I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
Tacit knowledge
By Kang Hyun-kyung
By Kang Hyun-kyung
“Keep me posted on heart-warming stories, or any irregularities in the sports scene. Protection of sources guaranteed.”
These odd phrases, which were posted under the profile photo of the former spokesman for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, Sung Baik-yoo, caught my eye when I checked my KakaoTalk the other day.
The smartphone chatting app gives its users a reminder of their KakaoTalk friends whenever their birthdays come, and that's how I came to see his profile photo and message.
Curious, I checked with him over the phone about the message. He said he has been working with a local sports daily as a senior reporter for some time since the Olympics.
I think his career U-turn to journalism will benefit many in the sports scene ― not to mention the sports daily he is working for ― because of his expertise, insider's view of the international sports scene and most importantly, his passion for his work.
Mr. Sung had covered several Olympics during his decades of work for SBS, and joined the Korean Olympic organizers after he retired from broadcasting.
As a chief publicist for PyeongChang, he was a smooth operator. He was available all the time, either in person or over the phone, whenever journalists asked about any Olympic issues of interest. If he missed their calls, he would return each and every call. Being responsive to journalists is one of the key qualities for people in public affairs, but there are still many who are slow to it. For his professionalism and work ethic, he was popular among journalists covering the Olympics.
While covering the Olympics, I could feel that he still had a passion for journalism.
When one of the sports journalists asked if he liked his new job as a chief publicist, he said, “You guys have the best job. I think being a journalist is the best profession you can ever imagine because you are free to write anything in your interest based on interviews.”
His return to journalism after a couple of stints in international sports events committees has reminded me of the late Samsung Group Chairman's management strategy, called “am-muk-jee,” or tacit knowledge.
The 2005 book, “The Lee Kun-hee Era,” written by Jeonbuk National University Professor Kang Jun-man gives detailed explanation of what the “tacit knowledge” he meant is, and how it benefited his business. To explain the term, the author gives a real world example of how tacit knowledge works in businesses.
He writes, suppose that there's a thriving restaurant popular among gourmet foodies. A cookbook written by its chef is on sale in local bookstores. It gives recipes for food, but there's a huge difference in the final product made by ordinary people, in terms of taste, flavor and even the texture of food.
The reason is simple. There are certain unwritten details which the chef had learned through his years of investment and hard work to improve his product. However, this quality is something we cannot elaborate on in written language.
That unknown factor makes the chef and his restaurant remain competitive over others. Going back to the aforementioned senior journalist, the tacit knowledge that he has earned through his decades of work in journalism should benefit his readers.
People who take their job seriously will find it relatively easier to obtain tacit knowledge compared to those who don't. Thus, I think, professionalism and passion are two guiding lights that will help people keep working to improve their competitiveness during their career.
People are all different. Self-motivated people set their goals, making plans on their own to achieve them, while some are passive and follow what others do. Some follow suit only when they are inspired by others.
I think everyone could benefit from considering their goals and making efforts, especially with support from those able to provide it, in the pursuit of such tacit knowledge.