DOWNTOWN : Expo Was a Lesson in Heart and Seoul

Brion Talley conducted business with South Korea for a number of years, buying steel from manufacturers there for his employer, an Australian firm.

But Talley, president of the Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce, never visited South Korea until last month, when he participated in a Pacific Rim exchange program. After four days in Seoul and Taejon last month, Talley returned to Los Angeles with a strong sense of optimism and respect for what he described as a burgeoning economic power.

“The most amazing thing is the sheer potential of the country,” said Talley, 32. “I haven’t seen masses of kids so bright and cheery as I did at the Taejon Expo. And Korean women are very progressive and very much a part of their husbands’ lives . . . a bright, strong group of women there.”

Talley and 10 other young Los Angeles business professionals participated in the Century of the Pacific conference, a 19-year-old annual exchange coordinated by the Junior Chambers of Los Angeles, Seoul and Tokyo. The conference began in 1975 to promote friendship and mutual understanding among young leaders and business professionals in the United States and Asian countries.

The conference is rotated annually among the three participating cities; it was in Tokyo last year and returns to Los Angeles next year. The three junior chambers hope to expand the conference to include other nations, officials said.

This year, the Los Angeles participants spent $1,500 each to travel to Seoul. During their visit Oct. 17 to 20, the participants attended seminars on doing business with South Korea and China and checked out the Taejon Expo. But the highlight--and focus--of the conference has always been the social interaction and cultural exchanges among the roughly 100 participants.

During social events, which ranged from an organized bowling party to spontaneous cocktail gatherings, the Americans shared both personal and business perspectives with their Japanese and Korean peers. Many of the business discussions this year centered on the North American Free Trade Agreement and its impact, said Kumar Rajha, a three-year veteran of the conference.

The Japanese and Koreans asked the Americans for details and their impressions of the agreement, said Rajha, a 28-year-old engineer. “They wanted to know much more than you see on CNN or read in newspapers,” he said.

Rajha said the conference’s primary goal is not to form business relationships, but to nurture friendships that could be advantageous in business. “We try not to make this a trade mission where you just go and hand out business cards and seek ventures,” he said.

“When you spend every waking moment for four days with these people, talking, eating, drinking, arguing, playing, singing and making fools of yourselves, a special bond develops that transcends all language and cultural barriers. It’s sort of like a fraternity. “

Having the conference in a different country each year provides additional education. “I cannot think of a better way to get to know a country and its people,” Rajha said.