Korean crisis draws U. prof

South Korea is going through some financially tough times, losing billions of dollars as the Asian crisis devastates the world's economies -- but International Relations Professor Frank Plantan will be trying to change all that next week. Plantan, the associate director of Penn's International Relations program, offered an in-depth look into the South Korean economy and culture yesterday in Williams Hall while announcing his plans to move to that country to serve as an adviser to the World Bank. The event attracted about 12 students and faculty. Plantan said he will work with a team of advisors to determine the best way to distribute $40 million in World Bank funds earmarked for helping to restructure South Korean corporations. These funds, called technical assistance loans, will help pay for the outside advisors who will direct the reorganization. According to Plantan, the World Bank's role in the country is vital. He equated the crisis in South Korea to a situation in which "every one of the Fortune 500 companies declared bankruptcy." Plantan has already worked extensively on South Korean affairs. His graduate research focused on trade dependence and national economic policy in South Korea, and he served on the Economic Planning Board in South Korea in 1981. Additionally, from 1992 until last year, he directed the Penn in Seoul Program in the nation's capital. This summer, Plantan spent three weeks in South Korea, allowing him to establish valuable contacts within the South Korean business community. The economic predicament there, he said, is exacerbated by the "novelty of the situation," since the South Korean economy -- the 11th largest in the world -- has never faced such a crisis before. The economy is facing challenges caused by the fact that five of its largest companies, including multi-national corporations like Hyundai and Samsung, would prefer to resolve their financial problems independently of the World Bank and the government, he said. Plantan and his fellow advisors, however, will deal more closely with other, smaller South Korean companies. Plantan also spoke of the social implications of the financial crisis. South Koreans, he explained, have extreme "personal pride" and are "afraid to say they lost their job," a mentality that spurs widespread public anger at the crisis and increases the risk of riots and social unrest. Plantan plans to return to Penn in January.