Hong Nam-ki Meets Foreign Investors, Introduces Korean Economy Using 'Ojingeo Game' Example

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, attended the Korea Economic Briefing (IR) held at the Corinthia Hotel in London, UK, on the 1st (local time) and delivered a keynote speech on the theme of "The K-Drama of Overcoming the Korean Economy Pandemic." [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance, held a Korean economic briefing (IR) for overseas investors in London, UK, introducing the resilience of the Korean economy by citing examples such as "Squid Game" and "Nuriho."

On the 1st (local time), Deputy Prime Minister Hong opened his remarks with Netflix's Korean drama "Squid Game" at the Corinthia Hotel in London, addressing executives from major investment banks and asset management firms based in London, including HSBC, JP Morgan, Schroders, and Goldman Sachs.

Before starting his main presentation, Hong asked how many attendees had watched Squid Game, and about one-third of the investors raised their hands.

He then emphasized, "The recent K-drama craze, including Squid Game, did not happen overnight," adding, "The Korean entertainment industry has been striving for decades to produce high-quality content, which is why it has gained attention." He evaluated that the Korean economy also has experience overcoming difficulties successfully, like the birth of Squid Game, and with strong economic resilience and continuous efforts for innovation, it was able to stand out even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After promoting the policies and achievements pursued by the Korean government under three themes?successful economic quarantine, policy responses for complete economic recovery, and future preparedness for the post-COVID era?he concluded the presentation with the Korean-type launch vehicle Nuriho. He expressed confidence that although the launch of Nuriho, developed with indigenous technology, was "only a half success," Korea became the seventh country in the world to launch a space launch vehicle, marking "tremendous progress" as a nation that has devoted itself to space development for the past 30 years.

Quoting Winston Churchill's phrase, "Never waste a good crisis," Hong stated, "Korea has overcome every crisis it has faced so far and has become stronger," and expressed that "the success story of the Korean economy will continue, as exemplified by the achievements of Nuriho."

After completing the Q&A session, Hong presented overseas investors attending the briefing with a mapae and a yucheok (鍮尺), which were always carried by secret royal inspectors during the Joseon Dynasty. The yucheok is a bronze ruler used by secret royal inspectors to prevent local officials from embezzling rice collected as taxes or distributed to the poor by adjusting the size of the measuring container. He explained, "The yucheok was a measure of fairness and justice carried by secret royal inspectors," adding, "Fairness, equity, and justice are very important values in Korea and are the standards by which the government operates."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.