About Heejeong

Before Heejeong Haas started working as a business consultant and language professional with international companies 10 years ago, she was always fascinated by language and culture. And she sought to master both. Her passion for language and culture took her to the University of Alberta in Edmonton Canada, where she first gained experience living in a Western culture.

When she returned to Korea, she used her knowledge of Western culture and English ability to work as a trainer, translator, and interpreter. This included stints at Toon.Us.In. Korea and at the corporate headquarters of Herbalife, Korea.

During her time at Toon.Us.In, Ms. Haas was responsible for facilitating communication between foreign storywriters and Korean animators who were responsible for animating popular cartoon series, such as the Simpsons, Casper, and Futurama, and major Canadian cartoon shows.

She also acted as a liaison between Korean management and foreign staff to ensure effective communication and reduce cultural misunderstandings.

She first got a taste of international business negotiations while at Toon.Us.In. Up to this date, she likes to talk about the time when she had to work on a deal between MGM Studios and Toon.Us.In. Although experiencing cultural differences in Canada, that was the first time she saw how cultural differences affected business relations between Western countries and Korea. It gave her profound insight into how the business negotiation should work and how cultural difference affects every single aspect of business and its outcome. The deal didn’t go through successfully, but she likes to say; "if I knew then what I now know, I could have saved that deal."

While at Herbalife, Korea, Ms. Haas trained staff members in foreign customs and facilitated effective communication between the Korean and American corporate offices. Not only did she learn how cultural differences affected American corporations coming into Korea, but she also learned how foreign products and marketing materials should be properly localized in order to attract the target audience.

In 2001, Heejeong moved to Austin, TX to pursue an MBA at the University of Texas. But fate had a different story in mind. While she was attending the school part time and running a full-time business, she soon realized that the real world of business was not quite fitting with the business being taught in school. So she one day walked out of the school, and never looked back.

Since then she has been working as a consultant to businesses who have business relations with Korea. Through her consulting company, Queen of Seoul, Heejeong has helped a number of companies enter the Korean market, negotiate deals, and market their products or services. But her services are not only limited to companies. She has also helped numerous individuals and small companies through her interpreting and translation services.

Heejeong remains active in the Austin community. She contributes to the local community by interpreting and translating for local schools and non-profit organizations.

In her spare time, Heejeong, a classically-trained pianist, enjoys playing the piano.

Heejeong’s Business Values

Having done business with so many different companies over the years, I have developed what I consider to be the 3 core values of business:

            1. Reliability
            2. Integrity
            3. Performance

Reliability — My clients should be able to completely rely on me when I take on their project without worrying if I’m going to meet their deadlines, show up on time to a meeting, or ignore their phone calls or requests for assistance.

Integrity — Every business is out there to earn profit. So do I. I run my business to make profit. But to me it is just as important how I earn those profits. And I do not earn my profits through lying or dishonesty. I owe it to my clients to be upfront and honest with them before, during, and after a project. I learned over the years that honesty is the best way to deal with any business situation and in the long run, it eventually leads to the best outcome.

Performance — I believe in giving 100% to a project and successfully carrying it out. I believe this so strongly that if I feel I cannot give my all or carry out a project, I either refuse the project or point my clients to someone who can. Sometimes this reduces my profits, but I believe that my clients pay me for my best possible services and anything less than that is dishonest.