Category: korea | 韓國 | 한국 | 韓国

  • 2024 – that was twenty twenty four

    2024 introduction This retrospective look at 2024 was inspired by a post from 2023. I reflected on the year’s events, with conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, and numerous elections worldwide. Generative AI and cryptocurrency sectors dominated the tech scene. The Farfetch-Coupang deal highlighted the influence of top luxury brands, while Richemont became a speculative takeover…

  • AE86 + more things

    Toyota AE86 The rear-wheel drive AE86 model generation of the humble Toyota Corolla has a dedicated following. The cars were light, had twin-cam engines, a very balanced weight split and a limited slip differential. Back in the 1980s in Ireland they were a steady performer on the local rally scene. The AE86 because of its…

  • Pagers + more things

    Pagers Pagers went back into the news recently with Hizbollah’s exploding pagers. YouTuber Perun has done a really good run down of what happened. Based on Google Analytics information about my readership the idea of pagers might need an explanation. You’ve probably used a pager already, but not realised it yet. For instance if you’ve…

  • September 2024 newsletter

    September 2024 newsletter introduction Welcome to my September 2024 newsletter, this newsletter marks my 14th issue. When I lived in Hong Kong and dealt with Chinese accounts, the number 4 was considered unlucky, rather like 13. 14 is even worse due to it sounding so similar to ‘is dead’ or ‘will be dead’ or ‘will…

  • Mooncakes + more things

    Mooncakes Mooncakes were a big part of my time in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. This year, mid-September marked mid-autumn festival across Asia or known as Chuseok in Korea. It is similar to harvest festivals that happen elsewhere in the world. It is celebrated in Chinese communities with mooncakes. Mooncakes traditionally have been made of fat…

  • Omakase and luxury futures

    Omakase and luxury seem made for each other. Think about the core elements of omakase: As a trend omakase has expanded geographically with Japanese cuisine. But it has also expanded in terms of categories covered. Koreans have taken omakase and pushed it into other areas: So how can omakase and luxury come together in the…

  • Complaint resolution + more things

    Complaint resolution My mind cast back to one of the first modules I studied at college. There was a lecture on the role of complaint resolution as part of customer services. The idea was that effective complaint resolution engendered trust in a customer service function and was more likely to increase brand loyalty and recommendation…

  • Loneliness

    This post on loneliness came about from an insight journey I took for a prospective project aimed at generation Z. Don’t get me started on defining an audience by generation, or I will go off-topic and not be back for a while while I rant about how life stages are a superior lens. But we…

  • 2023 – that was twenty twenty three

    2023 has been an eventful year. I thought it made sense to go back and reflect on everything that has gone on this year. I was inspired to do this after coming across a similar post that I had done for 2005. Contrary to what much of the tech sector believed just six months earlier,…