JEJU (South Korea) • Anyone who has watched South Korea's footballers at this year's World Cup games could not have missed the speed, even in the closing minutes, that possibly derives from a special spring in their step. It is pretty much emblematic of the national mood these days.

Across the southern end of the Korean peninsula, and on this island further south, there is a sense of buoyancy over easing tensions with North Korea, and beyond, China. Should North Korea open up some day to global investors, South Korean businessmen, through sheer kinship, would unquestionably have first dibs on the market.