Korean ex-auto man on China's two decades of changes

A memoir by Song Hoon-chon, a former chief representative in China for South Korean automobile manufacturer Hyundai, was recently published in Chinese.

Beijing Jiyi, or 20 Years in Beijing, tells the many stories of change in this country in the past two decades from the author's perspective. Song is among the early South Korean expatriates, who came to China ahead of diplomatic ties between the two nations established in August 1992.

He set up the representative office for Hyundai in Beijing and went about selling his company cars in the Chinese market for the next seven years. Much later during his stay, he opened Secret Garden, a Korean restaurant, also in Beijing.