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[MK Opinion] Open Mind, Technology, and Creativity
During the first two months of 2016, the ECCK President Jean-Christophe Darbes will be making weekly contributions to Maekyung Business News opinion column. Each week, the Chamber will share the published article as well as its English translation.
Please click here to access President Darbes’ second article and read below for the English version:
Open Mind, Technology, and Creativity
In the eyes of most Koreans, France may be a country of good wine and cheese, leading fashion and luxury, or rich cultural heritage.
Digital and Information Technology is the new driver of French economy, and its reach is widening over the border. Over 15,000 French developers and entrepreneurs are working in Silicon Valley, including many in executive positions at leading IT companies such as Apple, PayPal, Tesla, and so on. At the recent CES 2016, the French delegation accounted for the second largest group next to the US, with more than 190 participating start-ups.
One might wonder what’s behind the creativity industry of France. There may be different explanations, but what strikes me is an open and unrestricted mind-set of its people. Let’s take a few examples. A new lifestyle of sharing economy has quickly become a trend among the young generation in France, on a much larger scale than Korea. Recent data show that the average age for buying a new car is 55 in France. It indicates that the younger generation values ownership on a lesser scale and “rent, share, and exchange” instead. With technology married to a new lifestyle, more on-demand and online-offline bringing services are on the horizon, opening up opportunities for more non-traditional businesses.
The Korean government has launched its Creative Economy initiative to go beyond its traditional strength in manufacturing and infrastructure. To make that transition successful, however, I believe the focus should be on how to breed openness and flexibility. One pitfall to avoid is to approach creativity in a traditional way – investing more on technology, doing more research, and working harder.
Korea has been considered as a leader in the IT industry because of its advanced online infrastructure, but European and other countries are quickly narrowing the gap and even getting ahead by introducing creative services in the field.
What counts now is to know what to focus on – what customers want, what people want to get out of technology, and what is changing. It comes from unbiased observation and critical thinking, which could only be bred through an open mind. Perhaps this challenge is worth taking for Korea.
[MK Opinion] Open Mind, Technology, and Creativity
During the first two months of 2016, the ECCK President Jean-Christophe Darbes will be making weekly contributions to Maekyung Business News opinion column. Each week, the Chamber will share the published article as well as its English translation.
Please click here to access President Darbes’ second article and read below for the English version:
Open Mind, Technology, and Creativity
In the eyes of most Koreans, France may be a country of good wine and cheese, leading fashion and luxury, or rich cultural heritage.
Digital and Information Technology is the new driver of French economy, and its reach is widening over the border. Over 15,000 French developers and entrepreneurs are working in Silicon Valley, including many in executive positions at leading IT companies such as Apple, PayPal, Tesla, and so on. At the recent CES 2016, the French delegation accounted for the second largest group next to the US, with more than 190 participating start-ups.
One might wonder what’s behind the creativity industry of France. There may be different explanations, but what strikes me is an open and unrestricted mind-set of its people. Let’s take a few examples. A new lifestyle of sharing economy has quickly become a trend among the young generation in France, on a much larger scale than Korea. Recent data show that the average age for buying a new car is 55 in France. It indicates that the younger generation values ownership on a lesser scale and “rent, share, and exchange” instead. With technology married to a new lifestyle, more on-demand and online-offline bringing services are on the horizon, opening up opportunities for more non-traditional businesses.
The Korean government has launched its Creative Economy initiative to go beyond its traditional strength in manufacturing and infrastructure. To make that transition successful, however, I believe the focus should be on how to breed openness and flexibility. One pitfall to avoid is to approach creativity in a traditional way – investing more on technology, doing more research, and working harder.
Korea has been considered as a leader in the IT industry because of its advanced online infrastructure, but European and other countries are quickly narrowing the gap and even getting ahead by introducing creative services in the field.
What counts now is to know what to focus on – what customers want, what people want to get out of technology, and what is changing. It comes from unbiased observation and critical thinking, which could only be bred through an open mind. Perhaps this challenge is worth taking for Korea.