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"Korean Crew? They are fantastic!" Emirates Airlines vice chairman Maurice Flanagan says. Indeed, the popularity of Korean crew is rising all over the Middle East. Among the 8,000 crew from 100 countries working for Dubai-based Emirates, 620 are Korean women, making them the biggest contingent after Australians. In 1998, there were only 15 Koreans. How come their numbers have grown so much?
Last December, Cho Su-yeon became the first Korean purser, in charge of all the crew on an airplane, with Emirates Airlines. She joined the company in 1998. That it took her only eight years to become purser is the result of her outstanding performance. A service program she developed exclusively for Korean passengers, "Soul of Korea", was adopted by the carrier in 2005. Emirates spokeswoman Sheba Koonan said most Korean stewardesses are excellent. They are the most active in training sessions and have a quick understanding, perhaps because many of them are highly educated.
International airlines take applications from candidates with only a high school degree or diploma. But most Korean crew have a bachelor's degree. And here, unlike elsewhere, stewardess is a popular occupation with serious competition.
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Crew from Emirates Airlines pose for a photo. The Korean is second from left in the second row.
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Emirates renews contracts every three years, but not many crew stay on - with the exception of the Koreans. Kang In-young, a stewardess who entered the company in 2000 said, "One of the reasons the company prefers Koreans is because Korean women are reliable and steadfast. Korean crew are tough and put up with the hard work, but our foreign colleagues tend to leave soon." Another reason is what in corporate-speak is called ˇ°service-mindedness.ˇ± Kim, who has been working in the company for four years, says, "Foreign crew tend not to make the effort to bend their knees to provide service at the eye-level. Also, Koreans keep a smile on their faces all the times and do their work humbly, so they barely get any complaints."
"Koreans accept different cultures more easily than the Chinese or Japanese," said Matt Howard who is in charge of publicity for the company. Since it is a multi-national enterprise, Emirates puts importance on team work. Employees from 100 nations gather and have to get along with each, often sharing a small confined space. Han, a stewardess, points out that the Emirates slogan is ˇ°Open Skyˇ± and Koreans have an open mind. ˇ°I think that Korean women have the ability to adapt to foreign environments easily and understand different cultures quickly,ˇ± she adds.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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