Essay from Expatriate in Germany

Essay
Essay from Expatriate in Germany
KIM Yong Tae

1 . Introduction
I was assigned to KYB Europe GmbH (hereinafter"KEU") in Germany in February 2021. I experienced
many things as an expatriate for about two years until
returning to Japan in December 2022. KEU is a sales
base of commercial shock absorbers (hereinafter "SAs")
for western Europe. I was in charge of purchasing
operations during the expatriation.
I had never imagined that I would live in Europe, andit had been about 10 years since my father and I had
travelled to Germany when I was a university student, soI was deeply moved when we arrived at Frankfurt
Airport. Given that the memories of ten years ago have
led to the present, you can hardly know where there will
be a turning point in your life.
The following introduces some of the short but very
valuable experiences I obtained both on business and in
private life during the two-year stationing.

2 . Life in Germany
Germany (the Federal Republic of Germany), with apopulation of 84 million and a total area of 350,000
square kilometers, is a federal republic located in Centraland Western Europe.
Düsseldorf, where I was stationed, is located on thebanks of the Rhine River and has a population of
approximately 620,000 and an area of 217 squarekilometers. With these figures, Düsseldorf may look likea small- to medium-sized city but is well known in theeconomic and artistic fields. Economically, several global
companies are headquartered there. In the arts, theDüsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts is located in the city.
Geographically, Düsseldorf is easily accessible fromthe Netherlands and Belgium. Many Japanese companies
have their bases in Düsseldorf and around 5000 Japanesepeople live there. One of the attractions of Düsseldorf isthat you can experience Asian culture in spite of being inEurope.
I have written only good things about Düsseldorf, but
one of the difficulties was the cold due to the extremely

low amount of sunshine during winter. In winter, when
the solar radiation drops to an extreme level, it was darkboth when I reported to work in the morning and left
each evening. The decrease in sunshine affects people's
lives to the extent that there are reports of an increase in
the suicide rate due to depression in Germany. In fact,winter was like a long tunnel. During my first winter inGermany, I took extra care to keep my spirits up both on
business and in private life as far as possible. I also tried
to go out and move my body even when it was cold.
In addition, COVID-19 hit all of Europe immediately
after I was sent to Düsseldorf. In Germany at that time,the daily number of people infected with COVID-19
exceeded 60,000 and all shops except supermarkets wereshut down. It was almost impossible for people to go out
accordingly. I continued a round trip between work andhome every day. Naturally, all restaurants were closed, so
I had to cook my own meals every day, even though I
was expatriated abroad. This was the first time in my lifethat I had been stationed overseas, but I was not allowed
to go out, which was a hardship at the beginning of myexpatriation.

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Photo 1

Masks for protecting yourself

KYB TECHNICAL REVIEW No. 67 OCT. 2023

3 . Work in Germany

4 . German Cuisine

As mentioned above, I was in charge of purchasing
operations during my expatriation in Germany. KEU is acommercial product sales base whose main distribution
channel is stock sales to the European market and has
about 30 employees in Germany. The main businesses arepurchasing and inventory control of commercial SAs, coilsprings, and mounting kits, which are primarily purchasedfrom the KYB Group's production sites and outsourced
suppliers.
The purchasing operations cover a wide spectrum
including ordering of commercial SAs, following up on
suppliers' delivery dates, appropriate inventory
management, improvement of order fulfillment rates, andnew development work. I had never experienced any ofthese operations, so I had a very difficult time at first. The
work of forecasting demand based on sales forecast data
and deciding on order quantities while maintaining abalance between stock levels and fulfillment rates
requires the exchange of information and collaboration
with factories and other departments. I experienced
firsthand how important communication in the workplacewas. In particular, salespersons or customers complained
to me, as the person in charge of purchasing, when
product delivery was late for instance. But, I learnt a lot
by listening to the real voices of the market and sincerely
responding to customer requests through such complaints
and advice. I was also able to build a relationship of trustwith them. These were my big achievements.
Beside these, the external influences during theexpatriation included the COVID-19 problem. The
infection spread throughout the world from 2020 and hit
each production site, sharply lowering order fulfillment
rates at times. However, the team worked as one torecover the fulfillment rate by steadily following up on
production and shipping plans every month. We had
meetings every day, spending days under a constantly
tense atmosphere. Looking back, however, that was avery valuable experience for me.

It is no exaggeration to say that meat and potatoes are
the chief staple of Germany. Immediately after arrivingin Germany, I thought that German food was simple atfirst glance and the menu was poor in variety. But, soon I
noticed that, when you take German food and beer
together, you can taste just the right balance of flavors.
The most famous German food is probably theGerman sausage, but there are several traditional dishes
other than sausages. One of the most typical traditional
German dishes is Schweinshaxe, which is, in brief,
roasted pig's feet. It is a dish in which pork shanks areroasted until the skin is crispy and served with potatoes,
giving it a unique texture.

Photo 2

Photo 3German dishes (Schweinshaxe on the left)

Besides the above-mentioned Schweinshaxe, anotherfamous traditional German dish is Schnitzel. It is a meat
dish that is widely eaten not only in Germany but also inWestern Europe. Its taste is very similar to that ofJapanese pork cutlets. However, it is not deep-fried in asmuch oil as Japanese pork cutlets, so the taste is softer.
You can taste a deeper flavor if the schnitzel isaccompanied with oven-baked potatoes, French fries, orpotato salad. It may seem a simple dish, but it is certainly
an addictive one.

KEU purchasing team― 37 ―

Essay from Expatriate in Germany

Photo 4German dish (Schnitzel)

5 . German Beer
What's indispensable to the dishes stated above isdefinitely German beer. Particularly in Germany, local
beer brewed at regional breweries, rather than beer
produced by the major beer manufacturers, is very
popular. Therefore, there is a wide variety of beer
categories. The beer seems to be generally classified byregion and color.

Photo 5

Local beer (Kölsh) in Cologne

For example, the northern area of Germany has
mainstream beers called "ale", many of which have along-lasting rich flavor, whilst the southern area has amainstay called "lager", which is characterized by arefreshing taste. German beers also vary in taste by colorand can be roughly divided into three types: Weissbier(pale beer), Schwartzbier (black beer), and the normal
type often seen in Japan.

Photo 6Weissbier (pale beer) in Munich

In this way, you can enjoy a variety of delicious beersin Germany and have the pleasure of comparing them. In
the busy days as an expatriate, a glass of beer on theweekends was a treat for myself.

6 . World Cultural Heritage and Traveling inGermany
As one of the most historic countries in Europe,
Germany has numerous cultural heritage sites. Amongthese, Cologne Cathedral, the largest Gothic building in
the world and a World Heritage Site, is one of the mostpopular tourist attractions in Cologne, which is a big city
in western Germany. The Cathedral was built overaround six centuries from its start of construction in 1248
to its completion in 1880. Standing in front of thebuilding, you are overwhelmed by the huge scale of it.
The city of Münster located in the northwestern areaof Germany is a beautiful place that has flourishedaround its cathedral since ancient times. It is one of themost popular tourist spots in the country because of its
historical architecture and universities. Particularly,
Münster Abbey, which is a masterpiece of the transitional
period between Romanesque and Gothic architectures,has been registered as a World Heritage Site and is atypical sightseeing spot visited by many tourists.

7 . Traveling in Europe
The neighboring countries of Germany include France,
the Netherlands, and Belgium, which are only a two-hour
drive away. I often visited these countries on weekends.
Crossing a border by car was new to me, so it was a very
surprising experience. Particularly, I often travelled toAmsterdam in the Netherlands, which is my most― 38 ―KYB TECHNICAL REVIEW No. 67 OCT. 2023

Photo 7

Cologne Cathedral

Photo 9Photo 8 Inside of Münster Abbey

National museum of the Netherlands

Photo 10 House museum of Rembrandt, the leading Dutchpainterfavorite city in Europe, by car for about two hours from
Düsseldorf as if I was just taking a drive. Amsterdam,
which is also known as an "art paradise" in Europe, hasvarious tourist attractions including the Rijksmuseum(the national museum of the Netherlands) and theRembrandt House Museum (Rembrandt van Rijn was aleading Dutch painter). You can fully enjoy Dutch art inthe city.

Author 

8 . In Closing
I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation
through this report for the warm support of mysupervisors, senior engineers, expatriates, and local staff
who helped me to complete my stationing in Germany
for nearly 2 years without any problems. At the sametime, I am convinced that the experience I obtained inthis expatriation will provide me with the base andconfidence to work on future operations. Thanks a lot forgiving me such a valuable opportunity.

KIM Yong Dae
Joined the company in 2014.
Aftermarket Sales Dept No.1, Global
Business Unit (Sales Headquarters)
Took present post after working in
Product Planning Sect., Aftermarket
Business Dept; Aftermarket SalesDept; KYB Europe GmbH.

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