[The Chosun Ilbo, June 5 2008] A Humbling Look at Korean Achievement

I was amazed afresh by the news that Korean businesses are dominating the global TV market. Only a short time ago Sony led the market, but the current ranking, in order, is Samsung, Sony, LG and Sharp.

Sony's slip from the top spot is understandable because it misread the times and neglected liquid crystal technology, but Sharp's fall is harder to understand. The Japanese corporation owned the world's leading liquid crystal technology for 40 years. It was the first in the world to commercialize liquid crystal technology and liquid crystal televisions. Korea's liquid crystal technology is about 20 years old at most. What happened?