were foreign students.

The United States spans over 3.5 million square miles. The population

density is 60 people per sq mile while Singapore has 10,000 people per sq

mile.

The US is one of only four countries in the world that produce enough food

to feed its people. And, 60 percent of the world’s automobiles are right here

in the US.

Let’s see what Georgia offers. Other than optimism.

Georgia is home to 15 smart Fortune 500 corporations and there are more to

come. Coca Cola, Home Depot, UPS, CNN, Lockheed Martin and recently

Rubber Maid made decisions to move their HQs to Alpharetta, Georgia.

Georgia is one of very few states in the country that have successfully hosted

the Summer Olympic Games.

Businesses from all around the world made Georgia their base, which helps

grow Georgia’s economy and raise the profile of this great state.

Today (repetitive to keep we have 1,076 internationally owned businesses

and 583 international manufacturers from 52 countries doing business in

Georgia, according to the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and

Tourism. CIVA Vision, ING, Phillips, Bayer, Siemens, Porsche, Alcatel and

many more international companies made their homes here.

59 countries have their consulate or trade offices in Georgia.

Rome and North Georgia offers the world no others can compete, carpet and

textile, automobile parts, transportation and agriculture to name a few.

I don’t think they are here to help Georgia’s economy but themselves.

I think it is important for us to know why they are coming to Georgia. This

state offers its foreign investors things that other states can’t.

It offers the best, central location for business: Georgia’s international

business starts at the Hartsfield International Airport and extends to the

seaports of Savannah and Brunswick.

It offers hardworking labor power: One of most important assets Georgia is

its people.

Georgians are friendly, honest and highly productive. The state will

continue to grow and the population will reach well above 10 million by

2025 per US Census 2000

Its government offers the best of business environments: Georgia has

excellent team and the leadership.

One question to people in Georgia: Do we realize and utilize the resources

that foreigners realize and utilize?

I am optimistic as Georgians are more eager to understand the international

market and more and more ambitious Georgia businesses are expanding

their territory to the world market.

The state of Georgia has a successful track record in bringing foreign and

major domestic businesses.

When we talk about globalization, I always think of the high standard Miss

Martha Berry set. At the time she was nurturing Berry College, Miss Berry

traveled to New York City to sell her vision of Berry, at that time NYC was

like a foreign country.

I am a part of Georgia Ports Authority and I am proud of the efforts the

Authority making in the global market. Ports of Georgia, Savannah and

Brunswick are the fastest growing ports in the country. Governor Perdue

brought me into the Authority with optimistic agenda, he wants to make the

Authority global look, not because I have a round face but I speak some

foreign languages. I will be going to Europe, Asia, South-America and to

American corporations to sell the values of Georgia.

Globalization Today

Globalization is our reality and it is affecting every area of our lives.

So, how can we be ready for the changing world? Let’s start with basic

methods.

Experiencing foreign foods can be one easy and fun way to familiarize with

foreign culture.

McDonald’s and KFC are everywhere: Seoul, Moscow, Buenos Aires,

Tokyo, Shanghai and many other cities and they are familiar with our

cultures. How about yourselves?

You can easily find good-old-southern grits in the breakfast buffets in

Korea. I heard Yankees even eat them.

Foreigners eat fried green tomatoes in Georgia and try fried rattle-snake as

appetizers in a Kansas City hotel restaurant without hesitation.

But how many of you had sushi? How about sushi pizza?

How many of you tried Kimchi, a Korean pickled cabbage dish?

How many of you used chopsticks?

Next, we should read news papers, including The Wall Street Journal and

Business Week.

You want to tune into international news and information in order to

understand the rapidly changing world and its economy.

How about learn a few foreign languages. It is not that hard if you are

determined and persistent.

We need to learn foreign languages to compete in the global economy.

Foreign students come to Georgia Tech and learn our new technology. They

will improve the technology and write the invention in their own language

and there will be no way for our children to learn the improved technology.

It is easier to succeed than to fail--does that sound familiar? It is the title of

a book that Mr. Truit Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A and the founder of

the WinShape wrote.

I am one of many Mr. Cathy’s admirers, as he is applying the gifts of God

for a good purpose. I want to echo his statements. You want to find one

more optimist, Mr. Cathy can be one of you, definitely.

All you have to do is demonstrate the proven formulas with the flexibility.

Imagine an article on your globalization success stories in The New York

Times in April 2013, ten years later from this date.

You can do it--a man with halting English did.

Help me to brag about how I helped your success ten years from now as I

read the article of your success!

Thank you all for coming and listening. I will pray for the outcome of this

conference.