october 2020
“Much like the founders of the great Korean chaebols, Euisun Chung is a change agent," Frank Ahrens, Hyundai's former director of global public relations, said.
“He has prepared his entire life for this moment, studying the companies diligently and seriously, and he has worked at both Kia and Hyundai. But he is no placeholder or status quo choice. He knows what to keep from his company’s and business culture’s history, and what to discard.”
Automotive News / Read Full Article
august 2019
“As former Hyundai communications executive Frank Ahrens puts it, ‘Korean unions are intense.’ Writing for Forbes in 2016, Ahrens said ‘at a press conference in 2011, a Korean labour leader invoked an ancient rite to demonstrate his commitment to his workers — he cut off the tip of his pinky finger with an axe.’ ”
News.com.au / Read Full Article
october 2019
“Frank Ahrens, author of ‘Seoul Man: A Memoir of Cars, Culture, Crisis, and Unexpected Hilarity Inside a Korean Corporate Titan,’ a memoir of his time working for South Korea’s Hyundai conglomerate, says alcohol consumption during hwaesik serves as a ‘great leveling’ between junior and senior employees of a company. But, he recalls that refusing to drink was not something his Korean colleagues could easily do. ‘I did not believe they had the power to decline unless they could cite real health reasons,’ Ahrens said.”
Public Radio International / Read Full Article
august 2017
“I always told our PR teams, “We’ll know we’ve made an impact when we can get journalists to stop starting their stories with some version of, ‘Can you believe Hyundai can make a high-quality car?’ ” On the other hand, it did give us an angle to pitch, and that landed us positive front page/cover pieces in the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg Markets.”
Branding In Asia interview / Read Full Article
January 2017
“PR exec Ahrens moved to Seoul, South Korea to work for Hyundai, and found a highly competitive, appearance-based, hard-drinking culture that at times seemed a funhouse mirror version of our own. With a sharp eye for details, Ahrens regales us with hilarious tales of cultural cognitive dissonance, as he attempts to shed his American instincts to make it in a society with vastly different norms for success.”
New York Post / Read Full Article
september 2020
“For Frank Ahrens, principal, BGR PR, also in Washington, external factors, rather than their achievements and characteristics, may define countries—especially middle powers, such as South Korea. Or sometimes it's a dominant characteristic, said Ahrens, who represents the country in the U.S. In South Korea's case, Ahrens said, it too often is thought of as only: a) the land of K-pop and b) the country next to North Korea.”
PR News / Read Full Article