Starbucks Avoids Brewing Controversy in South Korea

©iStock/tupungato

Walk into any Starbucks in South Korea right now, and there are some names you definitely won't be hearing.  Six to be exact - and they happen to be the names of the candidates running in the upcoming presidential race.  That's because Starbucks has temporarily blocked customers who are ordering drinks from using these names, which would be called out by baristas.

Oh, let's not forget Starbuck's goal of making sure every customer has a great experience in their coffeehouses.

Apple's Vision Pro Goes Global

©iStock/Valen Tino

Following an exclusive launch in the US in February, Apple began the international expansion of Vision Pro in June. Now the company is ready to bring Apple Vision Pro to even more countries, as the company has just announced another expansion for next month to South Korea and UAE.

With the launch in South Korea and UAE, Apple Vision Pro will be available in 12 countries.

Say hello to K-beauty

©iStock/DragonImages

The global beauty industry is experiencing a revolution driven by South Korea, who tends to be 10-12 years ahead of the rest of the world, helped by the expansion of Instagram, YouTube and beauty blogging.  Say hello to K-beauty, an umbrella term for skin-care products that derive from South Korea.

"The fascination with Korean cosmetics is due to how innovative they are," says Marie Claire's digital beauty editor Katie Thomas.

Before even putting any make-up on, Koreans put in a lot of effort to take care of their skin.  What are some of the unique ingredients in the products?  Brace yourself.

"Snail mucin for moisturizing, pearl for brightening, green tea for oil control and propolis from bees for soothing and nourishing," she [Karen Hong, the founder of K Beauty Bar] reels off.

Learn more about the rise of Korean makeup in the West and how K-beauty is a large part of it.

The World's Most Innovative Economies

©iStock/Hansslegers

Which country is putting a lot of money into developing new technologies?  In the world of ideas, it's South Korea, lifting itself up from their bootstraps through a combination of government support and private enterprise.  Surprise, surprise.

Germany, Sweden, Japan and Switzerland rounded out the top five in the 2016 Bloomberg Innovation Index, which scored economies using factors including research and development spending and concentration of high-tech public companies.

South Korea's almost six-point edge on No. 2 Germany — and outpacing of neighbors Japan (No. 4) and China (No. 21) — also might understate the degree of economic competition felt among those in the Asian nation. 

Read more:  These are the World's Most Innovative Economies

Global Presence: 2013 Chevrolet Malibu Launch from South Korea

iStock/Thinkstock

Designed with global sales in mind, the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu will make South Korea one of it's assembly homes and distribution points, further increasing the brand's global presence.

What do Fairfax, Kansas and Hamtramck, Michigan, and Jingjao, China have in common with Bupyeong, South Korea? All four sites will be responsible for building the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, although the Korean facility will be the first to assemble the all-new sedan.

Read all about it here.

Note:  Bupyeong-gu is one of the ten administrative divisions (eight wards and two counties) that comprise Incheon, South Korea.  Bupyeong-gu comprises an area of 12.35 square miles (31.98 square km), and has a population of 553,961

Selling 10.3 Million Korean Customers

I looked at these photos and thought: What an EXTRAordinary branding and selling opportunity! Imagine getting your product or service mentioned in Korean (with a dot com link) on every single umbrella in South Korea during a typical day at the beach? Imagine if you manufactured the umbrellas?

WOW.

Photo credit: Global Trade & Technology Center

Entry corrected 9/19/08. We were originally told these photos were taken in China but learned from one of our readers (see comments) that, in fact, they were taken in South Korea at a place called "Haewoondae" in Busan (Pusan) which is the second largest city in South Korea.