Carseats in Korea and responses to my blog.

Ok, I mentioned this before...but I still can't really get over it. In Korea having a carseat is a really big deal. Almost NO ONE has one, nor do they think it's a must-have...this all in the face of the 'we love our children more than anything in the world' mindset that everyone here has. Maybe it's cost: these things are not cheap here--maybe because they are all foreign-made there is a duty, or perhaps because you only seem to see them in department stores (where prices are crazy, in my view) or maybe it's some sort of cache or premium pricing. Whatever the reason I can't see the logic in spending kajillions of won on hagwons (private tutors/after-school schools) and then chance having it all lost (as well as the emotional trauma) in an instant.

Any comments?


A big deal...or a normal thing...depends where you are. (Big boy, Spencer, is in booster seat.)

Here's another thing that amazes me...the response to my blog. The hits have increased by 50-75% a month for the last while and I'm starting to think that some people actually read it on a daily basis. What started as a way to note observations and vent some frustration (in that order) seems to be kinda interesting...and I really appreciate your reading my 'work'. (I quote Jerry Seinfeld on what he was trying to do with his show: "We just tried to put something 'out there' that we could be proud of and if people liked it, all the better."

About work, though. Another surprise was the number of emails I get from readers who are about 10 years behind my 10-year finance career. They are always very polite and looking for advice on how to break into the business...so I advise them as much as I can. These aren't slouches either (although I didn't exactly go to an Ivy League school, Simon Fraser was voted #1 in Canada), they went to the likes of Oxford, Yale and Stanford. All have an interest in Korea (either born here or living here) and all are looking for a way to get into this seemingly opaque and monolithic industry. I'll try to write a bit more on what I do and the business here in Korea (and generally), but I have to be careful of 2 things (i) the confidentiality we have to keep re: our clients and products and (ii) keeping you from dozing off too much. Let me know any questions or feedback, as you like.