Week 1 - Katrina Shi

1. Remaking a country:

At the turn of the century, South Korea was able to successfully relabel itself as a pop and fashion icon through its governmental focus on developing “soft power:” by its investment in the country’s entertainment industry and its investment in the Internet, the country was able to rebrand itself and transform the way the world viewed it. By building up its pop culture base and analyzing what entertainment products appeals to foreign countries, Korean culture was able to gain widespread influence over the globe through investing in modern tech products such as the Internet. Through the model in which the government funds, the industry produces, and the people buy, South Korea has succeeded in establishing “Korea the Brand.”

2. What is a startup?

A startup, by Graham’s definition, is a company that is designed to grow rapidly. Being newly established does not make a business a startup, nor does its investment in modern tech necessarily matter. It is the growth rate of the company that defines it as a startup. In order to achieve this rapid growth rate, the company must design a product that is targeted towards a large market, and said product must have a way in which its target consumers can access it easily. Given its criteria, it’s no wonder that many startups fail due to its inability to satisfy both of the requirements.  There are many different ways in which a startup can be implemented, but they have two things in common: the company provides consumers with a novel product (given that it is highly unlikely for an existing product to achieve the growth rate desired), and said product is able to help solve a problem present for the target consumer population (thus creating demand for said product).  

Sources: 

Hong, Eung. 2014. The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture. Picador: New York

Dorsey, Sherrell. "Han Hye Jin for Vogue Korea August 2011." Posh Beauty. Posh Beauty, LLC., 27 July 2011. Web.

Graham, Paul. "Startup = Growth." Paul Graham, September 2012.