Dialogue in the Dark Seoul 2010

In mid-January, Daniela and I went to South Korea for 5 full days to give consulting to one of our new Dialogue in the Dark (DiD) licensees: NHN Social Enterprise (NSE) – a sub-entity of the CSR branch of NHN Corp., South Korea’s largest internet company. The objective of our visit was to give the exhibition guides an intensive refreshment training and update on new features of the exhibition. All ten of them had guiding experience from previous exhibitions in Seoul, which was of great help for us, since Daniela, our master guides, could move into operational detail right from the start. Apart from the guide-training and certification, NSE received technical consultation, an in-depth lobby management briefing and information on our Business Workshop concept as well as a detailed report about our consulting services, suggestions for improvement and HR assessment.

Despite a delay in construction and partly challenging working conditions for the guides (construction basically went on day and night in the exhibition venue, which is why we had to use a seminar room for some parts of our consultation services), communication and cooperation worked very smoothly, at high speed and were energized by the enthusiasm of all of NSE’s staff. Especially remarkable is the fact that NSE’s CEO, Song, Young Hee is visually impaired himself and therefore has a holistic understanding of what DiD’s mission and vision are all about. Having worked at our former South Korean venues, he also has a good idea about technical and operational necessities and prerequisites for an exhibition, apart from  his broad knowledge about the impact the DiD experience has on visitors and guides alike.

Through NHN’s outstanding online marketing power (they run www.naver.com – South Korea’s primary search engine), there were already more than 600 online reservations either through their website www.dialogueinthedark.co.kr or through their booking partner www.interpark.com before the official opening. As of today, DiD Korea has already had more than 1,000 visitors – in less than two weeks!

Daniela and I were very impressed and deeply touched by the great effort our Korean friends have made to make this exhibition work. It has a very fine design, is well organized and has a strong and very supportive partner in NHN. Having a visually impaired man lead an experienced and very highly motivated team of guides and management staff will furthermore ensure that our mission and goals are pursued according to DSE’s global quality standards.

So 감사합니다 and 행운을 빕니다 to DiD Korea!

For more information on the Korean Dialogue in the Dark exhibition, please visit their website