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Illustration = Reporter Chu Deok-young [email protected]
New Year (辛丑 年) The New Year is bright. This year, amid the reappearance of the new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), the word hope comes with more desperation.
2020 was a year of struggle to survive. Corona 19, which affected humanity, infected 83 million people worldwide and killed 1.81 million people. The domestic situation is also getting worse. The number of confirmed patients lives in a “severe winter”, with about 1,000 people increasing every day. My heart shudders at the words of an elementary school student who says, “I don’t have a best friend,” because I can’t meet a run-nosed kid familiar with a mask.
When vaccination begins and treatments are available, Corona 19 will one day end. Economic actors must survive until then. You must not stop looking far and prepare for the future.
Self-contained businesses such as restaurants, karaoke rooms, PC rooms, health clubs, etc., have become a huge hit with Corona 19. That doesn’t mean you can’t sit down. Kim Seung-ri (33), who founded a gym in Songpa-gu, Seoul last March, began producing a 1-minute PT video and sent it to more than 90 members. Communicate with members who cannot go to the gym and build a foothold for recovery.
The aviation and travel industries, which have suffered devastating blows, must also prepare to risk again when the epidemic recedes. My Real Trip, a travel services platform company, has advanced personalized recommendations based on artificial intelligence (AI) by increasing its development staff despite the crisis. Jeju Island travel products increased from 700 to 3,000.
It was a great consolation to confirm the potential of ‘manufacturing K’ last year. Our companies faltered for a while in the early days of the Corona 19 crisis, but they soon took over the center and won. Semiconductor batteries and electric vehicles have expanded their dominance in the global market. In the biopharmaceutical field, we have found future growth engines. Modena’s proposal for consignment production (CMO) separately from vaccine supply is the result of a high assessment of Korea’s manufacturing competitiveness.
The performance of the major companies, including Samsung Electronics, is record. There is also an analysis that there are 118 listed companies that are estimated to have posted the highest sales last year. It is known that the current account surplus until November last year has already exceeded the annual goal ($ 65 billion) due to strong exports.
The crisis has been overcome by challenging people and companies. Since day 1, the Korea Economic Daily publishes a special series of ‘Hope 2021-Let’s Run Korea Again’ more than 10 times. He’s planning to uncover and deliver stories of people on the ground struggling to end Corona 19, entrepreneurs growing their businesses in search of opportunities and ventures.
It will also capture the desperate voices of entrepreneurs who say, “I want to work with enthusiasm.” This year, I hope that all economic players get over Crown 19 and enjoy more ‘economic freedom’.
Reporter Ryu Si-hoon [email protected]
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