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www.groovekorea.com / October 2014 40 Edited by Elaine Ramirez (elaine@groovekorea.com) COvER STORy E ight years ago, it was nearly im- possible for a foreigner to open a busi- ness in Korea all on their own. It meant miles of red tape, arcane and impossi- ble to understand forms and, above all, being shifted from one desk to another as the rel- evant authorities passed you on to someone else, hoping that the other office knew how to deal with you. “A decade ago anything you tried to do as a foreigner was simply met with, ‘No, you cannot do that, you are not Korean,’” said Justin McLeod of Business Network Korea, a professional meetup group in Seoul. Now, the tide of globalization has washed many of these restrictions away. Sean Watts was the first foreigner to open a business in Korea without external aid. Aside from having a marriage visa, he opened the Watts on Tap pub in Sinchon with no Korean business partner to sign the documents for him. “There were more problems than I can recall,” Watts, 43, said. “Complications on the front lines, doing paperwork — this made actual business establishment initially illegal. Each government authority required another au- thority’s signed approval prior to their approval. No authority was willing to take a chance and be first to sign and approve a foreigner.” The problems weren’t only governmental. “Korean suppliers were afraid to work with for- eigner pub owners,” Watts said. “They were afraid of doing business with English speak- ers, and having bills go unpaid. Very few Ko- reans wanted to deal with non-Koreans back then. I learned to speak Korean and pay on delivery, while competitors got better payment terms.” The biggest problems were health, immi- gration and police “inspections,” which could happen up to seven times a month, he says. Many of these were not inspections at all, but officials looking for bribes. Watts didn’t give them any. Things have changed dramatically since. There are foreign-owned businesses through- out Seoul and the provinces, and all of them opened without the Spanish Inquisition that Watts endured. Anna Desmarais, 37, opened Body & Seoul Martial Arts and Fitness Center in 2010. She is the sole proprietor, and her problems are rEal mEn triumpH Armed with a fluttering of Korean and a sense of adventure, Canadians Corry Day, Craig Roessel, Jaime Cottin and Tyler Deuling opened the Rocky Mountain Tavern 10 years ago. Despite the initial diffculties of setting up business in a country where even calling a plumber presented a language problem for expats, this bar has now become a fxture in Itaewon, and is a familiar home away from home to many in Seoul. pErsEvErE, dEfEnd and maKE friEnds Looking for a gym that offered muay thai or MMA in the Itaewon area and fnding none, Anna Desmarais did the next best thing and opened her own. With classes for a wide range of martial arts disciplines, Body & Seoul Martial Arts and Fitness Center now offers an environment for people to indulge in their love for martial arts with a sense of camaraderie that is often lacking in traditional gyms. Easy landing Having once been fresh off the boat themselves, Scot Sustad and Reuben Zuidhof saw a market for resettlement products and services in English and set up The Arrival Store, a one- stop shop to help foreigners set up a home in Korea. Yes, it’s a business, but for Sustad and Zuihof there is something noble about providing a service that is needed, and often necessary, while eking out a living at the same time. opEning a businEss is nEvEr Easy, but opportunitiEs abound 10.2007 11.2011 07.2012