Day 4: The Arts and Samsung

Tuesday

A somewhat maddening element to meeting with senior officials here is that they want everything to be off of the record. Such was the case today when we met this morning with a group of intelligence officers who gave us a briefing that frankly could be found in past weekly issues of most news magazines. Luckily, the day was saved by a luncheon with three well-known women artists. And, later in the afternoon, we toured Samsung's massive facilities here. Part of the Samsung tour, which was through its highly protected research facilities, was supposed to be off-the-record.

But we were able to get company officials, as we were leaving the facilities, to change their minds. Quickly, let me introduce you to the three women artists.

Insooni (born Kim In-Soon) is a hit recording artist and has 19 albums. Part of her identity is that her father was an African American serviceman and her mother is Korean. She suffered discrimination while growing up here because she was of mixed race, she says. But it's clear that her music has grabbed the nation. And to me, she is absolutely incredible. I hope that you'll experience what I heard today at this link from you tube: http://youtube.com/watch?v=qQ0SvUlI8Zc Byun Young-ju is a filmmaker and quite well-known for her work in the women's rights movement. We saw the trailer for her movie "Living As Women in Asia," a documentary about the sufferings of Korean women who were forced to serve as "comfort women" for Japanese soldiers. She is quite gifted. The last is Ryu Mi-rye, who is a well-respected journalist who has turned documentary film maker. She has done many films that are popular with the poor and the physically challenged, and was awarded Female Film Maker of the Year in 2004. But I was taken by the film trailer that showed on her documentary on what it is like to be a mother in Korea. Some short highlights of our conversation:

- At the moment, the arts community is enjoying a robust time here. But the chief concern is that the upcoming Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. could remove mandates that require Korean theaters to run a certain number of locally produced films each year. In essence, they're very worried about their future livelihoods, and hope an exception can be made for artists.

- Illiteracy is very rare in South Korea and internet penetration is well over 60 percent. So that means that many fans of these artists are in direct contact with them daily through blogs and other postings. One of the big challenges here is to try to stay focused on your work, they said, when there's so much feedback and “guidance� each day. -Koreans are a people of song. They have music for virtually every event, from funerals to working in rice paddies. Many families have their own set of songs. So it's natural that this country appreciates music from all across the world, especially the U.S. But they were quick to point out, quite strongly, that they're not in love with our current political administration. -While Korea is influenced heavily by American culture, the rest of Asia is deeply touched by what is happening in Korea. So the spread of film and music, written and performed in Korea, is playing a major role in virtually every corner of the Pacific Rim.

The drive to Samsung on the southern edge of Seoul takes almost an 90 minutes through the clogged streets of Seoul. When we arrived at the electronics campus, I felt like that I was at a university campus. Dormitories and cafeterias abound the landscape, and the workforce feels young.

The company has 154,000 employees worldwide, and 19,700 have Mas and PHDs. This company has a big footprint here, too: We were told by company officials that Samsung, which makes everything from large screen televisions to sea-going vessels, accounts for one-sixth of South Korea's GDP. Nelson Allen, the director of the marketing group, greeted us. He is among a cadre of foreigners here with backgrounds in the company's many worldwide offices. Allen, an American who looks to be in his 30s, earned his MBA from the London School of Economics, is a very sharp fellow. Once inside the offices, I felt like I was in the Nebraska Furniture Mart of the future.

With Nelson as guide, I'll tell you about a couple of highlights of what we can expect in our future:

-A refrigerator that not only tells us what is inside the refrigerator, but also flashes quick recipes that we can make with the contents. And it also tells us what food products might be getting too old, and allows us to order replacements at the grocery over the internet.

-A microwave made especially for the single person. It reads the bar code on the incoming dinner box, and cooks the contents to perfection. This was invented in Britain and is expected to go worldwide if it works well in test markets.

-A smart house that allows you to pull the drapes, turn on security, dim the lights, lower the heat and set the coffeemaker just before bed with the press of a button. And, remarkably, the technology is in a portable flat panel that can then be taken to the car where it becomes your GPS device and gives you verbal directions as you head to out-of-the-way places in the city.

Editor's Note: For the next two weeks, Star editor Randy Smith will be traveling with a dozen U.S. journalists in both North and South Korea. The trip, set up through the Gatekeeper Editor's program with the International Reporting Project, provides journalists with a glimpse of countries often in the news but not well covered. Look for regular updates at KansasCity.com. Send questions or comments to him at rsmith@kcstar.com.