As we worked with Korean researchers, we learnt a lot about the research culture and mindset, now also part of CACTUS’s DNA, and really understood that South Korea’s stature in global research was the outcome of its well-organized and ambitious plan to be a world leader in science and technology. The vision and ambition were there for everyone to see. The speed of execution and urgency to be a world leaders is visible in every aspect of society; this result-driven innovation and the drive to always be on the cutting edge of technology has been one the great drivers for CACTUS to learn and support Korean academia.

I have been associated with CACTUS for over 15 years, starting off as an editor and then a managing editor, moving on to managing CACTUS’s global customer service teams and now overseeing sales and marketing in South Korea.

It was during my stint as a manager of the global customer services team of CACTUS when I first started working closely with Korean sales and customer service teams. Within no time, I was immersed in Korean culture and working with our Korean sales and customer services team.

During my many visits to South Korea and brief stints living there, I have met with many researchers and several associations of journals and societies. In Korean academic circles, we are more commonly known as Editage, which is CACTUS’s flagship brand. Our brand has always firmly been that of one of the premium author services companies in South Korea.

As CACTUS started evolving to serve the research community, several other brands like Impact Science and R emerged, each catering to specific researcher needs. This gradual evolution of CACTUS and its need to present a clear picture of how CACTUS can work with the author community in Korea necessitated the need to explain and showcase through an online forum the many ways CACTUS can work with the researcher community in Korea. While we attempted this through conference presentations and other offline channels, we always lacked an online presence to effectively showcase the CACTUS story and its relevance to the author community.

Which is why the launch of the CACTUS corporate site is exciting. The new website will enable us to effectively communicate to the author community in Korea as to how CACTUS can serve researchers—and other stakeholders in the research landscape—beyond Editage.

Please visit the website at cactusglobal.com/kr/ and share your feedback with us.

Connect with Basil D’souza on LinkedIn

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Initially, when only a few cases were being reported each day and the total was just a under a few hundred in the initial weeks, our approach was to identify sources of credible information online. No one really thought work-from-home would be needed. However, the organization was clear about what infrastructure was needed to move to a work-from-home arrangement, which was put in place within a week, just in case the need arose.

It should be noted that working from home is a novel, and I’d even say unwelcomed, concept in South Korea. When we decided to experiment with work-from-home, it was voluntary in the initial days but almost no one opted for it. Within the week, however, we were compelled to enforce it. It wasn’t an easy decision but one that had to be made for the safety of our team. While the initial weeks were uncomfortable for many, it is now part of daily life and even enjoyable for the majority.

South Korea followed a strategy called T-T-T (Trace-Test-Treat) that allowed excellent contact tracing and patient path sharing with everyone to help identify if you could have come into contact with a COVID-19 patient. It was widely available and completely free.

Screenshot of a sample message people would receive in case their path coincided with an infected person

We started working from home and always used face masks while travelling and sanitizers before and after meetings. Since CACTUS Seoul works closely with universities, university visits are a regular affair. Every university office kept sanitizers at the entrance and on all tables and everyone was encouraged to use them. It was heartening to see universities innovate to continue operations. Universities resumed on March 16 but moved to virtual lectures.

When reports of several hundred cases started streaming in, many government offices started staggered work hours and batching when travel was not avoidable. CACTUS’s Seoul team started weekly online team meetings among operation managers to identify problems with working from home, address them, and agree on the next steps. By the time there was a dip in reported cases, workflow and virtual collaborations had improved. Meeting people and travel still took place, but mostly with masks and sanitizers that were placed conveniently.

Working out of South Korea during this period taught me a few things:

1. There is nothing to fear if you are well informed and take the right precautions: masks, sanitizers, no crowds, off-peak-hour travel. Work from home when you are not needed to be physically present, but don’t hesitate to run your errands (following government guidelines, of course).
2. Make sure that you prepare and have the infrastructure to work from home as needed. I’m grateful to HR and other support teams at CACTUS for proactively enabling everyone to work from home.

There’s a lot to learn from how South Korea has handled the situation. Hope other countries are able to emulate to strategy adopted in South Korea and we get out of this situation soon.

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