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German and French firms are latecomers in Korea which is considered as a very difficult country in which to do business. This article compares both countries' strategies for entering this dynamic market. French firms have given the priority to low control modes of entry (export and licensing) while German firms have preferred higher control modes (from joint venture to wholly owned subsidiaries). Liberalization measures have led several foreign firms to formulate their manufacturing activities and to invest in retail activities in order to gain a tighter control of the distribution of their exports. A comparison between the thirty largest firms of both countries show than French firms have been less involved in Korea that their German counterparts and that they have rarely engaged in joint ventures with the largest Korean firms. Incompatibilities between the partners' objectives and the fact that foreign firms have had difficulties to cope with Korean management practices explains the increasing number of divestments.