Our advisor, Wee Lin, stands beside a solar box cooker he donated to rural regions in North Korea on a project unrelated to Choson Exchange. You can read more about him and his good works here and here. Update: The Solar Kettle is the glass vacuum tube and black plastic tube standing against the wall
Business Studies in North Korea
A couple of years ago, when I first visited Pyongyang, a Kim Il Sung University student told me that she wanted to be a businesswomen. I was delighted to hear that since I was planning to go into research and teaching in international management. I asked her why. She said, “I want to prove that women can be good business leaders too.” A short while later, we started talking about politics. The issue must have caused her some distress. She asked me whether I was interested in such issues. I said “I am interested in everything… including politics. Aren’t you interested in it too?” She replied, “Politics is for men only.”
Obviously, when North Koreans talk about business, they have a very different context in mind. Businesses do not operate in a market economy and this has significant implications for what knowledge can be immediately implementable. However, many of the basic decisions that businesses have to make everyday still have to be made in North Korea: how to sell, how to reduce costs, how to lead organizations or how to enter foreign markets. The issue is whether the incentives or signals function in the same manner, and whether these differences lead to a reordering of business priorities.
I wonder whether the student represents a trend towards greater interest in business studies in North Korea and whether such trends are divided among gender lines. Some NGOs we talked to mention how during visits to Pyongyang-based universities, North Koreans had very specific requests for business textbooks. The requests reflect a level of knowledge of the field of business studies that an outsider normally does not expect from North Koreans. The interesting question is how this knowledge is operationalized under a non-market context.
Sept 7 - Sept 14 Pyongyang Visit
Our upcoming trips will be divided into two parts with the first part (Sept 7 - Sept 11) focused on our finance training programs and the second part (Sept 11 - Sept 14) focused on organizing a visit by students from the National University of Singapore and other academics. Our visit will focus on academic institutions and meetings with relevant staff at these institutions. Currently, we will be visiting Kim Il Sung University, Kimchaek University of Technology, Kim Hyong Jik University of Education, Pyongyang Middle School No.1 and Kumsong School.
Geoffrey K. See
Business English & Business Chinese Programs in Pyongyang
Geoffrey K. See During my last visit to Pyongyang, I noticed how Kim Il Sung University students were attached to tour groups with English-speaking tourists to practice their English. There is clearly an interest and need for good language training in North Korea – especially given the paucity of exposure to language practice opportunities there.
After talking to former staff from the United Nations Development Program (where the idea came from) and with other academic institutions working with North Korea, I believe that setting up a Business English and Business Chinese program targeted at younger North Koreans might be a good idea. Initial discussions with our North Korean partners indicate that such a program would be of interest.
This program would allow us to reach out to a younger group. We can use business cases as a means of teaching language, and at the same time, use language training as a means of imparting important business concepts. Furthermore, by focusing on language training, we can bring in trainers from universities who need not be as qualified, thus reducing our costs. This program can be run over the summer.
The main obstacle would be cost of accommodating the trainers. Given the low-cost structure that we are running Choson Exchange on, we need to see if we can get our trainers accommodated for free, preferably in the student dormitories. Otherwise, such a program would not be possible.
DPRK 2008 (Rough) Standard of Living Indicator across Provinces
Using the recently released DPRK 2008 census figures, I have constructed a "rough" guide to the different living standards in different provinces using some figures embedded in the census. Feel free to take a look and provide comments.
Highlights: Figure 2 provides a clear picture of the large gap between Pyongyang and the rest of the DPRK in terms of access to “high quality” public infrastructure. Using differences in access to such infrastructure as reported in the 2008 DPRK census, I attempt to construct a rough ranking of standards of living in different provinces of the DPRK (Table 2). Caveats apply in determining the accuracy of this ranking.
Informal Survey of North Korean Finance Training Needs
Geoffrey K. See In order to plan for the upcoming training program, we asked our North Korean counterparts to conduct an informal pre-training survey to understand the areas of financial knowledge which are of interest. The pool of trainees is anticipated to be 50 people and will include financial experts in main banks in Pyongyang and other cities, as well as lecturers from Kim Il Sung University. Expected training will last 2 to 3 days. All attendees will have a minimum of an undergraduate degree and some will have had post-graduate training.
The pre-training survey among this pool of attendees indicates that the following topics are of interest: 1. Corporate finance with a focus on choosing between different forms of financing. In particular, how should top executives think about and choose among debt financing, private equity and public equity. Under debt financing, trainees are also interested in learning about financing foreign trade, asset-backed financing and structured products. 2. Comparing the advantages and disadvantages of exchange traded funds, mutual funds and private equity funds with the use of examples to illustrate the differences between products. 3. Explaining the use and structuring of financial derivatives and Collaterized Debt Obligations (CDOs) with a focus on their impact on the subprime mortgages market. 4. Macro topics of interest include the management of foreign exchange policy and the operation of money markets
It is possible that topics chosen reflect developments this year: the formation of the Daepung Investment Fund and a State Development Bank.
Thank You For Supporting Us!
Thank you for your support for Choson Exchange's work supporting Business, Economics and Legal training for high-potential young North Koreans. We try to run an operation with as little overheads as possible, but we still face significant logistical costs for our work and your support goes a long way. Thank you for your payment. Your transaction has been completed, and a receipt for your purchase has been emailed to you. Please feel free to reach out to us at CEteam@chosonexchange.org and give us your feedback or to let us know about your support.
Please give us feedback!
Thank you for your support for Choson Exchange's work supporting Business, Economics and Legal training for high-potential young North Koreans. We try to run an operation with as little overheads as possible, but we still face significant logistical costs for our work and need your support. We noticed that you did not complete the checkout process. If you could let us know what we should do that would make you more interested in supporting our work, please email us at payments@chosonexchange.org.
Thank you!
Our Organizational Structure
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Our management team is comprised of part-time volunteers and full-time staff (based primarily in Beijing/Singapore) with a deep interest and commitment to Korean issues. Choson Exchange is overseen by a Board of Directors, who ensure adequate governance controls and certify our audited financial statements. The board appoints the management team. Workshop leaders volunteer with us to lead workshops in North Korea, prepare educational materials for North Koreans, or take an active role mentoring North Koreans in our international programs outside of North Korea. Our Board of Advisors also support us with strategic advice and relationships.
Choson Exchange is incorporated as a non-profit.
Our Executive Team
Geoffrey K. See | Managing Director, Founder & Board Chairman Geoffrey previously worked for Bain & Co. on private equity, technology and retail cases. He also analyzed economic and political events for the ex-Asia Chief Economist of Société Générale and served in the Singapore Armed Forces. He also sits on the board of a listed Mongolian company in the energy sector. As a Research Affiliate at MIT ('12-'13) and a University Fellow at Yale University ('09-'10), Geoffrey pursued research in entrepreneurship, development and ethics. He presented papers as an award winner at the World Bank ABCDE, $20,000 Cosgrove Prize and APEC CEO Summit. Geoffrey graduated in 2 years with a B.Sc. in Economics (Summa Cum Laude) from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, and completed an M.A. at Yale University. Geoffrey has lived in Singapore, China, Korea and the US and is fluent in Chinese and proficient in Korean.
Andray Abrahamian | Executive Director Andray became interested in Korea issues following a trip to the DMZ in 2003. This inspired an MA in International Relations from the University of Sussex. Upon completion, he started pursuing a PhD focusing on Western media and images of North Korea. Andray also taught international relations at the University of Ulsan. He has published various academic and op-ed articles and been solicited to offer commentary by international news broadcasting organizations. His academic interests include intercultural relations, post-colonialism, Orientalisms, hegemony and US-East Asian relations. Andray speaks Korean.
Hong Mu Song | Consultant, Head of Pyongyang Office Hong is a graduate of Kim Il Sung University’s prestigious political economy department. Over the course of his career, he has actively promoted exchanges on a broad range of fields covering disaster relief, aid, business, economics and law with partners in government, civil society and party positions. He has had good experiences with Chinese and Russians.
Desmond Lim | Associate (Part-time) Desmond became interested in North Korea after a trip to the DMZ, and started volunteering at Choson Exchange since. He has worked in investment banking for UBS and Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines, South Korea and China, focusing on raising capital for financial institutions and state-owned entities. While serving in the Singapore Armed Forces, Desmond was a Full Lieutenant commissioned by the President of Singapore, and cross-trained in Brunei and Taiwan. He has also represented the Singapore National Team in basketball at the Southeast Asia Youth Games. Desmond graduated from Singapore Management University on a full university scholarship, completing both a Bachelor of Accountancy and a Bachelor of Business Management in four years. He is currently on leave studying for his MPP at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.
Our Volunteer Team
Nils Weisensee | Entrepreneurship Programs Shanghai-based German entrepreneur
Ryan Russell | Secretary (CE Inc.), Resident Representative (Seoul) Corporate lawyer, JD (Columbia Law School)
Bing Han | Singapore Programs Hedge Fund Analyst, M.A. New York University
Shawn Zhu | Singapore Programs MBA, National University of Singapore (ongoing)
Joe Hong | Strategy Investment banker in Hong Kong, MBA (Harvard Business School)
Calvin Chua | Design Architect, RIBA (Part II), Architectural Association London
Myung Eun | Communications Private Equity, M.A. John Hopkins SAIS
James Liu | Projects Management Associate at top technology firm, B.Sc. University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School
Grace Chung | Projects Consultant, MPP Harvard Kennedy School of Government
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Our Workshop Leaders
Workshop leaders are volunteers who have a curiosity or passion for North Korean issues with an interest in giving back to society through sharing their economic policy-making or business experience. They help develop our content strategy, produce research on North Korea's economic and business environment and conduct workshops for North Koreans inside and outside of North Korea. Our workshop leaders are typically economic or business environment policy-makers, successful entrepreneurs, senior managers, management consultants, bankers or private equity investors who volunteer in their private capacity. They range from Chairman-level people or ex-Ministers to mid-career professionals.