Stock Trading and Other Things

Cosmojin Tour caters to the rich and famous

Summary: Meet the CEO I faced awkward situations because agencies did not know how to adequately treat foreign visitors In recent years Korea has seen a growing number of high profile visits by foreign government officials businesspeople and celebrities Positioned to capitalize is Jung Myung jin the 39 year old chief executive of Cosmojin Tour Consulting Cosmojin Tour handles the travel arraignments of so called VIP tourists to the country such as filmmaker Woody Allen model Cindy Crawford Italian contemporary artist Vanessa Beecroft and American television producer and writer Wendy West The company was established by Jung in 2001 and is now one of the nation s few tour agencies specializing in arranging customized private services for high profile clients Cosmojin Tour s clients mainly include foreign visitors invited by large conglomerates like Samsung LG and Hyundai as well as government officials Hollywood stars and chief executives of global firms It currently manages tour schedules for almost 40 000 foreign visitors per month through its 2 500 local clients In a recent interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily Jung said she entered the business when she was in her late 20s and despite the many ups and downs the company has managed to become one of Korea s leading private diplomats Q How did you get involved in this particular service industry A Before establishing my own company I was working for an agency that organized international meetings and conventions There I was in charge of arranging tour schedules for foreigners participating in meetings with other travel agencies as partners I recall that oftentimes I faced awkward situations because the agencies did not know how to adequately and personally treat foreign visitors because they were used to organizing schedules for tour packages that involve shopping and sightseeing I received many complaints from foreigners That s when I came to think that I should start my own business offering private travel services based on these growing needs I opened branches in hotels where many foreign buyers or VIPs stay Who are your main clients We have two clients many large conglomerates mid size local trading companies and government bodies and their visitors One trend that I see today is that there are an increasing number of clients coming to Korea upon invitations from government institutions Also by region a large proportion is from the United States and Europe which account for around 40 percent but what is interesting is that there are a growing number of visitors from the Middle East with the growing economic partnership with Korea in sectors like construction What is the key to VIP marketing Escorting VIPs is a very difficult task it requires careful planning and effort to satisfy each and every customer who have different tastes Most of all the key is to be equipped with the exact information about the VIPs what they like and don t like and why they are visiting Korea For example let s say I m escorting an official from a large electronics company I make sure we don t pass the building of a competing firm and if necessary I also change the electronics and lifestyle goods furnished inside the hotel room to the VIP s brand Also when I m escorting VIPs from Muslim countries I make sure I bring a carpet with me so that the VIPs can kneel down and pray facing ast during their five daily prayers What factors affect your business most Recent risks on the Korean peninsula including North Korea s attack on Yeonpyeong Island and the spreading of foot and mouth disease have affected our business Up to 40 percent of our customers cancelled their trips to Korea in December citing safety reasons Above all else though North Korea s Yeonpyeong Island attack was the most severe incident that affected us more than the global financial crisis and North Korea s past nuclear tests Starting this month however I expect business to thrive should there be no new threats because the economy is recovering and there is an increasing number of individual foreign visitors not only from China and Japan but also from other regions Korea s brand image has also grown based on global events it has hosted such as the G 20 Seoul Summit and more foreigners are expected to visit the country What is attractive about Korea is that it satisfies foreigners in terms of both business and travel Do you have any memorable episodes Several years ago Hyundai Heavy Industries had just completed building a ship and many VIPs had come to Korea for the launch ceremony The wife of Nigeria s former national defense minister also visited and she stayed at a hotel in Incheon for two hours before she left the country During her stay in Korea she had enjoyed Korean food and she had told one of the guides at the hotel that she could not forget the taste of the little fish and that she wanted to have it again Later on the guide found out that she was referring to stir fried anchovies To satisfy her with high quality service I went straight to a nearby discount store but I wasn t able to buy them Eventually I ended up buying dried anchovies and stir frying them at a nearby pub Later on she sent me a thank you letter and as far as I know Hyundai Heavy Industries regularly sents her the side dish What are some of the obstacles that you face operating Cosmojin Tour The protocol and VIP travel industry itself was new from the start so I had difficultly establishing infrastructure such as training guides from head to toe and changing vehicles from previous rental cars to VIP cars And to this day we are still establishing a database Also there is no one we call a competitors as of yet but I hope to see competitors in the future which would mean that demand for business is growing in this sector By Lee Eun joo angie joongang co kr Copyrights ? JoongangIlbo Jcube Interactive Inc All rights reserved Meet the CEO I faced awkward situations because agencies did not know how to adequately treat foreign visitors In recent years Korea has seen a growing number of high profile visits by foreign government officials businesspeople and celebrities Positioned to capitalize is Jung Myung jin the 39 year old chief executive of Cosmojin Tour Consulting Cosmojin Tour handles the travel arraignments of so called VIP tourists to the country such as filmmaker Woody Allen model Cindy Crawford Italian contemporary artist Vanessa Beecroft and American television producer and writer Wendy West The company was established by Jung in 2001 and is now one of the nation s few tour agencies specializing in arranging customized private services for high profile clients Cosmojin Tour s clients mainly include foreign visitors invited by large conglomerates like Samsung LG and Hyundai as well as government officials Hollywood stars and chief executives of global firms It currently manages tour schedules for almost 40 000 foreign visitors per month through its 2 500 local clients In a recent interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily Jung said she entered the business when she was in her late 20s and despite the many ups and downs the company has managed to become one of Korea s leading private diplomats Q How did you get involved in this particular service industry A Before establishing my own company I was working for an agency that organized international meetings and conventions There I was in charge of arranging tour schedules for foreigners participating in meetings with other travel agencies as partners I recall that oftentimes I faced awkward situations because the agencies did not know how to adequately and personally treat foreign visitors because they were used to organizing schedules for tour packages that involve shopping and sightseeing I received many complaints from foreigners That s when I came to think that I should start my own business offering private travel services based on these growing needs I opened branches in hotels where many foreign buyers or VIPs stay Who are your main clients We have two clients many large conglomerates mid size local trading companies and government bodies and their visitors One trend that I see today is that there are an increasing number of clients coming to Korea upon invitations from government institutions Also by region a large proportion is from the United States and Europe which account for around 40 percent but what is interesting is that there are a growing number of visitors from the Middle East with the growing economic partnership with Korea in sectors like construction What is the key to VIP marketing Escorting VIPs is a very difficult task it requires careful planning and effort to satisfy each and every customer who have different tastes Most of all the key is to be equipped with the exact information about the VIPs what they like and don t like and why they are visiting Korea For example let s say I m escorting an official from a large electronics company I make sure we don t pass the building of a competing firm and if necessary I also change the electronics and lifestyle goods furnished inside the hotel room to the VIP s brand Also when I m escorting VIPs from Muslim countries I make sure I bring a carpet with me so that the VIPs can kneel down and pray facing ast during their five daily prayers What factors affect your business most Recent risks on the Korean peninsula including North Korea s attack on Yeonpyeong Island and the spreading of foot and mouth disease have affected our business Up to 40 percent of our customers cancelled their trips to Korea in December citing safety reasons Above all else though North Korea s Yeonpyeong Island attack was the most severe incident that affected us more than the global financial crisis and North Korea s past nuclear tests Starting this month however I expect business to thrive should there be no new threats because the economy is recovering and there is an increasing number of individual foreign visitors not only from China and Japan but also from other regions Korea s brand image has also grown based on global events it has hosted such as the G 20 Seoul Summit and more foreigners are expected to visit the country What is attractive about Korea is that it satisfies foreigners in terms of both business and travel Do you have any memorable episodes Several years ago Hyundai Heavy Industries had just completed building a ship and many VIPs had come to Korea for the launch ceremony The wife of Nigeria s former national defense minister also visited and she stayed at a hotel in Incheon for two hours before she left the country During her stay in Korea she had enjoyed Korean food and she had told one of the guides at the hotel that she could not forget the taste of the little fish and that she wanted to have it again Later on the guide found out that she was referring to stir fried anchovies To satisfy her with high quality service I went straight to a nearby discount store but I wasn t able to buy them Eventually I ended up buying dried anchovies and stir frying them at a nearby pub Later on she sent me a thank you letter and as far as I know Hyundai Heavy Industries regularly sents her the side dish What are some of the obstacles that you face operating Cosmojin Tour The protocol and VIP travel industry itself was new from the start so I had difficultly establishing infrastructure such as training guides from head to toe and changing vehicles from previous rental cars to VIP cars And to this day we are still establishing a database Also there is no one we call a competitors as of yet but I hope to see competitors in the future which would mean that demand for business is growing in this sector By Lee Eun joo angie joongang co kr Copyrights ? JoongangIlbo Jcube Interactive Inc All rights reserved

Image Dimensions: 323 x 322