Goodbye, Korea!

I am sure that I don’t want to say “Goodbye, Korea.” As a Brazilian, I prefer to say “Ate logo, Korea!” which means “See you soon, Korea!”

After five years in Korea, I am leaving with my wife Carolina for a new start, this time in Moscow. It will be a start in a new and different culture with different challenges.

I am extremely grateful for all the opportunities given to me in my life. I started my career in Sao Paulo, Brazil, later moved to Rio de Janeiro and after four years we moved to Germany, where we spent seven years. Then in Pakistan we spent 10 wonderful years. We moved to Korea in July 2008.

Not only am I grateful for all my professional experiences but also for my family ― mostly to my wife ― who always supported me and was ready to move and restart her professional activities in a new environment. Korea, as all other countries where we have lived until now, gave us a lot.

Koreans are more open and globally minded than they believe. Even in the countryside and smaller villages we had the chance to integrate with people from all walks of life, who always received us with open arms, sincerity and warm hearts. I remember people in the central market in Namhae, South Gyeongsang Province, and how friendly and naturally they dealt with us even though we did not speak their language.

Our experience with very good Korean friends in Seoul was not different. The receptivity and friendship will always remain in our minds. We had the chance to be close to extremely conservative and traditional families, but also to very modern, young Korean yuppies.

By this I mean that I find people in modern times are pretty much the same all over the world, no matter what language they speak or which cultural background they belong to: In general, they are receptive and friendly when they come across a genuine attitude.

As in all other countries where we have lived before, in Korea the international community is very open, friendly and progressive; we have made good friends with people from Latin America, Europe, the United States, the Middle East, India and Pakistan.

In the business world my experience was equally pleasant. Open, direct and sincere communication was always possible when dealing with the government, diplomats, the media, local or international business community or politicians. Certainly, Koreans do have their own history, experiences, development processes and culture. But then, does not every single country in the world have its own unique history?

Koreans are hard workers and are always looking for innovations, new experiences and fast implementation. Everything needs to be done “ppali, ppali.” Korea is a country where Merck, with its strong company values, a history of 345 years and a strong innovation drive, fits in perfectly. Korea is a country where we ― as expats ― felt at home during the last five years. We will certainly come back to visit the many good friends we made here.

Thank you very much, Korea, for hosting us … Ate logo, Korea! 

By Juergen Koenig

The writer is the outgoing president of Merck Korea, the local unit of the pharmaceutical, chemical and life science company based in Germany. He has served in Korea for five years and will serve as managing director and president of Merck in Russia, starting Aug. 1. The opinions reflected in the article are his own. ― Ed.