The fourth day of the immersion programme of IIM Bangalore at KAIST College of Business, Seoul, Korea, began with a bang.
Prof Young Gul Kim, Associate Dean at the institute, familiarised us with the dynamics of the Korean Entertainment Industry. K-pop or Korean Pop Music, and the Korean movie industry comprise major parts of the country’s entertainment business.
Korean entertainment industry has influenced the world in a big way, with ‘Gangnam Style’ becoming the first ever video to hit a billion views on YouTube. Korean films too have their influence in Bollywood movies — Aishwarya Rai Bachchan-starrer Jazbaa is based on the Korean film Seven Days .
Prof Kim then shifted the focus to the service sector in the Korean economy. The transformation of marketing from the 4-P (product, price, place and promotion) framework to a customer-focussed approach has made competition tougher over the years — more so in the entertainment industry.
The comprehensive study undertaken by the professor and his team reveals a lot about the mega-trends in the global entertainment industry — the growth of digital, mobile, smart and social channels has increased the diversity in the industry.
Entertainment consumption too has evolved with these rapid changes. Equipped with one of the worlds’ best mobile infrastructure and the emergence of diverse business models in the mobile environment, presents a valuable opportunity for the Korean entertainment industry.
Microsoft Korea
The second session of the day brought renewed energy in the class, as Sunny Park, director of corporate external and legal affairs, Microsoft Korea, delved into the all-time favourite theme — technology. She elaborated on the various technologically advanced initiatives being undertaken by the company.
Microsoft has been an industry leader in terms of information technology. The number of disruptive innovations it has produced over the years has been instrumental in shaping the present structure of the world. The company continues to bring in positive changes across the world with its innovations.
All of Microsoft’s activities are focussed towards living up to its renewed mission statement — ‘empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve growth’.
This is justified by the City-Next Project being undertaken by the company in South Korean cities such as Seoul, Sejong, Daegu and Busan. The Microsoft Cyber Security Centre in the country is another initiative which deals with creating a safe internet environment for the world.
The interactive session that followed the talk was equally enriching with inquisitive questions from the students. The opportunity to learn about the global giant was indeed a rewarding experience.
Korean movie experience
But the best part was yet to begin. After the sessions ended for the day, we got to experience Star Trek Beyond in 4-D, with IMAX technology! It was surreal, to say the least.
Enjoying with friends from both KAIST and IIM-B only added to the experience. The nearly full capacity of the theatre proved beyond doubt that Koreans, like Indians, share a craze for movies.