Growth in the Hermit Kingdom

This doesn’t sound like big news, but it is. Korea’s Hyundai, purveyor of cheap cars to the U.S. market (amongst other things) recently got top billing for the excellent crash test performance of its Santa Fe SUV.

So?

Here’s the so: This is the first time I’ve seen Korean cars outclass some of their Japanese and U.S. counterparts. It’s no threat to America’s industry, but Japan’s industry is a different matter entirely. Indeed, Korea’s economy is evolving by leaps and bounds, while Japan’s remains mired in the iron grip of a crusty cadre of entrenched bureaucrats.

Now, I harbor no illusions that the CNMI will actually do anything useful about Korea’s shifting status in the global macroeconomic picture. Some places will. The Thai tourism industry will. Hong Kong’s, ditto. California’s, you bet. Us? No. But part of the way I earn my keep on this page is by keeping my crystal ball well polished, and for anyone in the Pacific region (which would include us), I think Korea is the one to watch.

Which isn’t to say that Korea has any lack of problems, of old boy networks, of corrupt crony capitalism, of semi-deranged labor unions, or the rest of it. Still, there is an established base of economic knowledge, dovetailed with entrepreneurial drive and industrial know how, that holds solid promise for the nation. And they’re no slouches when it comes to academics, either. I mean real academics, like math and engineering, not the Oprah style mind-candy that most Americans are now rotting their feeble minds on.

Meanwhile, Bell Helicopter, a heavy hitter in the world’s copter industry, continues to co-produce some of its highest technology civil aircraft in…Korea, teamed up with Samsung. That’s not the first time Bell has teamed up with foreign players; it has a history with Japanese manufacturers as well as Italian and Canadian ones. Still, for Korea to join this cadre of established industrial players is something to take note of. The Bell/Samsung aircraft have received a lot of trade press over the past few years.

Closer to home, if I was a tourism player in Guam, I’d be shoveling the money into Korean marketing right now.

And if I was a tourism player in Saipan…well, I’d be moving to Guam right now. One savvy professional who recently visited Saipan on business described us as a “ghost town in the making.” And, face it, Korea’s economy ain’t going to change all that.

Still, I know a few enterprising minds here who like to contemplate the changes in industrial Asia’s economic landscape. As you know, I’m not optimistic on Japan at all. But I think much of the rest of industrial Asia holds promise–although the coming energy crunch will be a challenge. Through it all, though, keep an eye on Korea…though I’m still a Ford man and this ol’ boy ain’t never gonna’ drive a Hyundai.

Ed Stephens, Jr. is an economist and columnist for the Saipan Tribune. “Ed4Saipan@yahoo.com”