Helping others is key to success in foreign land

Steven McKinney, chief of Seoul Global Center, is a self-professed jack-of-all-trades with had experience and training in a diverse range of fields.

By training, he is a classical singer, but went on to spend several years in the retail industry after university. From there he moved on to the shoe-manufacturing business, where he spent more than a decade in executive posts.

Even now, he runs his own consulting business, serves as the chief of the center of support of international residents in Seoul, and spends his weekends singing in church.

However, he says that his most fundamental passion is helping people and that that passion has had a large part throughout his life.

“I have a personal belief that if we all do a little, together we will accomplish a lot. I really believe that,” McKinney said.

As an American who has been significantly “Koreanized,” McKinney has a unique insight that helps him in both of his jobs, as well as in acting as a bridge between very different cultures.

Citing how foreigners are confused about the way Koreans treat them ― which can range from overly nice to curt and disrespectful ― McKinney says that non-Koreans need to see the cultural difference.

“Which is the real Korea? The real answer is both,” he said. He pointed out that there are even small differences such as the way Koreans would refrain from looking directly into the eyes of a person in a more senior position, while Westerners would do the opposite.

McKinney also points to the Koreans’ use of the word “yes” or “ne” in Korean.

“If Korean people say ‘ne,’ usually all it can mean is ‘I acknowledge you’re saying something.’ It doesn’t necessary mean ‘yes, I agree,’ ‘yes, I understood you,’ ‘I want to do what do said,’” McKinney said.

“That’s just a couple of cultural tips that we teach people. Not saying that’s right or wrong, but that’s how it is.”

Aided by his understanding of Korean culture, McKinney has become an influential figure within both the expat community and Korean society since his first visit to Korea in 1990, which he remembers as “smelling of garlic.”

Over the years he has become increasingly active in the expat and business communities, and has been involved in founding two international schools, one each in Busan and in Seoul. He has also served on the board of several school foundations, and is an active member of the American Chamber of Commerce.

In recognition of his contribution to society, he was awarded honorary citizenship by the Seoul Metropolitan Government in 2007, putting him in the ranks of actor Jackie Chan, former Korean national soccer coach Guus Hiddink and even a 007 ― Roger Moore, the fourth James Bond.

While McKinney says that it was an honor to receive honorary citizenship from one of the world’s largest cities, he said that he still finds the recognition awkward to handle.

“I’ve always felt like I should try to give back to the community. It’s not just a business strategy. It’s an idea that if you’re here, involved in the community do something,” he said.

“So receiving recognition is awkward because you’re used to doing things without recognition, without pay ― just for the right reasons, to help people.”

McKinney, who spent his youth traveling with his family in the United States singing church music, says that he was raised to be a “good boy,” which to him means being kind and helpful to others.

Saying that he was a “good little boy” even as a teenager, he told a story of helping out two needy widows who lived in his neighborhood.

“They needed a car to go to the grocery store. I was young and I had a car. They needed somebody to mow the grass, so I mowed the grass and took them to the grocery store,” he said.

“Today, I still have a lot of satisfaction thinking about that. Maybe it doesn’t mean much, cost much, but it’s something that somebody needed that I could do.”

Despite his unease with receiving public recognition, McKinney is now one of the two foreign-born residents of Seoul to hold a top-level position in a state-run organization along with Korea Tourism Organization’s Lee Charm.

In addition to the high-profile stature of its chief, the center itself has drawn much attention since its establishment in 2008. 

The center is the nation’s largest comprehensive support center for foreign investors and residents in Seoul.

Services on offer include those concerning daily living, administrative support and language classes. The center’s 15-story, 33 billion won ($28 million) headquarters also houses an immigration office, the economy and trade department of the Spanish Embassy, an international bank and many other global organizations such as CITYNET, a coalition of local authorities in the Asia-Pacific region.

The center also acts as the control tower of several support centers for foreigners across the city, including two business schools and seven sub-centers. The sub-centers, located in areas with a large foreign population including Itaewon and Seongbuk, provide Korean language classes, counseling and opportunities to experience Korean culture.

Due to its size and the comprehensive nature of its services, the center is said to be unmatched by similar operations in other countries, making it an important stop for visiting foreign dignitaries and a benchmark for other cities.

“We’ve been talking with other cities in Korea. I talked to the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Ireland, a couple of weeks ago and gave him a briefing on this. I talked with some other people from Europe,” McKinney said.

He went on to say that he would like Seoul Global Center to form a sister relationship with foreign cities to cooperate in matters regarding living and doing business, an area where Seoul Global Center has been directing much of its resources.

Profile of Steven B. McKinney

• Steven B. McKinney, 54, is head of Seoul Global Center and president and CEO of McKinney Consulting, which he founded in Seoul in 2001. He has led the Seoul public center since last year.

• Before the consulting career, he worked in the shoe business for more than a decade at Reebok and Adidas, where he worked as production manager and head of the global product development department, respectively.

• McKinney has been a board member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea and a founding board member of the Korea Foreign Schools Foundation.

• Born in North Carolina, McKinney graduated from Mars Hill College with a major in music education in 1997 and studied business administration at City University, Washington.

• In 2007, he was certified as a master coach by New York’s Behavioral Coaching Institute.

• He received honorary citizenship from Seoul Metropolitan Government in the same year.

By Choi He-suk and Lee Hyun-jeong

(cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)

(rene@heraldcorp.com)