Archive for November, 2008

[Pictures] Seoul.

Posted under Korea, Pictures on Wednesday, 26 November 2008 by Joop Dorresteijn
Seoul is a magnificent city; it's the worlds second largest metropol but the actual commercial and financial center is about the same size of Berlin's. To give you an idea – I took some pictures around Seoul over the past few weeks, click on them for a high resolution copy. (CC) Taken from...

Introducing Twitter: a time gainer or waster?

Posted under Internet, featured on Tuesday, 25 November 2008 by Joop Dorresteijn
My girlfriend and college friends (Michiel, Mathijs and Joery) are giving Twitter a trial... on my recommendation! It made me wonder whether Twitter is useful or not. I realized that Twitter DOES deliver me value, but it also takes a LOT of time to grow and maintain! For the ones who do not know...

Three presentation tips you probably didn’t know before

Posted under thoughts, tips on Thursday, 20 November 2008 by admin
About a million presentations are going on right now, but 50% of them are unbearable! Chances are you know what sucks and what doesn’t – I'd like to share three tips that I found very useful in becoming a professional speaker, perhaps it helps you! 1. Two seconds of eye contact ...

Now available: African land for overpopulated countries

Posted under Entrepreneurship, thoughts on Wednesday, 19 November 2008 by admin
I came across a news article about a project that just dazzled me. What can a country do that has little land but a lot of mouths to feed? Right, you can import! But what do you do as a logistics company when your turnover is decreasing because commodity prices are rising? Exactly: You lease your...

5:45 AM, sunrise in Gyeonju

Posted under Korea, Pictures on Monday, 17 November 2008 by admin
The thermometer slowly declined down to zero degrees over the last week. We headed up to the roof to see the sunset in the clean frosty sky, I realized that this was not the first time we were going up for a view.   5:45 AM, sunrise in Gyeonju. We woke up early to see the sunrise in Gyonju,...

Saturday stroll through rainy Changdeokgung garden

Posted under Korea, travel on Saturday, 15 November 2008 by Joop Dorresteijn
After weeks of sunshine it started to rain in Seoul today. We had a day off and decided to have a look at the Changdeokgung palace, close to our home. Greatest building in Changdeokgung, used for official ceremonies. Nice colors! The stone gate is called Bullomun. "Bullo" means "not to...

[Pictures] Han river in Seoul

Posted under Korea, Pictures on Thursday, 13 November 2008 by admin
Some pictures I took of the Han river during the last months here in Seoul. The total length of the Han River is 514 km. Although it is not a long river, the lower Han is remarkably broad for such a relatively short river. Within Seoul city limits, the river is more than 1 km wide. We visited...

Biggest Korean newspaper Chosun hopeful about their digital future

Posted under Company visit, Entrepreneurship, featured on Wednesday, 12 November 2008 by Joop Dorresteijn
When will we see foldable e-paper on the street? Will advanced algorithms and Internet eventually put publishers out of business? – Nobody knows... But we do witness a devastating momentum for traditional publishers, how can these companies reinvent themselves? Are they doomed? Chosun...

A peek inside the British American Tobacco factory in Korea

Posted under Company visit, Korea on Tuesday, 11 November 2008 by admin
Korea is the 10th biggest cigarette market on the planet, not so weird because you see smokers everywhere. I visited the British American Tobacco (BAT) factory in Sacheon together with the DBCK last week. The flight to Jinju was already scheduled at 07.30 AM, took a cab at 5AM. We gained more...

[Pictures] View over Busan city from hotel

Posted under Korea, Pictures on Sunday, 9 November 2008 by Joop Dorresteijn
We decided to head out to Korea's second largest city – the harbor city Busan. Very moist and clear upon arrival, but dark and foggy when we woke up. I was curious about Busan because I like cities next to the sea, we spend some time on the beach, had an interesting night. Do you see...

Paragliding at a Korean army base

Posted under Korea, travel on Sunday, 9 November 2008 by admin
Want to join paragliding this weekend? - off course! that's a no brainer! In reality, the relaxing chair and the calm speed got me disappointed, I should have thought of bringing a good book to read. Some people manage to stay up there for a long time! As the first foreigners at this Korean army...

What do you get when you combine a cinema, pool and cheap hotel?

Posted under Korea on Friday, 7 November 2008 by admin
We visited a jjimjilbang in Busan last night; The jjimjilbang concept comes close to a bath-house, it is a combination of sauna, hotel and gym. I just spend a night there for $10, and I am excited, what an experience! I slept on the marble floor but had a massage in return! Imagine a 24...