Asia

Branding and the legend of Santa

Tonight we went to my wife’s Christmas party at Outback Steakhouse in Seoul.  It’s the first time I’ve been to Outback since my wife and I went to the one close to our home in the Seattle area a few years ago for our anniversary.  This is inconsequential until you consider that Korea has scores of Outback Steakhouses, and they’re extremely popular here.  It seems easier to find an Outback here than a McDonald’s.  Why?  Because Koreans love steak and lobster.  The Outback menu is tailored made for the Korean palatte, epitomizing what many Koreans consider to be the best of western cuisine.  Despite being headquartered in Tampa, Florida, the company also plays up its Australian image and reinforces the interestingly relationship Australians have with the two Koreas.  I find it ironic that Outback Steakhouse is an American restaurant chain that serves Australian beef in Korea (U.S. beef is currently banned in Korea but may be available again soon).
 
Outback Steakhouse reminded me of an interesting phenomenon in Korea–the immense popularity of certain western brands.  While their competitors may also sell product in Korea, certain western brands have established a very strong presence in Korea and have significant local brand recognition.  For example, Black Angus recently opened in Korea, but it faces an uphill battle against its primary competitor, Outback.  TGI Friday’s restaurants are also prevalent.  Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin Robbins (along with Dunkin Donuts, a division of Allied Domecq), Starbucks, and 7-11 have also established a strong presence in Korea.  Interestingly, Burger King is also very popular in Korea, perhaps as popular as McDonald’s.  It seems that brand building in Korea is as important as the product itself.  Take donuts, for example.  Many Americans would agree that Krispy Kreme sells a better tasting donut than does Dunkin’ Donut.  Koreans tend to prefer moderately sweetened pastries.  However, they make an exception when it comes to eating Dunkin’ Donuts’ donuts.  Krispy Kreme may have the better donut, but it will hard pressed to overtake Dunkin’ Donuts in the Korean market.  Dunkin’ Donuts sells a known product already popular with Koreans, and they will not switch to Krispy Kreme lightly.  Starbucks and The Coffee Bean have experienced similar success in Korea.  Seattle’s Best Coffee, Caribou Coffee, and any number of U.S. coffee houses with aspirations for the Korean market will have a difficult time stealing market share away from Starbucks or The Coffee Bean.
 
Note to AngelineTay:  Why did I dress as Santa Claus?  Well, for one, we had a Santa suit available at work, and I thought it would be fun for the kids if I dressed up as Santa.  Secondly, even though it was a Christmas Party, it isn’t truly a Christmas celebration.  It was a company party with Christmas trappings.  We’re saving our Christmas celebration for Sunday, December 25.  (We did pray before the meal, though.)  Thirdly, in all honesty, and by no means meant to be tongue-in-cheek, I would make a terrible Baby Jesus.  I’m much closer in appearance to Santa than I am to Baby Jesus.  Maybe I could have been a Wise Man, but then I’d either have had to find two other Wise Men or be all three at once (in 2001, I bought my wife gold, frankincense, and myrrh for Christmas during our trip to Egypt).
 
I am all too aware of how commercialized Christmas has become, centered around Santa Claus and gift giving.  Once upon a time, the legend of Santa Claus grew out of the story of St. Nicholas, a monk who lived during the Third Century A.D. in modern-day Turkey, whose benevolence was a manifest of his Christian faith (the name Santa Claus is derived from Sinter Klaas, the Dutch name for St. Nicholas).  Few people remember that December 6, the day of his death, is the day when St. Nicholas is traditionally honored.  Perhaps it would be better if Santa Claus and all the commercialization that goes with him moved to December 6 instead of December 25. 
 
I wonder sometimes too whether Christ’s birth should be celebrated in the spring (circa April), when Jesus was more likely to have been born given the approximate date of the Roman Census that brought Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem when Mary was full term.

Santa Claus comes to town

I took a couple days off from blogging to prepare for the Christmas season.  As usual, there’s too much work involved getting ready for Christmas to consider it enjoyable.  The annual ritual plays out as follows:  Put up Christmas tree and trappings, put together Christmas list, buy Christmas cards and gifts, write Christmas cards, wrap Christmas presents, mail Christmas presents, and prepare for the Christmas meal, and take down Christmas paraphernalia.  Using overseas living as a cover, I’m modifying our Christmas regimen this year.  Most people will receive Christmas wishes by e-mail from us this year.  We’re only going to send out about 20 Christmas cards, mostly to family members, and we’ll e-mail our Christmas letter with some personalized wishes to everyone else.  As our Christmas list grows, I’m glad technology will finally be helpful.  I would prefer to send cards by snail mail, but it’s just too much work.  I think it detracts from the spirit of the holiday to set up a Christmas card factory for the sake of tradition.  Fortunately, this is the very first year since we married in which we will spend Christmas Day at our home.  In the past, we either spent Christmas with my parents or celebrated it on vacation overseas.  I’m relishing the opportunity to be home for the holidays.
 
Today we hosted a party at our home for my wife’s Korean coworkers.  It was exceptional.  Most attendees had never been to an American-style Christmas party with holiday ambiance, western food (no kimchi!), Santa Claus, and a gift exchange.  We prepared a mountain of food for the event, including London broil, roast chicken, Swedish meatballs, mashed potatoes and gravy, smoked salmon, deviled eggs, mini quiche, salad, fruit, cookies, and pumpkin and apple pie.  We also offered an assortment of drinks, ranging from soda pop to Johnnie Walker Black Label Scotch whiskey, a Korean favorite.  Most attendees drank wine, soju, a Korean liquor, or Coca-Cola.  We held back the egg nog because Koreans do not usually drink milk products.
 
Following dinner, Santa Claus made a special appearance.  OK, it wasn’t really Santa Claus–I absconded a Santa suit and suited up for the occasion.  St. Nicholas is much too busy getting ready for Christmas and visiting shopping malls to come by our little ol’ house for a visit.  We actually have our own Santa suit at work for representational events.  I borrowed the suit for an event on Monday, so I brought it home and gave it a dry run.  Back in the states, my father and his wife have portrayed Santa and Mrs. Claus on numerous occasions, visiting children and the elderly around Christmastime.  I was happy to carry on the legacy.  I am a bit young to play Santa, but I’m stout and can bellow a hearty "Ho ho ho!"  (Someone told me I sound like the announcer from the game show, "The Price is Right.")  I can’t believe how hot it is inside a Santa suit.  I was itching to take it off the minute I put it on!  The hat was heavy and kept slipping off my head, and I repeatedly had to adjust my gray hair piece (note to self–use hairpins).  I now know what all those mall Santas have to go through wearing hot, itchy Santa suits and putting up with distressed children.  Poor guys.  I’m glad I only had to portray Santa for about 20 minutes.  Some of the children at our party were scared of me dressed as Santa.  One little boy who took a liking to me began to cry when his parents tried to put him on my lap.  Fortunately, my son was in on the ruse and helped bring other children over for gifts and photos.  He knew that daddy was playing Santa and called me "Daddy Santa."  I thought it was cute.  Mommy served as Santa’s helper, although she forgot to put on her "Santa’s Helper" ballcap.  After handing out gifts to all the good children and submitting to a photo op, Santa disappeared.  I posted some of the photos from Santa’s appearance in the photos section.
 
Following Santa’s visit, we held a gift exchange.  The "exchange" included the ability to steal a gift if you preferred someone else’s treasure to your own, much like a "white elephant" gift exchange.  I participated in the exchange on behalf of a partner at my wife’s firm who had to leave the party early.  I made sure he got the Jim Bean American bourbon whiskey.  I didn’t think he would enjoy the body care set or the scented candles.  I don’t think that Koreans are familiar with "white elephant-style" gift exchanges, so it was a fun and unique experience for them.  They brought us many wonderful gifts, including Korean and Australian wine and a bowl and dish set.  I have to go so I can start writing thank-you cards.

100-day birthday celebration

We spent the evening at a friend’s place celebrating his son’s 100th day birthday.  My friend is a World Adventurers reader, so I’m sure he’ll read this post.  He’s welcome to post a comment, but I’ll leave it to him to reveal his identity.  He’s always good for a quicky witted, pithy comeback, so I’m sure he’ll take the bait.  Yesterday I told him we planned to bring gifts for the entire family, but he protested, “Please don’t buy any gifts if you haven’t already.  I feel guilty [taking gifts].”  Well now, let’s see.  Although he is American and his wife is Georgian, true to Korean custom they threw a 100-day celebration (Baek-il, or 백일) for their son.  As is Korean custom, guests should come bearing gifts whenever they are invited over to someone’s home.  Therefore, our friends must accept our gifts with glad hearts.  I also bribed them with some cilantro, which they have had difficulty finding in Korea. 
 
I did a little research to understand why the 100-day celebration is such a significant milestone in a child’s life.  The 100-day celebration is also observed in Chinese culture; it is virtually unheard of in western cultures.   Baek-il is the second of three events in a child’s first year of life celebrating his or her continued health.  According to Korean tradition, these events should only be celebrated if the child is healthy.  The first event, the 21-day celebration, celebrates the child’s first 21 days of life.  It is not as well known as Baek-il because at 21 days the child and mother are traditionally confined to the home and are not allowed to see guests.  The child’s family members traditionally observe the day in absentia by praying for the child.  Baek-il is the official coming-out ceremony for most Korean child.  The child’s first birthday, or Tol (돌), is the third and perhaps most important of the three events.  Once the child passes their first birthday happy and healthy, it is very likely that they will live a longer life.  It’s easy to forget in this day and age that many of our cultural celebrations such as birthdays originated out of the need to survive.  Child mortality was very high in Korea until the 1960’s, and these celebrations are testaments to the fact that many Korean children did not live to see their first birthdays.
Now that you’re thoroughly depressed, let me share the happier side of these celebrations.  Baek-il and tol are opportunities for families to come together and meet the newest members of the clan.  It is often the impetus for family reunions, just as Chuseok (추석), a day to remember one’s ancestors, brings together Korean families every year.  These celebrations give families an excuse to share their bounty with family and friends.  They serve foods that are typically served only at special occasions, such as rice cakes, or deok (덕).  Food becomes even more significant on the child’s first birthday, when the child is seated in the midst of a variety of foods.  Korean tradition maintains that a child’s future will be determined by the first food that they touch.  (I wondered whether that led parents to game the system by putting the most desirable food closest to the child.)  Traditionally, the children have received money, gold trinkets, or clothing as gifts, although modern families may give more eloborate gifts such as toys or tech gadgets.  Thus, it is customary for guests to bear gifts to these types of events, just as we did.  If I didn’t, I couldn’t call myself Korean.  Oh wait, I’m not Korean.  That’s OK.  He better accept them anyway.
For more information on Korean birthday celebrations, visit:
 
 
Note to Quemino’s World:  Welcome back to Seattle.  I hear there’s been some snow in the area.  It was great meeting Alex and you for dinner and drinks in Busan.  I hope you had a great trip to Thailand…at least better than your last day in Busan!  Sorry to hear about the bummer ending to your APEC trip.  How did I blog during the APEC Summit?  Well, when you are stuck at a hotel near the airport, as far as you can get from the action, and you get back to your hotel room too late to do much, your family is five hours away, and the cable TV features one English channel but has an Internet connection, you cope by posting blog entries.  I’ll see you in July when we return to Seattle for a visit.