South Korea

The Kia Motors plant in West Point didn't start Georgia's relationship with South Korea, but it has invariably intensified the ties. The country's second largest auto maker started making small SUVs in here in November, culminating a three-year ramp-up process that is bringing an estimated 10,000 jobs to the state through Kia's plant and by its parts suppliers, many of them also Korean companies.

When GlobalAtlanta first traveled to South Korea in July, we took time to visit Kia's headquarters. The tall building is connected to sister automaker Hyundai's symmetrical tower by a long atrium. In an interview in a quiet lobby, global planning executive Dong-wook Kim laid out his long-term expectations for the Georgia plant. By the time it reaches full production (300,000 cars per year) in 2011, the U.S. car market will have rebounded to the levels of 2006, the same year Kia chose the state for its first American plant, he said.

We also checked in with Peter Underwood, a consultant who represents Georgia's business recruitment efforts in South Korea. In our hour-long interview at his Seoul office, Mr. Underwood explained his longstanding family ties in Korea (his great-great-grandfather founded the prestigious Yonsei University) and how he serves as the "big end of the funnel" for Georgia, filtering out interested companies and introducing them to the state.

Although we were fortunate enough to get these interviews on the margins, the trip's main purpose was to cover the signing of an agreement linking Gwinnett County and Gangnam, one of Seoul's richest districts, as sister communities. Gwinnett officials had traveled to Seoul from China, where they visited multiple cities at the outset of their first official Asia business mission.

Inking the deal with Gangnam formalized a relationship that stemmed from connections in the county's 40,000-strong Korean community, an asset Gwinnett Chamber officials are using as a selling tool when courting Korean businesses. GlobalAtlanta was the only American media outlet to cover the signing.

At the tail end of the first Korean journey, we stopped by the Seoul office of Portman Holdings, the development firm that turns noted Atlanta architect John Portman's designs into reality. The company is leading a four-member consortium building a 151-story tower in Incheon, South Korea, about an hour's drive from Seoul. Interviews with company representatives revealed the massive scope of the project, and a visit to the coastal area where they plan to build it showed how far Incheon has come and how much effort remains before Incheon reaches Mayor Ahn Sang-soo's lofty vision as the premier trade and business hub of Northeast Asia.

In August, GlobalAtlanta made a second trip to Korea, this time related to the Portman building in a roundabout way. Incheon highlighted Portman's work at a global fair that served as coming-out party for the city. A Georgia delegation, whose travel expenses were at least partially funded by Portman, participated in "Atlanta City Day," where members of the group made presentations about the city's business climate and educational offerings.

Costa Rica

The Georgia Institute of Technology's supply chain management program consistently garners high marks in educational circles, but having heads of state thank the university for investing in their country is a higher and rarer honor enjoyed by the school this year.

GlobalAtlanta was on hand in San Jose, Costa Rica, in August for the launch of the new Georgia Tech Trade, Innovation and Productivity Center, a research and logistics center that aims to help Costa Rican exporters find markets for their products while providing a venue for Americans to study and do research in Costa Rica. President Oscar Arias said the center would revolutionize Costa Rica's methods in trade, a sector becoming more important as the country seeks to further diversify its largely tourism-based economy. Mr. Arias, who was recovering from H1N1 flu, seemed in full command of his faculties.

We spent the week leading up to the TIP Center's inauguration on the other side of COSTA RICA, learning about how Georgia builders are changing rural areas through educational philanthropy and development projects that bring jobs to the region. We interviewed heads of three university programs in Guanacaste province, a school principal and the director of a foundation that administers scholarships for students coming to America

We mainly focused on H.G. "Pat" Pattillo, an 83-year-old DeKalb County native who has become a fixture in the province through his Hacienda Pinilla project, a beautiful resort and residential community he continues to develop on a nearly 5,000-acre plot he bought more than 30 years ago. Mr. Pattillo's original plan was to retire there, but he seemed active in the management of the property. Look for a more detailed profile on Mr. Pattillo at the beginning of the year.

France

The convention business has taken a hit worldwide this year, and Atlanta hasn't been immune, but in May the city played host to an industry-wide convention that gave it a boost in biotechnology, a field not as badly wounded by the recession as most.

In May, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, or BIO, hosted its annual convention at the Georgia World Congress Center, bringing 15 to 20,000 delegates from all over the world to Atlanta. We launched special Web site under our GlobalGeorgia.com umbrella to document news surrounding this event.

When we learned that France would be sending one of the largest foreign delegations, we headed to the cities of Paris and Lyon to learn how France is incubating startups, developing new therapies and hosting clinical trials through biotechnology parks around the country.

Sweden

Savannah has built its own reputation as a place for startups to thrive. A delegation from the coastal Georgia city traveled two years ago to Sweden to take part in the bi-annual Entrepreneurial Days conference, which alternates between Swedish and U.S. host cities. Thanks to ties forged on the initial trip and later efforts by the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia, Savannah won the April 2009 conference.

GlobalAtlanta traveled to the southern Swedish cities of Vaxjo and Malmo before the conference to profile groups that would attend. Vaxjo, which bills itself as "the greenest city in Europe," was sending city and university officials along with representatives of alternative energy companies. When they came to Savannah in April, officials from both sides agreed to work together on future environmental initiatives. A Savannah group including Mayor Otis Johnson reciprocated the Vaxjo visit in the fall to attend a green building conference.

Malmo, a long-time shipbuilding center until that industry consolidated in South Korea, is reinventing itself as a knowledge and technology hub. Bordering Denmark in the southernmost part of Sweden, Malmo has become integrated into the Copenhagen metropolitan area and is attracting investment from the Danish capital.

In Savannah, the Edays conference focused on attracting funding for sustainable projects. It drew a wide array of speakers including Swedish Ambassador to the U.S. Jonas Hafstrom and Michael Wood, President George W. Bush's last envoy to Sweden.

The upbeat atmosphere of the conference was brought to a standstill when a Swedish delegate, Nils Eric Svensson, was struck by a truck and killed while crossing a street in Savannah's historic district. The tragic event changed the complexion of the conference, and officials ended it sooner than expected. Mr. Svensson was an economic developer in Malmo who had helped GlobalAtlanta tour the city and the surrounding area just a few weeks before his death.

Hungary

John Parkerson, Hungary's honorary consul for the Southeast U.S., knows the city of Budapest well, and as GlobalAtlanta reported in August, he's greeted in the halls of Hungary's government as an old friend. Read here about how he became honorary consul

On an August trip, the head of international programs for Clayton State University helped GlobalAtlanta meet with leaders in Hungary's tourism and economic ministries, providing an inside look at the economic challenges facing the European nation. We also learned about Hungarian wine and how an aversion to communism and fear of its lingering effects seemed to color policy making within Hungary's government. An interview with Mr. Parkerson on the banks of the Danube River was one of our most popular stories of 2009.

The Hungary trip also revealed a surprising new connection for Georgia. NCR Corp., the Fortune 500 company that made headlines by moving its headquarters from Dayton, Ohio, to Duluth this year, had an ATM factory in Hungary very similar to the one it has opened in Columbus, Ga. Staff of Georgia Quick Start, the state's workforce training agency, were on a plane to Hungary to learn about NCR manufacturing processes the same week NCR announced the Columbus plant. GlobalAtlanta was the first and only news source to report on this connection.

Argentina, Brazil, Colombia

Freelancers traveled to South America for GlobalAtlanta this year. In two trips, two writers brought back stories examining how Georgia State University used an effective yearly study-abroad program to teach MBA students real business practices in the Argentine and Brazilian markets, and how Colombia's tourism ministry is trying to get more business travelers to stick around for a few extra days and experience a different side of the country.

Canada

Companies across North America are seeking to capitalize on the world's new wave of environmental consciousness. At a Montreal trade show this year, Atlanta officials presented the city as one ripe with opportunity in the area of sustainability.

On our first trip to Quebec's largest city this year, GlobalAtlanta traveled with a five-person Atlanta delegation to Americana 2009, an annual environmental trade show. In French-speaking Quebec, the Georgia capital was dubbed a ville durable, a city that lasts, for its efforts to reduce carbon emissions, boost recycling and conserve water. City officials told conference attendees that Atlanta could do more if it only had more funding for specific projects.

During our second trip, we got in touch with Quebec's penchant for scientific and artistic innovation. According to interviewees, the province's entrepreneurial creativity spills over into media and the arts. Case in point: Quebec shows Cirque de Soleil and Cavalia (put on by the same company) entertained Atlanta audiences this year.

Kenya, Tanzania

In developed countries, environmentalism is coming into vogue, but in impoverished rural areas, a focus on survival often leaves little room for high-brow notions like conservation.

The First East Africa Energy Conference 2009 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, showcased a pragmatic environmentalism. The June event highlighted the need for small-scale, rural renewable energy projects that can help reduce communities' dependence on an often-unreliable electrical power grid in East Africa. Employing such methods can help sustain economic development in rural areas while governments find ways to fund conventional power projects that will last in the long run.

A GlobalAtlanta freelancer met companies seeking to bridge the gap, like D.light Design Inc., which makes solar-powered lamps to replace sometimes-dangerous and expensive kerosene lanterns used throughout Tanzania.

Turkey

The Istanbul Center in Atlanta sponsors multiple trips each year to give Georgians a taste of Turkey's culture, history and business climate. The center's efforts, paired with the Turkish government's ongoing efforts to draw investment from Georgia, have led to growing trade and tourism ties with the country. In view of these connections, GlobalAtlanta traveled with the Istanbul Center to an annual trade conference hosted by Tuskon, a confederation of Turkish business organizations.

The export-oriented conference came during a difficult time for Turkish trade, a factor that might've contributed to the strong attendance: More than 3,000 Turkish businesspeople came together with 2,300 business representatives from 135 countries. Ironically, much of our coverage focused on Turkey's trade relationship with Africa, which had been somewhat insulated from the global recession, leading Turkish firms to rely more on emerging markets than its European and Middle Eastern neighbors, which were struggling under the weight of the downturn.

Simultaneous with the Tuskon event, Mona Diamond, Georgia's honorary consul general for Turkey, held a women's entrepreneurial conference in Istanbul. GlobalAtlanta had reported on the event's progress since Ms. Diamond floated the idea in 2007.

These events came just after the "Year of Turkey" came to a close at Kennesaw State University, which focuses on a new country each school year.