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Metro> Expats
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Swede smell of success
By Wang Ru (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-09-29 09:17 Da Long brings PR strategies and heavy metal music to the capital
The most famous Swedish import in China is IKEA, the furniture and homeware store. Perhaps the second-most famous is 45-year-old Johan Bjorksten, or Da Long, as he is known in Chinese. Bjorksten owns Eastwei Relations, a public relations consultancy based in Beijing that provides communications strategies and event services to a list of Fortune 500 clients and smaller enterprises. The entrepreneur is also well known as the former host of Beijing Traffic Music Station, where he introduced heavy metal music to locals. He has also hosted a cooking show on a local TV station. Bjorksten is known as Da Long (dragon in Chinese), a name that was given to him by a Chinese guide during his first visit in China, because he was born in the year of Dragon. "China is big and also a special market, which requires more and more professional public relations experts who have an understanding of the domestic and foreign market," said Bjorksten, who is also the vice-chair of the Swedish Chamber of Commerce in China. "Language is a necessary tool to approach the Chinese culture, my success wasn't only because I had a western face and could speak fluent Chinese, but also because I could introduce fresh and interesting things to my Chinese audiences." Bjorksten said that when he first came to Beijing 23 years ago, he had no idea of the successful life that he would find here. Bjorksten, who speaks six languages including Russian, learned Chinese for one year before leaving Stockholm. When he began to learn Chinese, he repeatedly listened to the correct Chinese pronunciation and tones in the language lab for hours. "You don't need a clever brain, but you need a tough butt," he said. In the summer of 1986, Bjorksten had the opportunity to travel in China. When he arrived in Beijing, he chose to live in a motel in west Beijing, where he lived with seven people, mostly truck drivers. "It meant that I had seven Chinese language teachers for free," Bjorksten said. In 1988, Johan studied chemistry at Peking University. Two years later, he graduated and went back to Sweden for further study. In 1994, after receiving his masters degree, Johan decided to return to China. He said that compared to his cold and peaceful country, China held a different charm and greater opportunity. Bjorksten later registered a company in Beijing that imported mini golf equipment. He later went on to own a record company. At one point, during a casual conversation with a Chinese friend, Bjorksten, a lover of heavy metal rock who once joined a band when he was in Stockholm, was invited to host a broadcasting program on Beijing Traffic Music Station in Chinese. His humorous style and abundant knowledge immediately attracted Chinese audiences, and opened a gate to northern European heavy metal music. In the eight years that followed, Bjorksten was also invited to host a popular cooking show in the local TV station. Sometimes in his spare time, Bjorksten likes to wander through the IKEA store in northern Beijing, which makes him feel like he is closer to home in Sweden. But he said he never feels lonely in China's bustling capital and, in his words, has become a pure Beijinger.
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