Koreans in Tripoli
by Richardson ~ March 24th, 2006. Filed under: Korean Culture, Miscellaneous.I do a good bit of travel in for business and I always look for Koreans in the area – earlier I wrote bout Koreans in Mongolia and the Philippines, and in East Africa.
In Tripoli, Libya you see the mark of Korean business before you leave the airport. There are several large “your company name here” banners hanging from the large dome ceiling of the facility with only one taker – Arirang TV. The cost is rumored to be about US$40,000 per advertisement, in that format. There was also a much smaller poster for Nokia phones, and nothing else; no other foreign or local advertising in the arrivals area.
Another area I observe is the number and type of Korean autos on the road. A rough estimate of the makeup in Tripoli would be half Japanese, 30-35 percent Korean, perhaps 10 percent low-end European (Fiat, Peugeot, Opal), and a smattering of American and Soviet vehicles. There seemed to be a fair distribution of Hyundai, Kia, and Daewoo, but most of the Daewoo appeared to be newer models.
About 80-85 percent of the cities air conditioners are LG, and a surprisingly large number of apartments and homes are equipped with them, not only relative to other African countries, but to Korea itself.
I looked in vain for a Korean restaurant, and observed only one Korean businessman at my hotel (a very large hotel with mostly foreigners). There may be a small community of ROK expats there, but I didn’t uncover them. Or any North Koreans!
The numerous billboards of Qadhafi did however remind of the cult in North Korea, but it is not omnipresent in Libya. Apparently this is the 36th year of “revolution.” Some photos of billboards; one, two, three, four, five.
The departures area of Tripoli’s airport gave a final bit of evidence of South Korean business interests in Libya. All the air conditioners were LG, and the only TVs were Samsung, including the video that repeated on them. (Although it has nothing to do with Korea, I had to get some of this toothpaste!)
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March 24th, 2006 at 10:42 am
Shweeeeeeeeeeeeet! Can you get me one of those Khaddafy posters? I have the perfect spot for that in my office!!
March 24th, 2006 at 12:01 pm
Ya know, it never occurred to me to swipe one of those — I’m not sure I want to find out what a prison in Libya is all about. I did, however, get some sand from the shore for some Marine friends.
March 24th, 2006 at 12:44 pm
That ‘Crust’ photo is priceless!
Hey - Gadafi poster #2 is one of those revolving displays. What’s on the other side? An ad for “Badweiser” beer? “Furd” cars? “Gentlemen’s” club?
March 24th, 2006 at 12:50 pm
I think it was for this place.
March 24th, 2006 at 6:31 pm
Many Muslims seem to be boycotting American products, because of their anger at America. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Korean products are selling well in the Middle East. Also, Libya had close relations with North Korea and now they are extending the friendship to South Korea.
Iran is also boycotting America by starting to conduct oil sales in euros instead of dollars.
March 25th, 2006 at 4:18 pm
Mi-Hwa: Many Muslims seem to be boycotting American products, because of their anger at America. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Korean products are selling well in the Middle East. Also, Libya had close relations with North Korea and now they are extending the friendship to South Korea.
Actually, the real reason is that South Korea trades with a lot of countries that are under Western and Japanese sanctions, thus ensuring a captive market for its goods. The US has had a trade embargo on Libya for its terrorist attacks in Europe since the 1980’s (lifted for WMD cooperation in 2004) and the EU had a selective trade embargo on Libya since the Lockerbie bombing (lifted in exchange for admission of guilt and reparations in 2004). Trade is only now reviving - and the Koreans are probably a little worried because they now have to compete with the Chinese at the low end and with the Americans, the Japanese and the Euros at the high end.
As to US exports to Muslim countries, these have remained about the same, with some buying more and some buying less. The reality is that Muslim countries don’t buy American products because they *like* Americans any more than Koreans do so.* They choose products that fit their needs at an acceptable price. This is why American fast food restaurants in Muslim countries aren’t shutting down for lack of business, despite being more expensive than the average restaurant meal in non-oil-producing countries - radicals have to actually burn them down. It’s the same reason why McDonald’s continues to thrive in Korea, despite the average Korean’s antipathy towards the US.
* There is a perception among some that American products only have foreign consumers because of America’s military dominance. That’s not true. The Chinese hate Americans - a majority of the ones I know celebrated 9/11, just like their South Korean counterparts. But they love American products. It’s possible to hate your dentist while recognizing that he is, in fact, great at dental work.
Mi-Hwa: Iran is also boycotting America by starting to conduct oil sales in euros instead of dollars.
This makes zero difference - they could conduct their oil sales in won and the net result would be the same - if they want to buy Japanese products, they will have to exchange their won for yen to complete their transactions. The euro is much less liquid than the dollar because of the much larger two-way volume of American trade and investment flows. This means that means that when Iran wants to buy Japanese or Korean goods, they will lose a little more money in foreign exchange transaction costs, thanks to its new policy. Iran is deliberately throwing away money that could be spent in other ways. Again, the basic point here is that oil-producing countries don’t conduct their trade in dollars because they like the US - they do it because it is the most liquid currency around (because the US has the largest economy in the world) thus minimizing currency conversion losses. When Korea becomes the largest economy in the world - and I know the impending collapse of the US economy will bring that on any day now - they’ll start buying oil in won.
March 25th, 2006 at 10:35 pm
Nice theory, Mi Hwa. Almost too good to check!
March 27th, 2006 at 9:06 am
As an after thought I should mention that most people in Libya LIKE Americans. I met a lot. One guy with not so good English said he likes America and Americans, but not Bush.
March 27th, 2006 at 5:15 pm
Hey, kinda sounds like our State Department!
I kid, I kid.