In the World Cup and the market, the ultimate winner is the one who manages uncertainty The group draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North and Central America has presented the Korean national team with a formidable challenge. Facing Mexico, South Africa, and the winner of the European playoffs (Denmark, Czech Republic, Ireland, or North Macedonia) is difficult enough, but the real variable in this group is the environment. The fact that all matches will be played in Mexico becomes an opponent in itself. High altitude, temperature fluctuations, and humidity exert invisible pressure on players’ stamina, tactics, and psychology. This mirrors the economic landscape, where uncertainty dominates the market. Mexico’s vast high-altitude regions, drastic temperature shifts, intense humidity, and overwhelming home support create a competitive arena that cannot be explained by technique or tactics alone. Entrepreneurial mindset is the driving force that helps organizations break through such uncertainty. Numerous studies show that growth is shaped not only by technology or capital, but by behavioral factors such as opportunity recognition, risk-taking, self-efficacy, and innovativeness. When head coach Hong Myung-bo noted after the draw that the first two matches would be played at altitude and the last in over 35°C heat, he identified the essence of the challenge—but recognition alone is not enough. What Korea needs is entrepreneurial leadership capable of turning environment into opportunity. While many coaches focus primarily on the strength of their opponents, Hong pointed first to environmental conditions. This is an appropriate starting point for understanding uncertainty. Yet entrepreneurial thinking does not end with awareness; execution determines outcomes. The same applies to football. Beyond simple environmental analysis, the ability to structure uncertainty into a strategic asset is essential. Mexico’s 1,600-meter elevation significantly increases physical strain, and the heat and humidity of the third match affect passing speed, pressing intensity, and recovery. Add to this the psychological advantage of Mexico’s home crowd. However, these conditions are not unique to Korea—they are variables every team must face. Under identical conditions, performance differences arise not from resources but from behavior, in other words, entrepreneurial mindset. Some teams perceive the environment as risk; others convert it into a preparable opportunity. The distinction stems from the leader’s perspective. Entrepreneurship is not the ability to avoid risk but to manage it and channel it into execution. Hong’s comment that the team “has no choice but to prepare” is directionally correct, but only gains weight when translated into concrete action. Climate adaptation training, load management, rotation plans, and match-specific tactical adjustments are not optional—they are essential strategies that turn uncertainty into a controllable structure. Innovativeness and execution have long been identified as core predictors of entrepreneurial success. The World Cup is no different. What matters more than skill is the leader’s ability to execute with an entrepreneurial mindset. The environment is the same for all teams, but how each team interprets and prepares for it is what separates winners from the rest. The World Cup is won not by the team with the most talent, but by the team that identifies opportunities first and prepares earliest. That is the leadership Korea needs now. Hong Myung-bo stands at that threshold. Altitude, humidity, and home advantage are steep obstacles—but for a leader equipped with entrepreneurship, these obstacles can become stepping stones. Those who see opportunity win. Those who move first prevail. The author is a columnist of Aju Media Corporation. 2025-12-06 13:19:33

AI race to be defined by entrepreneurial spirit The global artificial intelligence market is exploding in size. Precedence Research projects that AI will swell from $757.6 billion to $3.7 trillion by 2034. An annualized growth of 19.2 percent is pronounced: AI is not just another fast-growing technology. It will reshape the very structure of the world economy. But in this era of relentless innovation, the decisive factor is no longer the technology itself. AI is becoming widely accessible—almost a public good. What will truly separate winners from laggards is the ability to turn that technology into new business models, new industries, and new value. In other words, the entrepreneurial spirit. Entrepreneurship is often reduced to the romantic image of a lone founder with a great idea. But the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor defines it differently: as a behavioral capacity that combines opportunity recognition, risk-taking, innovativeness, and the power to execute. It is the ability to see what others overlook, accept that failure is part of progress, and move boldly when uncertainty is high. My own research across 16 metropolitan regions confirms this. Regions that scored higher in opportunity perception, risk tolerance, self-belief, and innovativeness did not simply produce more startups. They produced more economic growth. What mattered was not the rate of new business creation, but the mindset that turns ideas into impact. Growth, in other words, was driven less by technology and capital than by human intention and action. This is why the real battleground of the AI race will not be technical capability alone. The differentiator will be entrepreneurial leadership powerful enough to reshape markets using the tools of AI. OpenAI is a case in point. The company did not win global attention merely because it built a sophisticated model. It reoriented the investment landscape, reorganized industrial ecosystems, and triggered a rethinking of how economies will function in an AI-first era. “Technology + capital + execution” is the formula that defined its rise. That is entrepreneurship in its purest form. Countries and companies hoping to lead the AI era need to understand this shift. Investing in AI research is necessary, but insufficient. Without systems that reward risk-taking, channels that move ideas from laboratory benches into commercial use, and a culture that respects and protects innovators, AI spending becomes little more than a pile of capital stacked on fragile ground. Only with such foundations, AI becomes transformative—not only advancing technology, but accelerating national competitiveness. AI is sweeping the world with the force of a storm. Yet its direction will not be dictated by algorithms or machines. It will be shaped by the people daring enough to wield them. In the AI age, advantage will not belong to those who merely possess technology. It will belong to those who spot the opening first—and seize it. The author is a columnist of Aju Media Corporation. 2025-12-05 14:12:04