A totally sophisticated environment

Korea is not generally thought of as an ideal tourist destination. When I told my friends I was off on a trip to Seoul they looked puzzled and had no idea what I might be letting myself in for. I knew from a previous visit that I would be in for a treat.

Korea is dynamic, with an explosive economic growth rate and almost limitless ambitions. It's exciting, and years in advance of so much in Europe. I looked down from my friend's 35-storey apartment to see the school-children off in crocodiles in their immaculate uniforms. Parents here spend up to a quarter of household income on their children's education. I strolled along tree-lined boulevards serving coffee and croissants to board the metro - for the 80p flat fare. Sitting on the spotless suburban train into town I saw fellow commuters watching TV programmes on their mobile phones. Down-town it might have been Manhattan, but without potholes, without litter, without pushing and rudeness and without vagrants. The people on the sidewalks were elegant, meticulously groomed and immaculately dressed. If there is a "dress-down Friday" policy in Korea then you wouldn't know.

I went to the International Art Fair, and decided that this offered some interesting insights into the people and the culture. This picture by local artist Dool You shows a stereo-typical teenage schoolgirl surrounded by scowling corporate business men who are portrayed as rabbits. Her comment is "Why so serious?" The visitor to Seoul will soon appreciate that in Korea as anywhere else around the world, the youth have their own perspective on life.

The attitude to corporate existence is captured in this photo-montage by Tomoko Sawada, which is more a wry comment on corporate institutions than any suggestion of sarcasm or harsh criticism. There's a gentle wit that cloaks the underlying awareness of the gradual need for change.

I was in Seoul for meetings with my agent and publisher. Korea was the first country to take up the Tork & Grunt series, and, like their enthusiasm for educating their children, their appetite for business education is voracious. Samsung even has its own English-language business seminar site, www.seriworld.org where issues of national, regional and global interest are discussed by leading thinkers from around the world. What has been fascinating is to find that the one business issue that I heard about time and again during my visit is the need for improved "communication". With the changing nature of society and the rigid hieararchy of the traditional management structure, communication is a challenge, which is, perhaps, why the concept of Tork & Grunt was welcomed positively. What's more, it's an opportunity that is quite simply - huge.

The scale of life in Korea has to be seen to be believed. To give you a glimpse into the size of their ambitions, take the example of the housing programme. Korea is building 10 million new homes, to be completed by 2015. New cities are being created in open country. It's mind-boggling and inspirational. I love the energy, the focus, the ethical values and the cool determination of the young people. It's a great place to be right now, a great place to be published and to plan new workshops and seminars.