Kevin Kwak's Blog

I returned from the Overseas Korean Traders Association’s (OKTA) two-nights three-days trade workshop and the program was well planned and executed despite it being only in its fifth year. Former OKTAJR’s graduates, staffs, and the directors worked long hours six months ahead of the program for the trade shows’ preparation. The guest speakers, import/export trade workshops, business plan case studies, and activities were well incorporated into the program layout. I greatly appreciate the founders, directors, staffs, sponsors, and all the contributors that have made this program a success for the Korean-American entrepreneurs.

The trade workshop took place in the Wilshire Plaza Hotel (Koreatown’s central business district) as mentioned in the previous OKTASC entry. Each year, OKTAJR accepts a maximum of 50 participants to the program. OKTA could invite more participants but then there would be issues with overcrowding and lessening the effectiveness of networking and the workshops. Perhaps OKTA’s annual budget could not accommodate additional participants.

Speaking of budget, OKTA fortunately attracts successful businesses for the program’s sponsorship. Without their sponsorships and support, OKTA would face many challenges coming up with the funds necessary for the program’s expenses; hotel accommodations, meals, program materials, great speakers, field trips, and lot more. To show my appreciation for the numerous sponsors, here is the list of OKTAJR’s sponsors:

GOLD Sponsors
Royal Imex Inc., Everest (Bags), Wilshire State Bank, Dura Coat Products Inc., Group Win (Golf)

SILVER Sponsors
Center Bank, KNA Memorial Hall, ENS Tradings Inc., Hite Jinro, Wilshire Plaza Hotel Los Angeles, Lotte Hotel LA Office

BRONZE Sponsors
Hanmi Bank, Nara Bank, Flexfit LLC, Asiana Airline, KCC Transport Systems Inc., J 2 Group Inc., Commonwealth Bank, eWaste Center Inc., Sunrise Distribution USA Inc., Mantis Technologies, Contempo Inc., Ameriko Inc., Da Se In America Inc., UPS, Woo Ri Sool, Khan Soju, Boo Chang Do Tofu House, Best Western Palm Resort, DreamLife, SinJin America, Kyungmin Trading Corp., Damo Clothing Inc., DNH Management Co., Aries Trading, S&S Inc., Has Been Limited, Summit Wholesale, Leeway Global, WooJin Trading Inc., Elite Golf, Hannam Market, Nanowell, Uniti Bank, TaeYang Airline

OKTA 2007 Trade Workshop DVD Part 1/2

OKTA 2007 Trade Workshop DVD Part 2/2

Networking
OKTAJR emphasized heavily on networking, and after all this was a business workshop where communications between a buyer and a seller (importer/exporter, company/end-user, etc.) is the principle of trading. Since this was run by the Overseas Korean Traders Association of ‘Southern California’ (OKTASC), the majority of the participants worked and lived in the Los Angeles County and a very few were from a different county and state. Like all other networking events I attended, I was very impressed at the different backgrounds of the participants. Within my own team were outstanding people with interesting backgrounds from different walks of life. Through this trade workshop, I had the privilege to work with them for three days.

The age range was wider than I expected. The youngest member was 18 years old (sophomore in college) and the oldest member may have been in her/his late 30s. Overseas Korean Traders Association Junior (OKTAJR) of course do not discriminate against age; accepting applicants both young and mature, the age differences only encouraged a diverse networking opportunity combining fresh ideas from all participants.

The diversity was present not only in the age range but also in cultural views. The English language was not as prominent as I thought it would be. For instance, my group used Korean most of the times and though I am fluent in Korean conversations, my Korean vocabularies were limited compared to my team mates. One of the member lived and worked in South Korea most of his life but immigrated to the United States for his Masters of Business Administration studies at UCLA. He is in consulting and by listening in to his conversations, you knew he was an expert in his field. A young man learning about the Korean-American lifestyles and cultural point of views had many inputs and opinions on the cultural differences. I was fortunate enough to pick his brain and learn more about the Korean business culture. Did I mention that I really want to improve on my Korean?

Field Trips
Our class got a chance to see a full-scale apparel manufacturing company in Los Angeles (South Gate). Koos Manufacturing, Inc. is a successful jean manufacturer that employs around 700 employees as of year 2007. Koos not only manufactures high-end denim jeans, the company also has the entire business operation working under one roof: fashion designing, payroll, marketing and sales, and distributions. Excellent operation management if you ask me because not many apparel manufacturers have the entire operations working under one location. After the assembly line tour, we asked lot of questions on its success. For your information, competition is very fierce in Los Angeles and the profit margin is very thin in the textile industry but Koos Manufacturing, Inc. continues to thrive and do very well annually.

Koos Manufacturing, Inc.
2741 Seminole Ave.,South Gate, CA 90280
323-564-2100
www.koos.com

The next tour site was the Korean National Association Memorial Hall located near the University of Southern California (USC) campus. I encourage all Korean-Americans to visit the KNA Memorial Hall and spend a good hour or two reading the articles and exhibits beautifully displayed, and also check out their website to learn about the non-profit organization in details. Admission is free. Operating hours are Monday through Saturday 10AM to 4PM and Sunday is closed.

Korean National Association Memorial Hall
1368 W. Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90007
323-733-7350
www.knahall.org

I highly recommend this trade workshop. Visit OKTAJr’s website for more information.