CS
The Definitive Guide to
Korean
Consulting & Translation
Service, Inc.
TM
Business Cards in Korea
Everything You Need to Know About:
Ÿ
Why Business Cards Are Important in Korea
Ÿ
Business Etiquette on How to Exchange Them
Ÿ
How to Translate and Design Them, and
Ÿ
How to Get Them Printed both Inside and Outside Korea
2011
EDITION!
By Steven S. Bammel, President
Korean Consulting & Translation Service, Inc.
TM
Tel: +1 (972) 255-4808
Fax: +1 (214) 853-5374
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.koreanconsulting.com
Korea Business Central
An Online Community Focused on Doing Business in Korea
GyeongGi Province FDI Advisor
Global Inspiration
GAFIC Advisor
Korea FTA Industry Association, Committee Member
Succeed in Business in Korea
by Networking and Learning
The Definitive Guide to
Business Cards in Korea
Everything You Need to Know About:
Ÿ
Why Business Cards Are Important in Korea
Ÿ
Business Etiquette on How to Exchange Them
Ÿ
How to Translate and Design Them, and
Ÿ
How to Get Them Printed both Inside and Outside Korea
TABLE OF CONTENTS
[I] INTRODUCTION
3
[II] AN AMAZING TESTIMONIAL!
4
[III] KOREAN BUSINESS CARD ETIQUETTE
5
Greetings and Introductions
5
Korean Names and Job Titles
6
Business Card Exchanges
7
Even Koreans Need to Learn about Business Card Etiquette!
8
[IV] TRANSLATING BUSINESS CARDS TO KOREAN
9
Personal Names
9
Job Titles
10
Professional Designations
15
Company Names
16
Company Forms
17
Addresses
18
Phone/Fax/Email
19
Logos, Slogans and Tag Lines
10
[V] KOREAN BUSINESS CARD DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
21
[VI] GETTING KOREAN BUSINESS CARDS PRINTED
22
Easy Option - Have Us Prepare Your Korean Business Cards
22
Do-It-Yourself Option - Prepare Your Own Korean Business Cards
22
[VII] IT NEVER HURTS TO GET A LITTLE CREATIVE
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The Definitive Guide to
BUSINESS CARDS IN KOREA
The Definitive Guide to BUSINESS CARDS IN KOREA
3
[I] INTRODUCTION
Hello,
Some Westerners doing business in Korea believe they adequately understand the
nature of hierarchy within Korean business culture. Others merely have a vague idea
that a well-developed business hierarchy exists. But few understand the depth and
importance of this concept within the Korean business world.
JOB POSITION IS THE BASIS FOR BUSINESS INTERACTIONS
The primary reason business cards are so important in Korean business is that they
communicate the position of each person within this business hierarchy. Rank is
built into the social fabric of Korean society, and you cannot ignore this important
fact if you expect to successfully promote business here. Though rank in Korea can
be based on many things, in business it starts with job position.
HIERARCHY IS EVEN BUILT INTO THE KOREAN LANGUAGE
Probably one of the hardest areas of language for foreigners to grasp when learning
Korean is the various ways in which Korean requires the speaker and listener to
understand and express how various players fit into the social hierarchy. This is far
more complex in Korean than the “tu/usted” concept of Spanish; Korean speakers
must be aware of and reflect the relative positions of the speaker, listener and 3rd
persons being spoken about at all times.
Indeed, there is no “neutral” way to communicate in Korean and you cannot
properly utter even simple sentences or greetings without the implication of respect
or disrespect.
BUSINESS CARDS ARE A MUST
Therefore, if you are living in Korea or visiting Korea on business, you will soon find
that business cards are essential.
I'm not going to tell you that your English-only business cards won't work (in fact,
they're better in Korea than your Chinese/English or Japanese/English cards), but
Korean/English business cards will demonstrate to your potential Korean partners
that you are serious, and that you understand and respect their culture. This small
effort on your part establishes trust and maximizes your opportunity for excellent
results.
Therefore, I strongly recommend that you carry double-sided English/Korean
business cards with you on business in Korea and with Koreans anywhere. This
guide will explain the ins-and-outs of Korean business cards and provide step-bystep instructions on how you can prepare them yourself with a little help from a
Korean acquaintance.
Contact me...
Please feel free to contact me
personally with any questions you
might have about the many ways
that Korean Consulting and
Translation Service, Inc. can help
you succeed in business in Korea.
My preferred method of
communication is email to
[email protected]
Special thanks...
I'd like to express a special thanks
to Peter Underwood of IRC for his
detailed feedback and suggestions
on the first edition.
In fact, you can check out his
interview at the following link on
KoreaBusinessCentral.com about
doing business in Korea:
http://www.koreabusinesscentral.
com/forum/topics/korea-businesscentral-4
Korean business cards are how you take business seriously in Korea!
Steven S. Bammel
President/Translator and Business Consultant
Korean Consulting & Translation Service, Inc.
PS: I hope you find this information useful. Once you've had a chance to review the
materials, please visit our discussion at Korea Business Central
(http://www.koreabusinesscentral.com/forum/topics/the-definitive-guide-to) and
share your feedback, questions and ideas. I am eager to hear back from and discuss
with readers so that the next edition of this eBook will be even better than this
first one!
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An Online Community Focused on Doing Business in Korea
CS
Korean
Consulting & Translation
Service, Inc.
TM
The Definitive Guide to
BUSINESS CARDS IN KOREA
[I] INTRODUCTION
The Definitive Guide to BUSINESS CARDS IN KOREA
4
[II] AN AMAZING TESTIMONIAL
A LITTLE EFFORT AND A GREAT
ATTITUDE GO A LONG WAY!
I received the following
testimonial from a client who
bought Japanese business cards
from me before heading to
Japan on business. Because the
value of business cards is similar
in both Korea and Japan, and
since Chuck's experience
exemplifies so many important
aspects of doing business in
Korea (and Japan), I've included
his testimonial here, with his
permission.
From: Chuck Curlin
Sent: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 9:08 PM
To: Steven S. Bammel
Subject: RE: Follow up on Message Sent Last Night
Steven,
I neglected to get back with you after returning from Japan.
apologies.
My
The trip was great and our hosts could not have been more
gracious. It was a wonderful experience to be in another
industrialized country and see how they do things. The cities
were awesome to behold and the bullet train was a sheer joy to
ride on. The Japanese people, everywhere I went were wonderful.
I was one of ten guests, architects and engineers, who were
invited by Mitsubishi to tour their manufacturing facilities and
some installations that highlighted their products. The group
was made of individuals from across the USA. Two were from a
very large Architectural & Engineering (AE) firm in NYC, another
two were from another national AE firm in Oklahoma, and another
one was from a very large AE firm in the Pacific NW. I was from
the smallest firm in the group.
However, I was the only one who had done research on Japanese
culture, had tried to learn some of the language, and had come
with gifts for our hosts. It was fun in that regard – “Trumping” the New Yorkers. The gifts I gave (all Panthers NFL items)
were very much appreciated and so were the business cards
printed in Japanese. There was an obvious difference in their
reaction when they accepted one of my cards. Eyebrows raised, a
look of excited happiness, and often the words, “In Japanese!”.
This was somewhat to the chagrin of my colleagues – who
themselves were impressed.
One of the gifts I gave was a football, to one of the plant
managers in Wakayama. Contrary to what I had read, he opened it
while we were still there, (although not in my direct sight),
and came looking for me to toss it. I recently received a photo
of his young son holding the football. I invited him to come to
Charlotte and see a game if he was to ever make it over here,
and as luck would have it, he will be coming next week (the US
headquarters for Mitsubishi Electric are in Georgia) and staying
long enough to come to the Monday night Football game on
December 8th.
Thanks again for the great service you provided. If ever the
need should once more arise for me or someone I know, I will be
sure to give you a call.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
Chuck
Charlie D. (Chuck) Curlin, Jr., P.E., C.P.D.
Member - ASHRAE, ASPE
Senior Vice President
David Shultz Associates, P.C.
212 N. McDowell St., Ste. 204 (28204)
P.O. Box 37008, Charlotte, NC 28237
Website: www.dnshultz.com
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An Online Community Focused on Doing Business in Korea
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Korean
Consulting & Translation
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TM
The Definitive Guide to
BUSINESS CARDS IN KOREA
[II] AN AMAZING TESTIMONIAL!
The Definitive Guide to BUSINESS CARDS IN KOREA
5
[III] KOREAN BUSINESS CARD ETIQUETTE
The following tips about Korean greetings, names and business card
exchanges come from our 7-Day Korea Business Etiquette eCourse.
Visit http://www.koreanconsulting.com/etiquette_course.php to sign
up for free!
Greetings and Introductions
It is important to greet a Korean in the right way. While foreigners are
given some leeway, your effort to greet and introduce yourself and
others properly will be greatly appreciated in Korea.
Also, while it can be hard for some to accept the sexism implied in the
following Korean business etiquette guidelines, the information here
nevertheless reflects the reality that still exists in Korean business today.
1. When meeting a man, it is customary to greet with a handshake. You
may also combine the handshake with a bow. Foreign women will be
expected to greet with a handshake, too. Business cards are
commonly exchanged together with the handshake.
2. Though you won't necessarily be expected to shake hands with the
low-ranking Korean women in the group, you should make it a point
to shake hands with all the men.
3. Korean men and women seldom shake hands and instead greet each
other with a quick bow. However, in the unlikely event that you meet
a woman with a high company rank, you may interact with her
similarly to the men.
4. As a general rule, the higher the rank of the person you are greeting,
the deeper you should bow. However, this is not expected from
foreigners and may be left out if the whole idea of bowing makes you
uncomfortable.
5. Introduce the people of your entourage beginning with the persons
of highest rank. In general, the party leader should take charge of the
introduction process.
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[III] KOREAN BUSINESS CARD ETIQUETTE
6
Korean Names and Job Titles
When you meet Koreans on business, the first thing to get through is the introduction. Be careful to make a good
first impression! Korean business society is very hierarchical and male-dominated. While there are exceptions, you
can generally assume that the oldest man in the group is running the show.
1. Korean first and last names are reversed from the
Western system. While Koreans will often switch the
order of their names in English to help foreigners, this
can merely make the situation more confusing. A
Korean whose name is Jin-Ho Park in English, would say
his name as Park Jin-Ho in Korean. You can clarify by
asking your counterpart what his "given" and "family"
names are, with these corresponding to "first" and "last"
names respectively in the Western sequence. You should
almost never address a Korean by his given name;
therefore, getting his/her family name is important.
2. Addressing someone with "Mr." in a business setting
indicates that his rank is very low. Therefore, you
should try to get his job title and then address him by
his job position/title and last name. (e.g. General
Manager Lee, President Kim). If a low ranking
employee, you can go with "Miss" and "Mr." (e.g. Miss
Hong, Mr. Park.) Some common job positions are quite
long (e.g. Deputy General Manager, Senior Managing
Director). You should pronounce them in full even if it
takes a mouthful. This will show that you've taken the
time to be precise with this matter and are not careless
in your regard for the company hierarchy.
3. At least 70% of the Korean population has one of
the top seven surnames (which are, in order from
most common: Lee, Kim, Park, Jeong, Yoon, Choi, Yoo)
so it is not unlikely that more than one person in your
group of counterparts will have the same surname or
even the same last name with the same job title. When
two Koreans have the same surname, they may
distinguish each other by their initials. In that case, they
will insert their initials before their last name. (e.g.
Manager C. J. Lee and Manager P. K. Lee.) While this is
common practice, it can also cause problems since local
staff won't always recognize who "CJ Lee" or "PK Lee" is
if you call in by phone later and ask for them this way.
4. Normally, you should never speak to a Korean in a
business setting using his Korean first name but if he
introduces himself with a Western first name nickname,
you may use that freely and without attaching his job
title or last name. It is highly unlikely that he'll ask you
to call him by his Korean first name unless he's really
trying to do things the "American" way.
5. In spite of the fact that Koreans know that
Westerner's have their given name first and family
name second, you may find they get confused and
address you incorrectly (e.g. Mr. Steven, President
Bob). You can choose whether to correct them or go
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with this. If they don't know your title, you may also
be addressed with the suffix "-shi". (e.g. Steven-shi,
Jenny-Shi). In Korean business society, this is only
used for low-ranking people; it seems to be more
acceptable to address foreigners this way and is not
necessarily a term of disrespect.
6. All of the above information is easily accessible
from your counterpart's business card. Since the
early establishment of rank is so important in Korean
introductions, this is the reason that business cards
are exchanged almost at the outset of meeting
someone. Your counterpart's business card will
almost certainly have an English side. By referring to
that, you can get his job position and name.
7. Self-employed Koreans will often make up titles
that don't exactly describe their job. A president of
a one-man operation who used to work in a larger
company as a general manager, may ask you to call
him by his previous title (e.g. General Manager Lee).
He might even make something up entirely, such as
Office Manager Kim, when he's really the president
of his own company.
8. Korean job titles often experience "upward drift"
when translated to English. The English
translations given later in this ebook for various
company job positions are correct and generally
accepted as such. However, Koreans often "promote"
themselves when translating their cards to English,
which is a nice way of saying that their English job
titles are not always correct. For example, I've seen
"Managers" pass themselves off as "Directors". And
"Senior Managing Directors" occasionally put "Vice
President" on their English card. If you really want to
know what a Korean's job title is, try comparing the
job title written in Korean with the job positions
listed below.
9. Korean adults almost never (with the emphasis
on "never") address each other by their first
names only, even among close friends. Indeed, in
friendly relationship (as opposed to business
relationships), people "lose" their names when they
have kids. They are then addressed in relation to
their children. (e.g. Min-Ju's mom, or Kyeong-Jin's
dad).
10. All this name calling can get very confusing - even
for a Korean. Feel free to ask your counterpart how
he wants to be addressed. You don't need to figure it
all out intuitively.
The Definitive Guide to
BUSINESS CARDS IN KOREA
[III] KOREAN BUSINESS CARD ETIQUETTE
7
Business Card Exchanges
Exchanging business cards is part of the introduction process. Be
ready with the following useful tips!
1. Cards are exchanged at the beginning of a meeting; make sure you
have enough available for everyone.
2. It is best to stand up when exchanging cards with those of higher
rank.
3. Facing your counterpart, bow slightly and hand your card (with the
Korean-language side pointing up!) either with your right hand or
both hands. The same rule applies when receiving a card from
someone else. If the two of you are of similar rank, you may find
yourself giving your business card at the same time as the other
person is giving you his. In this case, give with the right hand and
receive with the left.
4. Take time to review your counterpart's card carefully. You might want
to speak his/her name and position to be sure of correct
pronunciation. If the meaning of his/her job position is in any way
unclear, it would not hurt to ask for an explanation. Basically, you
want to show interest in and respect to the other party.
5. DO NOT shove the card into your back trouser pocket!!
If you are meeting in passing, then you may just carefully place the
card in a shirt pocket or in a wallet or notebook.
If you are seated at a meeting, place the card gently on the table in
front of you. Look at it often during the meeting in order to refer
correctly to your counterpart's name and position. If you are
meeting more than one person and have received multiple cards,
arrange them neatly in front of you.
6. Koreans hand out their business card at the drop of a hat. Don't be
left out! Give your card to anyone that you'd like to hear from again.
You'll likely go through a lot more cards during your trip to Korea than
you would back home.
7. Don't scribble notes on business cards as it does not show respect to
your counterpart. You may however write additional contact
information on the card if provided.
8. If you've already exchanged business cards with a Korean before, don't
give them your card again the next time you meet, unless your card
has been updated and you explain that this is the reason for giving a
second card. Trying to give your card to someone again indicates you
forgot that you met them before (likely the case, if you're not careful!)
and this is a slight you'd do best to avoid.
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The Definitive Guide to
BUSINESS CARDS IN KOREA
[III] KOREAN BUSINESS CARD ETIQUETTE
Even Koreans Need to Learn about Business Card Etiquette!
The Joongang Daily, one of the top newspapers in Korea, published the
following article on February 25, 2009 about how to give and receive
business cards, with special emphasis on the showing of respect for the
other person. (Can you imagine a US newspaper having so much to say
on this subject!?)
When in the Presence of an Elder,
Offer Your Business Card First
>
Don't just put a business card
into your wallet immediately
after receiving it. Instead,
keep it on the table until the
end of your meeting. This is
regarded as an expression of
respect to the other person.
>
A business card wallet should
be used only for carrying
around your own business
cards. This means that you
should properly organize and
put away the cards you have
received from others each day.
>
When doing business with
foreigners, you should take
measures to prepare separate
business cards in the
respective languages of your
counterparts. When it isn't
possible to go this far, it would
still be polite to at least
present cards in a language
that your counterparts can
easily understand (for
example, English) and to hand
the business card to them with
this language facing upward.
>
Be sure to keep plenty of
business cards around, such as
in your briefcase, in your car
or in your schedule book. Not
having a business card onhand during an important
meeting is like going into
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battle without a “weapon”.
But if you make sure to have
left spare “weapons” all
around in various places,
you'll always be ready for a
meeting.
>
Place a business card which
you have just received in the
front of your wallet. Putting
other cards (perhaps even
your own!) in the back tells
your counterpart, “I'll be able
to find your name later if I
need it.”
>
When receiving a business
card, be sure to at least
comment briefly about the
logo or design of the card. This
shows that you have looked
carefully at the other person's
business card.
>
If the other person is your
elder or someone of high rank,
it is polite to offer your
business card first. Hand your
business card to the other
person and then receive the
business card of the other
person in return. It would be
discourteous to give your card
with one hand at the same
time that you receive the other
person's card with your other
hand [if there is a significant
rank difference between you].
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The Definitive Guide to
BUSINESS CARDS IN KOREA
[III] KOREAN BUSINESS CARD ETIQUETTE
8
The Definitive Guide to BUSINESS CARDS IN KOREA
9
[IV] TRANSLATING BUSINESS CARDS TO KOREAN
The following list of best practice approaches to translating each of the
elements of a business card to Korean should not be regarded as the
“ONLY” way. There is no standard method and so feel free to customize
your translation and design to your situation.
Personal Names
Transliterate your name phonetically into Korean characters in the order
of your first name, middle name (if you use a middle name) and last
name. Koreans know (or at least, should know) that Western names are
sequenced backward to the Asian order and if you try to turn your name
around to match the Korean name order, it will only make things more
confusing. If a recipient of your card is having trouble figuring out which
is your first name and which is your last name, then you can tell him or
her.
If you use a middle initial, leave it in English or drop it out completely.
Another approach is to write out the pronunciation of the middle initial
letter in Korean, but I don't think this looks as good as leaving the initial
in English.
Watch The Colors!
Never write names in red
font. Not the names of
people, their job titles or
their company name. Never,
ever... without exception...
It's the color used for
writing the names of the
dead and is considered
unlucky (to put it mildly).
Punctuation between names is the same for English and Korean. Note
that when localizing English names into Japanese and Chinese, it is
pretty common to put a centered dot between names, instead of a
space. But this is not the best approach for Korean cards.
Example
English
Korean
(Preferred)
Korean
(OK, but Not Preferred)
Bill W. Stacy
빌 W. 스테이시 OR
빌 스테이시
빌 더블유. 스테이시
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[IV] TRANSLATING BUSINESS CARDS TO KOREAN
Job Titles
10
Job titles can be the hardest part of translating a business card.
This is because 1) getting the title right is very important and 2) titles
don't always transfer one-for-one between languages, especially in the
case of Western companies that have moved to a flat organizational
structure.
The goal in translating the job title is to ensure that the recipients of
your business card see you to be at the same place and level in your
company's hierarchy as you want them to see you. In some cases, this is
not hard; but certain job titles are particularly problematic, as explained
below.
Likewise, there are plenty of cases where the purpose of a business trip
to Korea is specialized enough that you may want to customize your job
title for the trip.
Here's What Koreans Do
Sometimes!
Another point to keep in
mind with business cards of
Koreans is that of “dual job
titles”, which is where a
Korean of certain rank in
Korean will present
themselves with an English
job title which is clearly
higher than what they really
are in Korean. I've seen
many such cases, such as
where a Korean “General
Manager” becomes a
“Director” in English.
For example, a “Vice President” of the company may want to go as a
“Director of Marketing” to be in line with the trip's objectives. Keep in
mind though that your Korean counterparts will form their impression of
you based on both the English and Korean sides of the card, so the two
should be in agreement, or kept strategically vague.
One more point to remember is that you should not put “님” on the end
of a job title on a business card. This is an honorific suffix for a name/job
title when speaking of or to someone else, but it is not part of the job
title and should not be included in the job title on your business card.
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[IV] TRANSLATING BUSINESS CARDS TO KOREAN
COMPANY TITLES
11
The following fifteen positions shown in blue are the standard positions within
the hierarchy of large Korean conglomerates (commonly called “chaebol”). Since
the chaebol lead the Korean business world, the same general hierarchy is
followed in smaller companies, too, though some positions are left out if a
particular company is not large enough to fill all of these levels.
Chairman
회장
Vice-Chairman
부회장
"Chairman" refers to the head of a group of companies, not just one company.
President
사장
Vice President
부사장
Senior Vice-President
선임 부사장
Executive Senior Managing Director
전부이사
Senior Managing Director
전무
Managing Director
상무
Director
이사
“Director” is one of the hardest job titles to translate on a business card. The
translation provided above refers to the lowest top-management position in the
standard Korean hierarchy; right below it would be the top level of middle
management. In fact, the “Director” position functions as the link between topmanagement and the rest of the company as the director is in constant contact
with those above and under him, but once he promotes to managing director
and beyond, he is no longer in day-to-day contact with the rank-and-file.
This same translation (“이사“) can also refer to a member of the board of
directors. However, in Western companies, the director position is a much more
flexible term and often refers to the person overseeing a department or
business unit, or even the head of an organization. In some cases, the above
“이사“ title can work, but in other cases, it is better rendered as “담당자“ or
“부장“ (the latter translated below as “General Manager”).
If translating “Director” to show responsibility for a department or team, it is
best to indicate the unit. Thus “Director, Sales Division” would be “영업부 부장”
or just ”영업부장”or Director of the Purchasing Team” might be translated as
“구매팀장” (which is actually more like “Purchasing Team Leader”, see
explanation below regarding “Team Leader”).
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[IV] TRANSLATING BUSINESS CARDS TO KOREAN
Occasionally, the director title doesn't even clearly fit an existing Korean job
position, or if it does, the connotation of rank in the organization is
misleading. In such cases, just transliterating the word director phonetically
as “디렉터“ at least comes without baggage and can give the card holder
an opportunity to explain his or her role without pre-biasing card recipients
in advance.
12
This discussion doesn't even get into the translation of “Director” in nonbusiness settings (such as the arts and education), where the range of
possible translations is even wider.
Needless to say, if you are translating “Director” for your business card,
make sure to talk it out in detail with a Korean associate before settling on a
final translation.
General Manager
부장
Deputy General Manager
차장
Manager
과장
Assistant Manager
대리
“Manager” is another job title that is tricky to translate correctly and
actually comes with four different iterations in Korean, as shown above. The
translation for general manager means the head of a department and those
under the general manager include the deputy general manager, manager,
assistant manager and “employee” positions. But these other four positions
indicate grades of rank only; they often do not mean that the lower ranks
are reporting to anyone other than the general manager.
In fact, this is a good opportunity to explain that Korean companies aren't as
layer-heavy as they appear since everyone under the general manager is
reporting directly to him/her and not to any of the others, which, if it were
the case, would indeed make for a lot of layers! This is also similar at the top
of the corporation where the vice-president, executive senior managing
director, senior managing director and managing director generally all
report directly to the president.
“Employee”
사원
This is the job title for an entry-level employee of no rank at all. If you are
translating a business card for someone without rank, it is often better to
come up with something better, such as “Consultant, “Salesperson”,
“Secretary”, etc.
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Representative of the company
13
대표
This is actually a very good translation for “President” in many cases, particularly
with one-person companies, but really in just about any situation where
communicating that one is the head honcho is more important than linking
oneself into an organizational hierarchy. It's hard to explain why exactly, but in a
small company, this title carries more weight than the literal translation for
president, mentioned above. In fact, this is the way I translate my job title into
Korean even though the English version of my job title says “President”.
Representative Director
대표이사
Many Korean business cards come with this job title in English and Korean, but
it reflects a unique aspect of corporate governance in Korea; Western companies
do not have a “Representative Director” position and business cards for Western
companies should not have this job title. To explain, the Representative Director
in a Korean context, is the legal representative of the company; he is the one
who goes to jail of the company does something wrong. He is not necessarily
the most senior and the Chairman (who is ordinarily the most senior) is often
not the Representative Director. This is the closest to the European Managing
Director, which is normally a lesser rank in Korean.
Chief Executive Officer
최고경영책임자
Chief Operating Officer
최고운영책임자
Chief Financial Officer
최고재무책임자
Chief Marketing Officer
최고 마케팅 책임자
Chief Technology Officer
최고기술책임자
Korean companies do not generally have official C-level titles, but of course,
top-level managers fill these roles and so the English versions of business cards
of Korean executives will often include these. A good way to handle a C-level
job position on a business card is to use it alongside one of the executive
positions shown above in the standard Korean hierarchy. The C-level title will
communicate area of responsibility, while the standard Korean title will indicate
rank.
Branch Head
지사장
Office Head
처장, 실장
Team Leader
팀장
The “Team Leader” or “Team Head” position has become popular over the last
10-12 years as Korean companies have started to dabble in cross-functional
teams. This position is not fixed into the traditional Korean company hierarchy
and gets a good deal of respect. If your rank in your company is relatively low
but you manage projects and people, then adding “Team Leader” to your
business card in both English and Korean (along with your regular job position)
is a great way to give your job title a boost.
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Founder
설립자 or 창업자
Co-Founder
공동 설립자
Owner
소유자
Co-Owner
공동 소유자
Partner
파트너
Managing Partner (generic)
경영담당 파트너
Managing Partner (law firm)
대표변호사
General Counsel
법률고문
Executive
임원
Employee, Staff
직원
14
EDUCATION
School Headmaster
학교장
Chancellor
총장
University President
학장
Department Dean
학과장
Professor
교수
Associate Professor
부교수
Assistant Professor
조교수
Teacher
선생
Instructor
강사
GOVERNMENT
Governor (of a state)
주지사
Governor (of a province)
도지사
Senator
상원위원
Congressperson
하원위원
Assemblyman/Assemblywoman*
국회의원
Mayor
시장
City Councilperson
시의원
* (unicameral governmental system)
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Professional Designations
15
The standard handling of professional designations in Korean is to put
them in front of the name and in a smaller font. This is not a hard-andfast rule though and so you have a lot of flexibility in choosing where
you want to place these.
When suitable translations exist, they are best translated. However, many
specialized fields have their own unique designations and if this is
internationally recognized within the field, it often makes better sense to
just leave it in English. However, a professional designation left in English
and placed in front of the name does look a little unusual.
The decision of where to put a professional designation gets even more
confusing if someone has two, and one of them is translated and one
not. To put one in front of the name and one after the name would be
doubly unnatural.
In fact, for this reason, it often makes best sense (and doesn't matter at
all in terms of communicating meaningfully to the card recipient) to just
place any and all professional designations after the name, as per
Western style. Koreans often do this, too.
Doctor, Ph.D.
박사
Master of Arts, Master of Science, etc. (MA, MS)
석사
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
경영학 석사
Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, etc. (BA, BS)
학사
It is fine to just list a generic degree as shown above; or even to leave the
English abbreviation. However, preceding the designation with the field
of the degree can add valuable information for the recipient of your
business card. Thus an “Ed.D.” becomes “교육학박사” or a “Masters in
Chemistry” is translated as “화학석사”.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
공인회계사
Attorney, Lawyer, (Esq.)
변호사
Professional Engineer (PE)
전문 엔지니어
Medical Doctor (MD)
의학박사
Registered Nurses (RN)
공인 간호사
Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
공인재무설계사
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MISCELLANEOUS
16
Consultant
컨설턴트
Adviser
고문
Accountant
회계사
Author, Writer
작가
Musician
가수
Judge
판사
Secretary
비서
Pastor, Minister (Rev.)
목사
Company Names
Some company names are better left in English, particularly those with
initials, such as GE and IBM. In many cases, a company would just rather
its name remain in English for the unified branding effects, too.
However, I like translating company names when appropriate and I
follow these rules when approaching the subject.
If you determine that you will use a Korean translation of the name, find
out first if your company already has a translation of its name in use. If
such a translation exists, use it.
Examples: Microsoft, Coca-Cola and Disney
If your company's name does not have a pre-existing Korean translation,
first try to translate according to meaning. Here are some examples of
corporate names which are easily translatable.
Examples: "Northern Financial Advisors", "American Tools" and
"University of Texas"
However, company names based on the name of their founders or other
proper nouns often cannot be suitably translated and in this case, they
should be transliterated phonetically.
Examples: "Merkel", "Sharp", "Sylvester Stanton"
Some company names can be a combination of translation and
transliteration:
Examples: "Stanton Tools", Reed Cosmetics"
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Company Forms
17
Translating company forms is difficult in Korean because the exact same
company forms often do not exist between countries.
For example, the governance structure of a corporation in Korea is
somewhat different than in an American one, thus “Representative
Director” is generally used to refer to the top person in a Korean
corporation, whereas “President” or “CEO” is the top position in US
companies.
Still, both are stock-based and translating to the Korean version of
“corporation” does not generally introduce significant problems. But
since the company form in Korean is generally placed in parenthesis
BEFORE the company name, it's necessary to move the company form to
the front when translating a Western company form to Korean.
On the other hand, if translating to a Korean company form raises red
flags, then the best approach is to transliterate it phonetically. In the
following examples, the Korean versions that are not in parenthesis are
the transliterated names and in this case, they should be placed AFTER
the company name, not before.
English
Korean
Company
컴파니
Incorporated, Corporation
(주식회사), 인코포레이테드,
코포레이션
Limited Liability Corporation (LLC)
(유한책임회사)
Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
(유한책임조합)
General Partnership
(조합)
Professional Corporation (PC)
(전문직주식회사)
Partnership
(파트너쉽)
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Addresses
18
When Koreans prepare their business card with English on one side and
Korean on the other, they always have the address in English on the
English side and Korean on the Korean; the post office in Korea will
deliver the mail regardless of which language is used.
But for non-Koreans, the question of whether or not to translate an
English address to Korean is more difficult because a non-Korean address
written in Korean characters is relatively meaningless. No post office in
the world will deliver to a non-Korean address written in Korean
characters.
More information...
For an extra technical discussion
on translating English addresses
into Korean for a business card or
for mailing, visit the following
post from my Nojeok Hill weblog:
http://nojeokhill.koreanconsulting
.com/2010/09/translatingaddresses-from-an-englishbusiness-card-into-korean.html
No harm is done on a business card though in translating a non-Korean
address to Korean if the English side of your card already has the address
written in English. In this case, having it in Korean on the Korean side
can help Korean readers with the pronunciation of your address, as well
as make the Korean side look more “Korean”.
The following guidelines represent some best practices for translating a
non-Korean address to Korean, but can be skipped if you choose to leave
your address in English even on the Korean side of your card.
Ÿ
Addresses should be transliterated phonetically, not translated by
meaning. The only exception to this is the country, which should be
translated as per the normal Korean translation.
Ÿ
After the name of the state and city, adding the Chinese character for
state (州) and city (市) is a nifty way of making it clear to the Korean
reader which is the state and which is the city. I also think it looks
classier and means you don't have to use a comma to separate the
two.
Ÿ
The order of the address should be adjusted to match the local
address sequence in Asia meaning this order: country, state/province,
city, street, house/office # and then finally postal code.
Ÿ
Add the Korean translation of your country to the Korean side of your
card and place it at the very beginning of the address.
Example
English - Before
English - Showing Word Order After
Translation to Korean
131 Baylor School Road
Chattanooga, TN 37405
USA Tennessee-State, Chattanooga-City
Baylor School Road #131 (Zip) 37405
Korean
미국 테네시州 채터누가市
베일러 스쿨 로드 171번지 (우) 37405
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Phone/Fax/Email
19
The following are standard Korean translations for various contact methods.
However, the latest trend on Korean cards is to almost always leave these in
English on both the English and Korean sides. Frankly, to my eye, I'd rather
one side be completely in English and one side completely in Korean on a
double-sided card. However, using the initial shown in parenthesis or the full
word in English are also perfectly fine approaches for the Korean side.
I do recommend that at least on the Korean side of the card, you add the
international country code for your country, preceded by the + symbol, so
that callers from Korea will know how to dial you by phone or fax. Thus, my
US phone number “(972) 255-4808” becomes “+1 (972) 255-4808” when
incorporating the international calling code.
Telephone, Tel, Phone (T, P)
전화
Direct telephone (D)
직통 전화
Direct (D)
직통
Office telephone (O)
사무실 전화
Office (O)
사무실
Home telephone (H)
자택 전화
Home (H)
자택
Main, Main telephone (M)
대표전화
Ext., Extension (E)
내선, 교환
Fax (F)
팩스
Cell, Mobile (C, M)
휴대폰, 핸드폰
Pager (P), Beeper (B)
호출기
Toll-free phone
수신자 부담전화
Email, E-Mail (E)
이메일
Website
웹사이트, 홈페이지 (or if left English,
“Homepage”)
Internet
인터넷
Postal Code
우편번호, (or just (우), see address
example above)
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Logos, Slogans and Tag Lines
20
Many logos are just pictures which can't be translated. But others are
made up of words and generally they are left in English. This doesn't
have to be the case though; translated logos can really add a nice flair to
a Korean business card. The challenge here is having your designer work
in a graphics program to recreate the English logo with Korean
characters and this can be very hard, depending on the logo.
Company slogans and tag lines and other similar text should usually be
translated to match the meaning of the original English, especially when
you consider that these slogans and tag lines are often a key device used
for communicating what a company does. However, when the
slogan/tag text is a marketing phrase with a double-meaning in English,
you may need to call on a good translator to think through it and come
up with something in Korean that, though not a literal translation, still
communicates the desired meaning.
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The Definitive Guide to BUSINESS CARDS IN KOREA
21
[V] KOREAN BUSINESS CARD
DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
Designing a business card for Korea is an art, not a science. There are no
hard-and-fast rules about how it must be done and nothing that says a
non-Korean's card must be made to look like what a Korean designer
would make.
In fact, the most common and simplest approach to creating the Korean
side for a business card is simply to use the exact same layout of the
English card, but translated to Korean.
However, there are more creative approaches which can be taken too.
I, personally, don't even carry a two-sided business card where the front
and back are identically formatted. Instead, I cram all of my information
in English and (some) Korean onto one side so that the back is available
for additional information. This is a common approach that Koreans
take, though I get occasional comments that my business card looks too
busy.
Here is how my colleague has prepared his card and you'll see that the
front and back are the same design, but one is in English and one in
Korean. Note that Jin-Ho has put his job title above his name, since he
primarily uses this in Korea, and replaced some of the English logo with
a Korean pronunciation of the first two words in the company name.
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Preparing the Logo
Graphic
Keep in mind when
preparing your business
card that just using a logo
pulled off a webpage will
generally not print well.
Standard web resolution is
72dpi, but for adequate
print quality, 200dpi is an
absolute minimum; 300dpi
is better.
Korean business cards
tend to place the logo at
the top-left corner, or
centered along the top;
you'll find very few Korean
business cards with the
logo elsewhere. This
doesn't mean your card
has to do this too,
though. Feel free to use as
much creativity as you'd
like on your Korean
business card.
A lot of Korean business
cards do put both the
English and Korean on the
front and use the back for
some other purpose, such
as with my card. I see a
lot of Korean cards with a
map to the office on the
back.
[V] KOREAN BUSINESS CARD DESIGN
CONSIDERATIONS
The Definitive Guide to BUSINESS CARDS IN KOREA
22
[VI] GETTING KOREAN BUSINESS CARDS PRINTED
Easy Option - Have Us Prepare Your Korean
Business Cards
Our service at Asian Language DTP® has been helping business people
profit in Korea for years. We do not merely translate your card - any
translator can do that. Rather, we put our team of Korean experts to
work for you to ensure that your card is linguistically and culturally right
and design-relevant, so that you and your company will reap maximum
benefits from them.
Your full-color Korean business cards are designed in English on the front
and Korean on the back and they are also quality-checked by way of a
multi-point rigorous cultural adaptation and translation process that is
unique to Asian Language DTP®.
Visit Asian Language DTP® at www.AsianLanguageDTP.com to discover
how premium business cards can make your business project in Korea, or
with Koreans anywhere in the world, a smashing success.
Asian Language
DTP
Do-It-Yourself Option – Prepare Your Own
Korean Business Cards
This booklet is not primarily an advertisement for our business card
services, though. You can save a lot of money by following the steps
below to prepare your own Korean business cards.
A - DESIGN YOUR CARD IN ENGLISH
If you already have artwork for English business cards and if you're
satisfied with the design and content, then all you have to do on this
step is to find those files. Otherwise, hire someone to design your
business card in English first.
My designer, Catalin Soreanu, can be reached through the Korean
Business Central site at this link:
http://www.koreabusinesscentral.com/profile/CatalinSoreanu.
He's a professional designer who does excellent work and you can pay
for his services directly through PayPal.
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[VI] GETTING KOREAN BUSINESS CARDS
PRINTED
23
B - TRANSLATE AND DO LAYOUT OF YOUR CARD IN KOREAN
Work alongside a Korean associate while referring to the guidelines in
Chapter IV of this Guide in order to prepare your translation into a Word
file in Korean. Then send this to your designer and have him prepare the
Korean version of your card. (Again, Catalin can do this for you.)
You should ask your designer to send print-ready .pdf files back since
that's what you'll need for the printer.
C - GET CARDS PRINTED
PRINT IN KOREA AT A SHOP
There are many print shops and stationery stores in Korea which handle
business cards. If they don't do it in-house, they will subcontract your
project to somewhere that does do the printing. Costs are so cheap that
the convenience of taking your order to a local shop and letting them
return your order in 1-2 days far outweighs the extra $3-4 you'd save by
chasing down a place that actually does the printing in-house. Most
Koreans get their cards done this way and if you simply walk in the door
with your PDFs on a USB thumb drive, you'll be able to place your order
immediately.
PRINT IN KOREA ONLINE
There are plenty of online business card sites in Korea. The one I got
started with was www.eCard21.co.kr and the instructions below explain
how to place an order for business cards within Korea.
The following instructions are prepared so that almost anyone can order,
even without being able to read or type in Korean. However, a small
amount of Korean typing ability is necessary for entering the mailing
address.
How I Ordered 200 English/Korean Double-Sided, Full-Color Business
Cards in Korea for About $12, Including Two-Day Shipping
1. I had my designer Catalin Soreanu prepare a two-page PDF of my
business card (dimensions: 92mm x 52mm) with one page in English
and one in Korean.
2. I opened Internet Explorer because other browsers don't work well in
Korea for e-commerce.
3. I went to www.ecard21.co.kr.
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PRINTED
24
4. I selected the following graphic that says “파일주문명함” (the actual
graphic on the site may be changed later).
If you want a Western-style thick card stock, under 제품분류 (product
type), instead of 수입지명함 (imported paper), choose 최고급수입지명함
(best imported paper). You can then choose 엑스트라머쉬 (extra
marshmallow) paper, which is much thicker than the standard thickness.
It costs about double though.
5. I selected these options:
6. I then clicked this button:
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7. I filled in the next screen as follows (though when I got to the address
section, I had to follow the sub-process shown below this graphic).
25
7a. In the address lookup above, the following pop-up window
appeared.
7b. I entered the "dong (동)" in which I live and clicked "찾기".
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[VI] GETTING KOREAN BUSINESS CARDS
PRINTED
7c. I got a list of choices.
26
I clicked the one that corresponds to where I want the cards delivered
and then returned to the main form to enter the rest of my address.
8. After finishing the large form above and clicking "확인", the following
screen was shown to me:
9. I then sent the amount shown in the blue box above to the bank
account shown in the red box. I was sure to send from the bank
account owned by the person I indicated in the form previously
(which was me). I did it online but I could have sent payment by
visiting the bank.
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[VI] GETTING KOREAN BUSINESS CARDS
PRINTED
27
10. At any time I can check the status of my order by clicking "배송조회"
on the home page:
On the next screen, I need to click the "파일주문명함" tab to find my
name in the list, along with the order status:
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[VI] GETTING KOREAN BUSINESS CARDS
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PRINT OUTSIDE KOREA AT A SHOP
28
Most FedEx Office™ (previously “FedEx Kinko's™”) outlets offer a sameday printing service. If you have a bit more time, then any print shop just
about anywhere can take your PDF files and print business cards for you.
Be sure to clarify that you want double-sided cards; I once had a client
take my files to their printer and get back two sets of one-sided cards;
one set in Korean and one set in English!
PRINT OUTSIDE KOREA ONLINE
If you have a little extra time, www.Moo.com offers surprisingly
economical and convenient international printing and delivery
worldwide. There are plenty of other online printers out there, too.
PRINT ON THE PRINTER IN YOUR OFFICE
I do not recommend that you print your cards on an office or home
printer. Not only is every desktop printer different and getting the paper
lined up properly can be prohibitively time-consuming from a file-prep
standpoint, but the final output is not very good due to thin paper and
low print quality. Also, cutting your cards straight is very difficult, if not
impossible.
If you're going to get Korean cards prepared for doing business in Korea,
do it right and don't risk making a bad impression with home-made
cards.
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[VI] GETTING KOREAN BUSINESS CARDS
PRINTED
The Definitive Guide to BUSINESS CARDS IN KOREA
29
[VII] IT NEVER HURTS TO GET A LITTLE CREATIVE
You won't offend anyone in Korea by
thinking outside the box a bit; in fact, a
creative business card approach can get
you noticed.
Here's what I did lately with my business
cards when I started wanting to include
more information on my card than would
normally fit.
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[VII] IT NEVER HURTS TO GET A LITTLE
CREATIVE
The Definitive Guide to
Business Cards in Korea
Everything You Need to Know About:
Ÿ
Why Business Cards Are Important in Korea
Ÿ
Business Etiquette on How to Exchange Them
Ÿ
How to Translate and Design Them, and
Ÿ
How to Get Them Printed both Inside and Outside Korea
Second Edition
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may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage
system without written permission from
the author, except for the inclusion of brief
quotations in a review.
Copyright 2011
Published by:
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http://www.asianlanguagedtp.com
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Korea Business Central
http://www.koreabusinesscentral.com
Nojeok Hill: My View from the Top (Steven S. Bammel's blog)
http://koreanconsulting.typepad.com/korean_business_perspecti/
Premium Korean Translation
http://www.koreanconsulting.com/translation_services.php
Korean Business Interpreting
http://www.koreanconsulting.com/korean_business_interpreting.php
Korean Business & Cultural Training
http://www.koreanconsulting.com/korean_corporate_training.php
Korean Business Consulting
http://www.koreanconsulting.com/korean_business_services.php
Asian-Language Business Cards
http://www.asianlanguagedtp.com
Visit Korea Business Network's webpage on Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Korea-Business-Network/215305007774
2534 Cheyenne St.
Irving, TX 75062
Tel: +1 (972) 255-4808
Fax: +1 (214) 853-5374
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.koreanconsulting.com
CS