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.

For those that are residing in Southern California and desires to gain valuable experience learning international trading in the commerce industry, don’t miss out the 2008 Overseas Korean Traders Association (OKTA) Trade Workshop. It is a three day trade workshop that is being held in Koreatown Los Angeles and the fee is only $80 which includes hotel accommodation, meals, and many programs scheduled for the event.

There are certain criteria to be admitted to the workshop and I believe you must be a Korean-American with a permanent residence or a US citizen (no F1 student visa), proficient in English (maybe Korean too?), last but not least have a true desire to succeed and work diligently as a Korean trader.

The World Federation of Overseas Korean Traders Association was established on April 1981. OKTA’s initial goal was to promote mutual prosperity between Korean traders in the U.S. and Japan with Korea and its trading partners as well as to enhance Korea’s economic profile.
Since its establishment, OKTA has expanded exchanges from Korean traders within the US and Japan to Korean traders globally. In addition, OKTA has expanded its concentration on trade of commodities to the trade of information and services. OKTA has been working across the globe, obtaining trade orders and holding consultations among its participants. Through international commerce, OKTA has and continues to contribute to the economic development and prosperity of Korea, Japan, and the U.S., as well as countless other global economies.
http ://www.oktajr.com/socal/home/

Date: 2008, July 24 (Thu) – July 26 (Sat)
Place: Wilshire Plaza Hotel (3515 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90010)
Fees: $80/person
Tel: 323.939.6582
Fax: 323.939.6583
Application Deadline: July 4, 2008
More Information: www.OKTAjr.com & info@OKTAjr.com

When a person is in dire need of professional advice to get out of legal troubles, they would expect to receive quality services in return especially if they hire an attorney in law. A member of the State Bar of California went through a rigorous education, passed a difficult bar exam, and pledged to follow the Rules of Professional Conduct at all times. But like in any industries, there are professionals that could not overcome the temptation of easy money and thus crosses the line jeopardizing their entire career. In news, you read about these professionals that rely on their licenses and degrees to work in a competitive field but due to their greed, their reputation and the career goes down the drain because of a bad move in their part. An easy route to make quick money does not exists unless you factor in illegal and fraudulent activities unless you invest lot of your own capital and loan to start/operate a business that sells a hot commodity.

So going back to the blog title, the State Bar of California introduces proposals and amendments to the practices of law. One recent proposal that came to my interest is titled Online Publication of Notice of Disciplinary Charges (NDC). In the State Bar website, the public general has access to view the license status and disciplinary charges (if any) of a member of a State Bar but an important information is missing.

Unfortunately, although the records and hearings relating to the disciplinary proceeding pending against an attorney in the State Bar Court are public, members of the public currently have extremely limited access to them.

The issue or a lack of information with the Attorney Search feature is that the public general do not have updated information on whether the attorney has a disciplinary proceedings pending against them. Everyone will at least once seek an attorney for legal counsel and when the time comes, you would want to hire the best attorney that your money can buy. No one wants to seek an attorney that have violated the attorney-client relationship. Imagine your privacy and confidential information being misused for unlawful purposes. There was a recent news article in the Korea Times where a group of Korean-American attorneys that practices law in Los Angeles County took advantage of a senior woman by transferring her real property deeds/ownership (located in South Korea) to a newly formed limited liability company (LLC) formed by the attorneys. There will be justice!

The due date to voice your comment is June 30, 2008 and send your e-mail to:
Itzel D. Berrio
The State Bar of California
Office of the Chief Trial Counsel
180 Howard St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-538-2541
415-538-2214 Fax

EDIT: Here is the e-mail response from Itzel Berrio.

The Unique Entrepreneurs’ Competition & Networking Event of the Year
TCVN “8th Annual Fast Pitch Competition”

Monday - May 19, 2008
6:00pm - 9:00pm
Anaheim Marriott
70 West Convention Way, Anaheim, CA 92802

Meet, greet, and see - the art of the pitch through the eyes of the Tech Coast Angels, the nation’s largest and most active network of angel investors.

Network with hundreds of investors and entrepreneurs.
Enjoy a sumptuous walk-around dinner and wine.

Register Now @ www.PitchTheAngels.com
Registration

$85 by May 15th
($115 after)

At Fast Pitch you will -
Watch the finalists in the competition pitch a panel of expert judges.
Learn about exciting new startup investment opportunities.
Learn how Tech Coast Angels has funded 142 ventures, investing $94 million coupled with $994 million from co-investors.
Since 2006, two of the Fast Pitch winners have each received multiple funding rounds from TCA.

Scoring System and Judges
Fourteen finalists have been selected from previous Coaching sessions.
Judges are prominent VCs, Angels and Business Executives, who will score funding opportunity and presentation on scale of 1-10
4 Winners: Best Overall; Best Funding Opportunity; Best Presentation; People’s Choice/Audience Pick.
Best Overall - based on the combined score — weighted with 60% for funding opportunity and 40% for presentation.
Best Funding Opportunity - based on who best attracts the investors to take the next step and visit in depth with the entrepreneur.
Best Presentation - based on the best and most effective delivery, the most enthusiastically persuasive, and the most exciting.

Associated with the May 19th all-day event:
Harvard Business School “24th Annual Entrepreneurs Conference”
Win Fun Door Prizes from TCA Companies
Conference Overview

The annual Entrepreneurs Conference is an exceptional opportunity to capitalize on the successful experiences of others in starting, funding, growing, and managing a new business.

Who should attend?
Entrepreneurs, investors, and executives of rapidly growing companies will definitely want to be at this event. If you are contemplating a start-up, looking to accelerate your sales growth, or want to connect with other business owners or investors, this conference is for you.

What will I get out of it?
You can:
* Learn how to get funding for your business,
* Acquire valuable marketing ideas to accelerate your sales growth, and
* Find out what worked and didn’t work from successful entrepreneurs.
http://www.hbsaoc.org/conference/index.htm

After giving some thoughts and talking with some folks, I decided to add a new career goal to the New Year’s Resolution list (which by the way I am progressing well so far ). Computer/management information system courses were part of the major requirements and I’m glad it was part of the curriculum as it introduced information technology into my world. I pretty much aced the course and did well on the projects that had to do with Microsoft softwares and internet applications.

Even though information technology (IT) field is not where I currently work in, I always imagined myself being a computer/IT technician that solves complicated networking configurations or do simple tasks like building a top of the line gaming rig for my friends. It actually all started in my senior year at the high school when I met a guy who knew inside out of Microsoft softwares and used IRC and P2P programs at a time when I was busy online gaming. Visited his house and he had like three computers all networked and online. It was running Windows XP Professional and Windows 2000 Server. Back then I did not have a clue what networking was and the difference between Windows 2000 Server and Windows ME. Through him I was introduced to new computer technologies and my interests expanded from then on. I quickly learned how to build a computer from the ground up and learned the fundamentals of computer hardware and software. I then learned about the certifications computer technicians could earn through an examination offered by The Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA). I was meaning to take the exam but the test guide book was thick as a bible and wasn’t persistent with the studying.

Now fast forward to 2008 and I am back in the certification track. With years of hands on experience with Microsoft operating systems and office suite along with various applications, it will not be very difficult to obtain the IT credentials and certificates now. And what better way is there to prove your expertise? Become a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP)!

It is fairly easy to become a MCP since you need to pass only one of the many Microsoft exams. Note this: the Microsoft Office Specialist (Office 2003 and before) certification do not count towards the MCP, but the new Microsoft certifications for Office 2007 do grant you the Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist (MCTS) credentials. If you decide to put a Microsoft Office certification under your belt, best to read which certifications are available on the MCP webpage. My advice is to obtain the Microsoft Office Specialist Master for the Office 2003 software especially you job seekers.

My goal is to complete the Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator (MCSA) certification tracks. The MCSA concentrates on the Windows Server 2003 operating system where networking and domains are heavily used in mid- to large-businesses. The core and elective exams include the following:

Exam 70–290: Managing and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Environment
Exam 70–291: Implementing, Managing, and Maintaining a Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Network Infrastructure
Exam 70–270: Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional
One Elective

The MCSA certification tracks requires three less exams than the coveted Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification which is a prominent credential for any IT members. Did you know that these two credentials are available for Windows Server 2003, 2000, NT4.0 but not for the new Server 2008? The credentials are no longer available for Server NT 4.0 (obviously) and have recently phased out the Server 2000 operating system. The Windows Server 2008 introduced new certification tracks.

It is better late than never. Estimated time of completion for the credential will be before the end of 2009. Second thought, I think I could complete it by the end of this year just by self studying. No need to spend thousands attending technical schools or a college.

UPDATE: Read my MCSA progress journal to get the updates.