[Reporter’s Notebook] China Says "Just Do It," Korea Asks "Why?"

Korea Also Needs the Courage to Embrace Failure

"In the past, as soon as you entered the entrance of the shopping complex, there were large Samsung and LG stores, but now companies like Huawei are filling those spaces."

A Korean business representative I met last month at Huaqiangbei, the world's largest electronics components market in Shenzhen, China, said that he could clearly feel the changes in the electronics industry. In this marketplace, which sells legacy memory, motors, and reducers, Korean products once held a strong presence. However, perceptions of Chinese products, which were once dismissed as "counterfeits," have changed, leading to a significant increase in both component and finished product stores. In fact, major shopping malls in Shenzhen were filled with stores for Chinese electronics brands such as Huawei, DJI, and Vivo.

The fundamental reason for Korea's slowing growth is the growing aversion to risk. In particular, there is a clear difference between the two countries' attitudes toward humanoid robots, a key industry of the future. In Korea, the government, large corporations, and investors all tend to prioritize immediate profitability over future potential. Whenever a new proposal is submitted, the most common questions are "Can this be realized right away?" and "What is the expected return on investment?" This is a consistent account from those in the field.

China's technological rise is now spreading across nearly all industries. This year marks the tenth anniversary of "Made in China 2025," an initiative launched in 2015 under Premier Li Keqiang to advance and modernize China's manufacturing sector. Despite international controversies such as allegations of technology copying, China also went through many trials and errors to achieve these results. Even under the stigma of being "counterfeit," China has steadily continued to invest in basic research and build a solid foundation.

The Korean industrial sector also needs the courage to embrace failure. Chinese industry insiders say that the secret to rapid corporate growth was a "social atmosphere that encouraged frequent challenges and allowed frequent failures." Even if the technology is still lacking, it needs to be actively introduced to the field, accumulating empirical data through repeated failures and improvements. The government should open up the initial market through support for research and development, pilot purchases, and collaboration, while large corporations must boldly adopt these technologies in the field. In the era of artificial intelligence, where data is synonymous with competitiveness, this will be a decisive factor.

Korean society has historically overcome crises through decisive action. In the 1980s, Samsung founder Lee Byungchul boldly invested in DRAM despite internal opposition, leading to Korea's current dominance in memory chips. Similarly, in the 1970s, Hyundai Group founder Chung Ju-yung made a decisive move by challenging for a supertanker order from the world's largest shipping company. We cannot continue to blame external factors such as market conditions and tariffs. Korea must invest more boldly and decisively. The clues for Korea to once again become a "first mover" could be seen in Huaqiangbei.