Week 8 - Samantha Soleta

Examining Costa Rica's commitment to eco-development, we can understand how the past few decades have led to Costa Rica becoming synonymous with ecotourism. The rise of ecotourism within Costa Rica can be attributed to the increased action of preservationists to combat deforestation, pollution, and more. However, Costa Rica was also lucky to avoid much conflict or intense domestic concerns like their other Central American counterparts. Interestingly enough, a rise in entrepreneurial presence in Costa Rica didn't have the same kind of effect as other nations. In many other nations, we see an extreme commodification of locations. Cultural, urban, and natural landscapes are often primary targets for the commodification of the travel industry. However, the focus of Costa Rican tourism is that of conservation. Michael Kaye, the founder of Costa Rica Expeditions, was very intent on creating an environment of tourism that would stimulate the economy as well as benefit the land and the people. He argued that "Operating in an environmentally and culturally sensitive way made both business sense and ethical sense. [We] hired local people as guides and installed [eco-friendly technology] at its properties." (Jones & Spadafora 24)

Moving forward, I want to adopt this same ethic into my startup. I believe I do my best to approach things like this with the same level of cultural sensitivity but I think it's also important to not just think that way but make it a pivotal cornerstone of the startup. Basing movements and ideas for change on the foundation of furthering the wellbeing of the people, land, and culture is of the utmost importance for me as a startup owner.

Week 8 - Diane Tran

Costa Rica is known as a pioneer for a global center of ecotourism. It increased from 155,000 to $1.15 billion. The article "Entrepreneurs and the Co-creation of Ecotourism in Costa Rica," stated that, "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people " (Jones, 4). Over time, ecotourism became a way to preserve the natural areas throughout Costa Rica. It provided a greater incentive for natural resource conservation. With a rise in ecotourism and benefits to other industries, locals were relocated and logging industries shut down and Costa Ricans were able to turn to the tourism industry for employment.  The government has plans for buy-ins in Costa Rica. There are still problems in Coasta Rica even tough ecotourism has its benefits. There are regulatory double standard consequences for pesticide residue consumption. Pesticid residues are on produce and the markets and pesticide residue is hard to control in Coasta Rica. Costa Rica used ecotourism and implemented a way for the world to see Costa Rica's natural riches and thus helped the country to avoid poverty in third world countries. The country has done very well in this aspect.



For my startup, I can observe how and why Costa Rica took a problem they had and used their resources to turn their country into a popular tourism country. Thus developing the country into one of the many developing nations. In a way, I can understand and grasp an example such as Costa Rica to find a way to boost my country economically. This can be done by finding something that is special about Japan such as how Costa Rica has its own natural riches that is popular and what everyone wants to see.
Citations:
Polidoro, Beth A., and Matthew J. Morra. “An Ecological Risk Assessment of Pesticides and Fish Kills in the Sixaola Watershed, Costa Rica.” Environmental Science and Pollution Research23, no. 6 (March 2016): 5983–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6144-0.

“Head to Costa Rica This Winter for $205 Round-Trip.” Travel Leisure, www.travelandleisure.com/flight-deals/cheap-flights-costa-rica-fall-winter-spring.

Week 8. Garcia, Moises

Costa Rica is now known for their Ecotourism as one of the key activities of the tourism industry. In the early 90’s the country was one of the many developing nations that look to Ecotourism as a way of cashing in on the growing demand for this popular trend of travel. Costa Rica has done rather well since starting the eco-tourism, in comparison to other underdeveloped regions, they rank relatively high in terms of standard living. Costa Rica offers a look at a way of life distinct from the modernized world, while allowing tourists to largely avoid the sad realities of poverty in the third world. I can connect this to my start up because they are pretty similar in that I am trying to clean the streets of gangs in order for the country to grow economically. I want tourist to visit El Salvador on a more frequent basis, and the only way to do this is to make El Salvador a safer place. Not only making it safer, but when you go visit a country, you don’t want to go into a country where all you see is people struggling to eat, that kills tourist’s mood, and on top of that they no longer recommend it to other tourists. El Salvador need to invest in cleaning, and look at Costa Rica as a blue print, not in the ecotourism sector, but how they make Costa Rica an enjoyable third world country to visit. Sooner rather than later using methods like theirs will help on the idea that I have for the country, that will help it economically and also boost the education system in the country. 

- Polidoro, Beth A., and Matthew J. Morra. “An Ecological Risk Assessment of Pesticides and Fish Kills in the Sixaola Watershed, Costa Rica.” Environmental Science and Pollution Research23, no. 6 (March 2016): 5983–91. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6144-0.

- “Ecotourism in Costa Rica.” In Wikipedia, February 25, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ecotourism_in_Costa_Rica&oldid=885079851.

Week 8 - Uyen Ngo

Ecotourism is defined as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people" by the non-profit International Ecotourism Society (TIES). This struck out to me as I had never heard of Ecotourism before as tourism was taught as a negative thing to me, especially in my previous ASA courses. Tourism was painted as something that was used to make a profit will pushing natives out of their land, as in the case with Hawaii. Costa Rica shows that there could be a positive side to that

Previously in this course we talked a lot about a country using its resources to increase its economy and brand itself. However, for Costa Rica, this was not necessarily a viable option. It's biodiversity is extraordinary but biodiversity is not necessarily natural resources. Once again the government part caught my eye as it is mentioned that "the growth of all varieties of tourism was, however, promoted by a level of political stability which set the country apart from its neighbors" (Jones&Spadafora, 7). The article talks that besides from a revolution involving the "father of modern Costa Rica", Costa Rica's government has been alternating peacefully and investing their energy into promoting policies that would benefit the country. On top of that, as a science major myself, I found it to be touching that scientists ended up playing a huge role in Costa Rica's economic growth and ecotourism. Usually, the focus is on entrepreneurs or politicians but Costa Rica uses their fully science industry's potential as "scientists not only catalogued Costa Rica's biodiversity, promoted conservation, and protected and operated important private reserves" (Jones&Spadafora, 11). It reminds me that when it comes to our project, I cannot only focus on the business group in my country, but rather think outside the box and figure a way in which I can maximize talent from other industries or fields such as arts and humanities or the science field or engineering field, especially when it comes to something as complex as exhaust filters. 

Works Cited

Jones, Geoffrey Gareth and Spadafora, Andrew, Entrepreneurs and the Co-Creation of Ecotourism in Costa Rica (June 14, 2016). Harvard Business School General Management Unit Working Paper No. 16-136. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2796024 or 

http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2796024

Week 8 - Alvin Du

Surveys suggest that Costa Rica blossomed as a tourist attraction with huge increases in revenue and visitors, but more importantly, two thirds of people traveling in Costa Rica are either in or traveling to protected areas. This means that Costa Rica flourishes as an ecotourism country. The article talks much about small businesses and their role in Costa Rica's ecotourism and I couldn't agree more. I remember in 2014 when I traveled throughout the Caribbean on a cruise ship. One of the many stops was in Falmouth, Jamaica. Initially when I stepped off the cruise ship, everything seemed lively and all the buildings were sporting green, yellow and red in vision of their culture. Many restaurants and souvenir shops were lined throughout the town. Everywhere you walk would be a vendor trying to sell you stereotypical Jamaican things. However, in order to get to Dunn's River Falls and Ocho Rios, we had to bus throughout the island. On the way, everything was foreign; there were no colorful buildings or shops. In fact there were hardly buildings at all, just dirt. It was at that moment that I realized all these small businesses take advantage of what they do have to attract customers. They have culture and everything fits perfectly with the stereotype of Jamaican culture; from the accent to the clothing to the jerk chicken. Everything was how you would imagine it.
additionally, because of Jamaica's poverty, ecotourism is also a big thing.

Entrepreneurs and the Co-Creation of Ecotourism in Costa Rica. (2016, July 01). Retrieved from https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/entrepreneurs-and-the-co-creation-of-ecotourism-in-costa-rica

Week 8_Toan Tran

Week 7-Uyen Ngo

Learning about Botswana was actually quite interesting as when the name Botswana comes up, it is referred to as a third world country instead of the fast growing developing country that it actually is. I thought the mention of the so called "Dutch Disease" was quite interesting and it shows how Botswana was smart in learning from others mistakes. In combination with that, it once again stresses the idea of how important government is in a nation's growth. Botswana's government took action in prevention of the Dutch Disease through "three key components: fiscal saving, a surplus on the current account of the balance of payments, and heavy government investment in infrastructure and human capital" and more importantly, these policies were able to limit the "erosion of domestic productivity and competitiveness that can result from the appreciation of the real exchange rates"(Lewin, 85). The key to the success of Botswana has laid in its good government and good policies. And while it is not the perfect government, it has been a government that have made significant strides in not ONLY the economy but also in social aspects such as mortality rates and health. It made me think of how, especially when our project involves improving the health of the population of Vietnam, I have to dig into the policies in a way that it can be regulated to prevent previous mistakes as well as utilized in a way that it can benefit the country not only in terms of health but other aspects like economically.

Works Cited

Lewin, Michael. (2019). Botswana's Success: Good Governance, Good Policies, and Good Luck.

Week 7 - Diane Tran

I find it very interesting to read about Botswana because I rarely hear about this country at all. Botswana was one of the poorer countries, but its economy has become one of the most successful in the world. Its growth was developed because of the minerals such as diamonds. In "Botswana's Success: Good Governance, Good Policies, and Good Luck" by Michael Lewin, " Botswana has maintained a parliamentary democracy since independence" (Lewin, 5). Due to this, the government of Botswana focuses on the transparency of the people and the respect for private property. Furthermore, the foundation that was built led to better and improved systems in the government. In addition to the article, "Poverty or riches who benefits from the booming tourism industry in Botswana" by Joseph Mbaiwa depicts that, "the rich wildlife resources and scenic beauty" is an attraction that appeals to people. Moreover, interests attract tourists making it a key destination. This allows investors to pilot into Botswana's industry, the repatriation of tourism revenue, and lower salaries for workers. It fails to contribute to rural development. Tourism allows for the promotion of inclusive and beneficial policies to allow this attraction to become more sustainable.



Relating these articles to our startup project, Botswana uses its resources to actually allow for their country to develop into this fast pace growing country. In addition, Botswana has a government that is looking for its best interest for the country without any disputes. For my startup, I want to promote something that will catch the attention of the people whether its diamonds, wildlife, or scenery, and develop forward a plan to renationalize my country.

Citations:
Lewin, Michael. Botswana’s Success: Good Governance, Good Policies, and Good Luck. Accessed 15 Feb. 2019.

“Luxury African Safaris,South America & South Asia Tours|AndBeyond.” Luxury African SafarisSouth America South Asia ToursandBeyond, www.andbeyond.com/advice/africa/botswana/what-should-i-expect-on-a-botswana-safari/.

Week7- Vivianne Lee

     Gaining knowledge about the country Botswana in Africa has been intriguing as it managed to uplift itself from being one of the poorest countries in the world to having it’s economy become one of the most successful. It managed to increase it’s national status due to minerals such as diamonds and beef as it’s the countries large export and sector. As stated in the readings beef contributed to 39% of the country’s GDP. Despite beliefs of mineral based countries being prone to bad government, Botswana’s government since independence has ensured stability, social and economical growth. The government established respect for property rights with the rule of law as many of the tribal leaders who helped usher modern government owned large amounts of cattle. Overall Botswana’s success in government can be determined by its key principles which are to serve the people and promote development. Furthermore, it’s “rich wildlife and scenic resources” as stated in the Poverty or Riches article attracts many tourists making Botswana a key tourist destination. Therefore in order to maintain this national status I believe the country should continue emphasizing and expanding on tourism attraction and activities as it can benefit the countries economy and protect its land.

References: 
Herring, A. D. (n.d.). Introduction to beef cattle production systems. Beef Cattle Production Systems, 1-12. doi:10.1079/9781780645070.0001
Lewin, Michael. Botswana’s Success: Good Governance, Good Policies, and Good Luck. Accessed 15 Feb. 2019.

Week 7. Garcia, Moises

Botswana’s miracle growth was fueled by diamonds, and usually countries that try to thrive off of minerals don’t  seem to have much success. Thus because most countries governments run the mining and exports of minerals such as diamonds, and a lot of these countries are corrupt within, and only cater to part of the population. But what Botswana did was different they set up a democratic system to run the process of mining the minerals and exporting and importing in order for the economy be to be run by multiple people and not be imperialistic or run by a small group of people like the prior countries that failed did so. Botswana set up a parliamentary democracy since its independence and elections are “free and fair” and the government is responsive to the electorate and transparent in its dealings. In Botswana leadership, particularly that of its first president, Seretse Khama, may have been crucial, especially in the areas of mineral exploitation and the rights of the state versus those of the tribes. Usually the discovery of mineral can lead to civil war, but the Botswana democratic party came to an agreement about the lands before actually sending machines and the tribes ended up agreeing. The tribe leader knew that it would be best for the country as a whole.  I think its important ans the main reason that Botswana is doing well, because they were able to agree on terms as a country without disputes, but only because they were all looking for what what best for the economy and the country. 

·      Ueno, Yūko, Magdalena Olczak, Yoshiaki Takahashi, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, eds. Promoting Consumer Education: Trends, Policies, and Good Practices. Paris: OECD, 2009.

·      “Natural Resources and Development: Confronting Emerging Challenges in Botswana, Public Lecture at the Bank of Botswana By Mr. Naoyuki Shinohara, Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund.” IMF. Accessed February 18, 2019. https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sp033011.

Week 7_Yueming Tan

In the article "Botswana's Success: Good Governance, Good Policies, and Good Luck" by Michael Lewin, the author mentions that Botswana's success is due to the government's effective use of natural resources and management methods to improve the country's economy. I was surprised because Botswana was one of the poorest countries in the world before 1966. On the other hand, most African countries have substantial natural resources, diamonds. I think this is also the biggest reason for Botswana's success because diamonds are rare and expensive ones. At the same time, Botswana did not over-develop natural resources, which also allowed the country to maintain its value. I think Botswana's government is smart because it adopts an open policy for foreign investors, which also enable foreign investors to bring knowledge technology and management capabilities to Botswana. On the other hand, I think Botswana can start to develop in other areas because natural resources are limited.

I chose this picture because of the special meaning of diamonds. People widely believed that a diamond ring is necessary for marriage because the definition of diamonds is eternal. This is one of the reasons why diamonds are so expensive. Women love diamonds, and they are women's best friends.

• CHAPTER 4 Botswana's Success: Good Governance,. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.370.6568
• https://i.pinimg.com/originals/53/dc/26/53dc26d7bda016bec1d40cd1a54b8566.jpg

Week 7 - Samantha Soleta

Botswana's rapid success and development can be attributed to the growth in it's mineral-based economy after gaining independence in 1966. Unlike other African countries in a post-colonial setting, Botswana's restructuring was remarkably easy and good politics and governance led to a speedy post-colonial development and an implementation of a highly successful industry in sourcing minerals, specifically diamonds. While other mineral-rich countries often find themselves in civil conflict or the exploitation of resources, Botswana's utilization of Tswana tribal traditions had aided in creating a government setting ideal for both the economy and the people.

Governance since independence has been focused on transparency and the respect of private property. Due to the predominantly homogenous population along with these transparent politics, there was little reason for dispute within the nation. This created a foundation for Botswana to tremendously improve on creating better systems for education, health, there were increases in life expectancy, and a reduction in poverty. 

The world's largest diamond, found in Botswana, valued around $70 million.

Despite this great success in the country, it seems that Botswana has yet to excel in the public eye. The achievements of Botswana and its government have gone largely unnoticed to the global perspective. However, this could be attributed to the country being a landlocked and sparsely populated nation. Being largely successful in it's own right, the nation has yet to be perceived as an international power nor has it been seen to be a tourist destination, ultimately leaving it out of the limelight.

Works Cited:

Aizenman, Nurith. “When Botswana Sells Its Big Diamond, Who Will Benefit?” NPR, NPR, 29 June 2016, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/06/29/483695466/botswana-s-economy-needs-more-than-diamonds-to-shine.

Lewin, Michael. "Botswana’s success: Good governance, good policies, and good luck." Yes Africa Can 81 (2011).

Week 7_Toan Tran

It is incredible to learn about how the country of Botswana in Africa brought its prospects up from the ground after it gained independence in 1966. Even from being a landlocked country in a developing nation, it managed to improve in many aspects and increase its national status. This was all possible with their discovery of valuable minerals such as diamonds present within their land. However typically, as mentioned in the reading, when developing nations uncover rare minerals just as how Botswana did, it would bring out the worst in them: corrupting the people in power and expending the resources until they are depleted. But Botswana did not fall into this category. Botswana was able to reduce its poverty, make education more widespread, increase in factors of human development such as life expectancy, develop more efficient infrastructure, and overall increase its GDP all thanks to its good governance and economic management of the valuable resource they discovered. With their government investing in public goods and infrastructure and unlinking public expenditure from revenue, this helped in maintaining a stable economy. But just how was the government operated exactly? To much surprise, Botswana has a democratic government. This is a surprise because democracies are not seen as a positive factor for economic growth and development. The reading even states that, “For some observers, democracy is actually a hindrance to economic development…democracies (such as India) have not fared well economically undoubtedly means that democracy is neither sufficient nor necessary for growth and development,” (Lewin, 85). However, despite this statement, it seems to work with Botswana and I am more curious now to know why that is, because other countries such as ones in East Asia and even Chile did not have a democratic government during its days of rapid rebuilding and development. But, the minerals will deplete some day soon projected to be completely wiped out by 2029 and I am curious to see how the country will fair and what they can do to keep its status consistent. 



References:

Botswana Diamonds - Google Search. https://www.google.com/search?q=botswana+diamonds&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS789US789&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiXgP6K5cbgAhUFHqwKHV7pCzkQ_AUIDygC&biw=1440&bih=722#imgrc=LPm3pkYsHMfAtM: Accessed 19 Feb. 2019.

Lewin, Michael. Botswana’s Success: Good Governance, Good Policies, and Good Luck. Accessed 17 Feb. 2019.

Week 5 - Samantha Soleta

For China, national image has been somewhat of a subject of concern over the last few decades. Managing the balance between international relations and international persona has proved to be quite a challenge for them moving into the new millenia. Their biggest challenge has been moving from an authoritarian and almost restrictive government which leaves many people overworked and living in sub-par conditions. However, a new opportunity for image rebuilding arrived in the 2008 Beijing olympics. 

China used this new opportunity and their power to quickly mobilize their people to pave the way for a groundbreaking olympics and set the stage for China to emerge as an international power. During these olympics, China had used all sorts of high-tech and crowd-pleasing performances to wow global audiences, which they successfully did. "The huge successes of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games and the national parade celebrating the 60th anniversary of the People's republic of China presented a rising great power in the global stage." (298)

The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games showed the globe how impactful having a global platform to showcase a country's power could be. The opening ceremony alone proved to be an illustrious example of China's rich culture, hardworking people, prosperity, and influential values.

References:

Sheng Ding. “Branding a Rising China: An Analysis of Beijing’s National Image Management in the Age of China’s Rise.” Journal of Asian and African Studies, vol. 46, no. 3, June 2011, pp. 293–306. Crossref, doi:10.1177/0021909611405830.

https://www.claypaky.it/media/newsMedia/2008-beijing-olympic-games_01_L.jpg

Week 7 - Alvin Du

Since Botswana's independence in 1966, the country has risen in GDP per capita through the exportation of their natural resource: diamonds. However, this wasn't the only contributing factor in Botswana's growth; their transparent government played a role. The government knew that natural minerals can be exhausted and therefore spent money to improve education, health and infrastructure to be able to sustain itself after the depletion of diamonds. However, they will also need to raise their GDP from other trades in order to continue their growth. It is stated that the most viable path for Botswana's growth would be to attract foreign direct investment. Botswana's situation and national image is analogous to the rise and fall of certain companies. In comparison to the large video game company, EA, Botswana's transparent government is how it keeps the people well informed, but most importantly, happy. This increases investment into the country and its values. Electronic Arts however has had a bad reputation by deceiving its customers and has shown frequently that its main purpose is to rack in revenue. EA has no transparency in the way they operate. It was only until recently last month that EA has become much more transparent with how they intend to improve their game content as well as their operations. If you look at the stock price from the beginning of 2019, one share costed $74 at the low and when the released their most recent game, Apex Legends, stock prices jumped to $106 per share. This wasn't because they racked in revenue, but more so due to good game content from a free-to-play game and transparency. In order to EA to continue its growth, they constantly need financial support and investment. The same is expected from Botswana's search for foreign direct investment.

Lewin, Michael. "Botswana’s success: Good governance, good policies, and good luck." Yes Africa Can 81 (2011).

Aizenman, Nurith. “When Botswana Sells Its Big Diamond, Who Will Benefit?” NPR, NPR, 29 June 2016, www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/06/29/483695466/botswana-s-economy-needs-more-than-diamonds-to-shine.

Week 6 - Diane Tran

Media has played a big role in rebranding nations. As depicted in the article by Kevin Latham, "Media, the Olympics and the search for the 'Real China,'" there was a bigger picture of the Olympics and this was to showcase China's economic, technological, cultural, social and environmental achievements. In 2008, Olympics took place in China, and thus presented China as "Real China" (Latham, 3).  There were 30,000 reporters that came from around the world which allowed China to have the opportunity to reach a new audience and attract a new international audience. From the torch relay, it caused the world to backlash on China. Due to different languages and cultures, I believe that different countries can misinterpret each other and misconceive the true intent of the countries' purpose. For example, due to mistranslations with China, it manifested how the world viewed China in a way that created the "anti-China bias in foreign media" (Latham, 6). In addition, the audience was in awe of the creativity of the opening ceremony of the Olympics, but media play said that the fireworks were "fake." In my opinion, I believe that it is scary and threatening to know that the media can twist something, because of misinterpretation or bias, for the audience to confer to that certain viewpoint that they have. 



Through the misconceptions of "Real China," I realized that not only does a product, services, or country need to be sold, but the viewpoint of what the audience wants is important as well. In addition, media can play a big role in changing the way nations can be perceived by the public whether it is positive or negative. Paying attention to this, I will spend time on thinking on I can have my audience/media perceive my product/services in a positive way.

Works Cited
Kevin Latham (2009). Media, the Olympics and the Search for the “Real China”. 
MarkH. “Media Bias: The Lens.” Conservative Intelligence Briefing, 30 May 2018, conservativeintel.com/2018/05/30/media-bias-the-lens/.

Week 3 - Percy Yan

In the article "Colbert and Governmental Control of Industry in Seventeenth Century France" by Abbott Payson Usher, Colbert possessed genuine convictions. Many aspects of his reforms were essentially liberal in character because his administrative reorganization necessarily led him to destroy obsolescent feudal rights and privileges and to remove the numerous impediments to freedom of internal trade that were created by the officials of provinces, towns and villages. According to the article, his position in respect of the merits of individualism and collectivism it is necessary to bear in mind that his day in France was already beginning to feel the stress of competition with England and Holland. There were changes in the valuation of French economic resources that constituted a threat to continued prosperity . Colbert also lived in a region that had reached the height of its development. It was a society characterized by ambitions for the secure social position conferred by land and offices. Industry and commerce were at best means of purchasing social security and neither industry nor trade was expanding rapidly enough to inspire much hope or to foster a general spirit of enterprise and adventure.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/1927041

Week 2 - Percy Yan

In the article "Cultural Identity and Cultural Policy" by Haksoon Yim, the problem of cultural identity is mentioned. The problem is caused by the experience of Japanese colonialism which sought to eradicate and distort Korean cultural identity by the enforcement of a cultural assimilation policy at the end of the Japanese colonial period. What happened was the Japanese occupation may have deprived Koreans of their chance of modernizing themselves beyond the traditional characteristics. Moreover, the legacy of Japanese colonialism continued to influence the development of Korean culture in a negative way even after liberation from Japan. Since then, the recovery of cultural identity by removing the legacy of Japanese colonialism has been an essential part of cultural policy. The government has sought to rebuild the eroded national culture by re-evaluating traditional culture and intensifying research and education on Japanese colonialism. In addition, the government prohibited the performance or exhibition of Japanese culture and arts in Korea. Korean government also enforced closed-door policy towards Japanese culture as well as Japanese cultural products. At the same time, Korean government also feared that the Japanese cultural industries, with their substantial capital and technology, could threaten the domestic market share of Korean cultural industries.

https://theoracle.glenbrook225.org/opinions/2015/10/02/korean-american-identity-overcomes-assimilation/

Week 1 - Percy Yan

In the article "Startup is Growth" by Paul Graham, the main factors that contributes to a successful startups mentioned are "redwood, ideas, rate, compass, value, deals, understand". Each of these components are important because they guide a startup towards the correct direction and growth. First component is redwood. According to the article, startups are designed to grow fast like a redwood's destiny from a bean sprout. For a start up to achieve that, it must make something lots of people want and be able to reach and serve all those people. Next, a startup should come up with an idea or ideas that is different from everything that is already out there. It should be an idea that solves problems for a lot of people. Next factor is rate. The rate of growth should be always increasing. There is an initial period of slow or no growth while the startup tries to figure out what it is doing. As the startup figures out how to make something lots of people want and reach those people, there is a period of growth. Eventually a startup will grow into a big company. The next component is compass. This is about balancing different features in a startup by adjusting what is necessary and what is not. Value of the startup should also be increasing as time goes. Another important factor is deals. Your startup should be appealing to investors and be able to catch their attentions. Lastly, a startup should understand their products as well as their customers. They should be open to feedbacks as well as criticisms.

https://thinkgrowth.org/the-startup-founders-guide-to-analytics-1d2176f20ac1

Week 6. Garcia, Moises

China’s national image benefits from its strong commitment to cultural diplomacy, effective employment of information and communication technologies in international broadcasting, and close connections with the Chinese diaspora around the world.  China’s cultural attractiveness has become an important resource for its national image management. Seeking to improve favorable images and inspire positive international public opinion, Beijing has aggressively implemented its cultural diplomacy. As claimed by the Chinese Minister of Culture in 2004, ‘a new mechanism for China’s outward culture exchange has come into being, with the Chinese government playing a major role, social organizations playing supplementary roles. As China continues its rapid economic development and expands its share of world trade, the value of the Chinese language likewise increases. Because of this now ore than 100 countries are offering Chinese courses, the language has become such a global phenomenon that a lot of people want to learn it, not only because they wish to visit the China but because in almost every part of the world the language is known.  During the last two decades China has commanded one of the world’s highest growth rates as a tourist destination, going from 5.7 million to a whopping 131 million becoming the 4^th largest host country from international tourists and the largest source market for tourists in the Asia region. What they did was understand that to rebrand yourself you must first influence those around you and get them to see what exactly you are doing different than them, and that leads to them following or learning from you and eventually buying from you. 

·     Sheng Ding. “Branding a Rising China: An Analysis of Beijing’s National Image Management in the Age of China’s Rise.” Journal of Asian and African Studies46, no. 3 (June 2011): 293–306. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021909611405830.

·     “Tourism in China.” In Wikipedia, February 1, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tourism_in_China&oldid=881247215.

Week 6 - Yufei Liu

This image is the most “western way” of describing China that I have ever seen. When other countries, especially the United States, talk about Chinese politics, one thing being brought up over and over again is the Communist one-party system with its restrictions on human rights, specifically freedom of speech. However, as a Chinese citizen, I could say that  none of those perceptions made by other countries matters. I am just as free as any American citizen. And one-party system isn’t always that bad, at least citizens are not segregated by two different political views. “Then what about not being able to vote?” Of course I’m okay with not having to vote for a president. Have we not seen a great example of people’s smart choice, president Donald Trump? In a country as big as China, not everyone has the same education level, and not everyone can make the smartest decision either. In my defense, why not let the government and people’s representatives choose what is the best for our country?

There are many severe problems with China though, such as pollution, food safety, transparency, credibility, consumer consciousness… No country is ever perfect. There is major pollution in the United States; food safety is an issue across Asia, transparency and credibility of a government is not promised in any country; consumer consciousness has a deeper root with influence around the world. However, often times China is put to the spotlight for critiques around the world. Just like the article Media, the Olympics and the Search for the “Real China” written by Kevin Latham describes, no one cares about the eagerness of China trying to prove what we are really about, our growth, our economy and new technology, all they see is air pollution, fakeness, and government control. It’s kind of heartbreaking to see my country going through such tremendous development after world war 2 is still being misunderstood.

Brahma, Chellaney. (2012, June 1). China’s Political Storm. The Australian.

Retrieved from

https://uyghuramerican.org/article/chinas-political-storm.html

Week 6-Uyen Ngo

There is no doubt that media has always played a huge part in branding and when it comes to nations, the way that the media portrays that nation is the way that the whole world will view it. For China, the arrival of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics is a key example of how powerful the media can be when it comes to national rebranding and how it can become a double ended sword.

In the article "Search for the Real China", the author argues that "the assumptions about reality and representation made by both Chinese and foreign media are often unhelpful for the tasks of understanding contemporary China" (Latham 27). In the first part of the article, there is a lot of discussion around how foreign media took this opportunity to create backlash towards China. Even the opening ceremony that was carefully crafted to impressed the world received backlash, such as saying the footprints that was shown was "fake". While I actually found this to be quite unfair, this shows how inviting the world into your country can open up a door that will be hard to manage. I think when it comes to China, due to the sometimes negative or rather "unsophisticated" image that they had, they might have had to understand the weight that would come with taking on something with as much media attention as the Olympics. I definitely think that there were a lot of positives that came from hosting the Olympics. After all, as said by Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, "Through the games, the world learned more about China, and China learned more about the world" (Latham 26). That being said, I felt like they needed more work in terms of not just refining their image, but also being more prepared for what was to come. When it came to my project, I've spent a lot of time with my partner trying to come up with an idea rather than thinking about the way we would need to market it. China reminds me that it is not necessarily the product that is being sold but rather the image that people want to buy into.

Works Cited

Kevin Latham (2009). Media, the Olympics and the Search for the “Real China”. TheChina Quarterly, 197, pp 25-43 doi:10.1017/S0305741009000022

Week 6_Toan Tran

Ever since I was a kid growing up, China has embedded itself in my head as a mass producer of sorts—making what seemed like almost everything I encountered. From all of the toys, clothes, plasticware—you name it—this was my personal image of China. As I was reading the article, diving into more of the image China has placed in everyone else's heads of the country, I realized that the first time I heard about Beijing was the olympics it was associated with and all of the amazing athletes I witnessed through my television watching with my parents. As the article stated, the olympics was a stage in which China showcased its “economic technological, cultural, social, and environmental achievements to the rest of the world,” and from what I have witnessed, they did not let that opportunity go to waste (Latham, 25). And the reason that China is so successful is due to its national image. With the influence of culture, political values, and foreign policies from its soft powers, they were able to build up to where they are today. However, from the late 1950s to the late 1970s, the result of the Communist Party of China coming into power led the country to a downward spiral in terms of its national image. Because of this, Beijing adopted a strategy called the you Zhongguo tese de duiwai xuanchuan (foreign publicity with Chinese characteristics) to bring up this image. They added more cultural initiatives (e.g. sponsoring student exchange programs, etc.) to increase mutual understanding between countries, strengthened its media by allowing other foreign countries to report on China with supervision from the Chinese government, increased its technological platform through the internet and phones, and much more to boost its cultural attractiveness. However, they could still improve on its political credibility and revival of popular nationalism. Overall, China's contribution to the globalization process as an open-door country allowed it to be what it is today and I plan to take what I evaluated off the presentation of China to other countries as well. 

References:

Beijing China Olympics - Google Search. https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS789US789&biw=718&bih=789&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=YttjXKaRAojc_wT7_66QBQ&q=beijing+china+olympics+&oq=beijing+china+olympics+&gs_l=img.3..0i30.10080.16568..17557...1.0..0.222.919.11j0j1......1....1..gws-wiz-img.......0j35i39j0i67j0i5i30j0i8i30j0i8i10i30j0i24.qrqdqj8GID8#imgrc=vT_kFHq_ofyDaM: Accessed 10 Feb. 2019

Kevin Latham (2009). Media, the Olympics and the Search for the “Real China”. The

China Quarterly, 197, pp 25-43 doi:10.1017/S0305741009000022

Sheng Ding. “Branding a Rising China: An Analysis of Beijing’s National Image Management in the Age of China’s Rise.” Journal of Asian and African Studies, vol. 46, no. 3, June 2011, pp. 293–306. Crossref, doi:10.1177/0021909611405830.