Seoul’s leading professional network

Corporate Network operates the leading professional network in Seoul where members can access critical insights while engaging in high-level networking with senior business leaders from some of the most important MNCs operating in North Asia. Bring the collective expertise of The Economist Group and other business leaders into your organisation to allow you to explore new ideas and create space for understanding how external factors will impact your business.

Upcoming events

If you would like to attend any of these, please fill out the form at the bottom of this page.

April 19 — Bigger than K-Pop: the commercial future of the entertainment industry

The “Korean wave” or hallyu has seen the global popularity of South Korea’s culture rise since the 1990s.  The success of pop music and television shows is part of an overhaul in the arts and entertainment sectors to explicitly project cultural power.  As streaming services, 5G and digital transformation underpin the commercial success of K-entertainment, we discuss what businesses in other industries stand to win (or lose).

May — Korea-Japan relations: what lies ahead?

Over the last decade many pending issues between the South Korean and Japanese governments have been caused by structural change and foreign policy failure. Korea-Japan relations hit a record low under the Moon Administration.  Now, President Yoon has positioned the improvement of diplomatic ties as one of the top priorities in his agenda.  How can Korea-Japan relations change and what are the implications for businesses?

June —The Metaverse: the next digital revolution or irrelevant to business?

Some companies are investing heavily in “metaversal” projects, but the tangible applications are nowhere to be seen; perhaps because they are indistinguishable from automation, a more intuitive concept. How do these two things differ? What are companies doing in the metaverse and how is it working? Should companies start investing now or had they better wait and see?

July — Supply chain reshuffling in the 2020s: the ‘friend-shoring’ experiment

As China’s self-imposed zero-covid restraint drags on, global players are shifting part of their logistics operations to other countries. “Trusted allies” of the US have been called to strengthen trade relations to shore up global supply chains, hampered by covid-19 and worsened by Russia’s war in Ukraine. How will such alliances reverberate in Japan? What lies in the balance for crucial commodities (e.g. semiconductors) and how will politicians respond?

Meet our network directors

Director, North Asia

Vivian Tokai is the North Asia director of the Economist Intelligence Corporate
Network based in Tokyo and covering Japan and South Korea. She is responsible
for programme development and client engagement. She works closely with c-level
executives on key economic and political issues and industry-specific analysis to
support their businesses.

Network moderator

Jacco Zwetsloot is the moderator for EICN’s Seoul network. Jacco has lived in
Korea for 20 of the last 25 years, with a broad range of work experience in
the communication, legal, tourism, training and broadcasting sectors. He has
worked as an English teacher, a tour guide for the US military, a regular radio
show guest, and a translator of North Korean propaganda.

Request to join

To request to join our Tokyo professional network, please fill out the form below.