groups, Meiji and Morinaga. The company's true breakthrough came during the 1960s, with its entry into the chocolate market. In 1964, the company launched its first milk chocolate, called Ghana, adapting Swiss-style chocolates for the Japanese palate. The company supported this launch with a massive television advertisement campaign, firmly positioning the brand in the minds of consumers. The launch paved the way for Lotte's emergence as the number one chocolate manufacturer in Japan by the end of the century. Although Lotte had successfully established itself in Japan — a country where ethnicity had always been a prominent part of the national identity— Shin had not abandoned his Korean roots. Lotte had established a presence in Korea as early as 1958, opening a factory producing chewing gum and other confectionery, as well as instant noodles, for the Korean market. The normalization of diplomatic relations between Japan and Korea in 1965, however, presented a new opportunity for the company. Lotte decided to move into Korea on a full scale, and in 1967, the company established a dedicated operation for South Korea, called Lotte Confectionery Co. Adding Korean operations in the 1960s It was not long, however, before Shin found himself in trouble with the Korean government, then still under military dictatorship. The South Korean government was then in the process of building up its military strength as part of its cold war with North Korea. Seeking to establish its own industrial defense capacity, the government approached Shin with a request for him to contribute to this effort, encouraging him to enter military production as well. Yet Shin, perhaps mindful of the negative publicity that a move into arms production would bring to the company's confectionery sales, refused. The refusal brought a series of difficulties for Lotte Confectionery, which finally were resolved by the direct intervention of then president Park Chung-Hee. Rather than agree to invest in the country's defence effort, Shin agreed to transfer the centre of Lotte's operations to South Korea. Lotte Confectionery now became the core of Shin's growing empire; nonetheless, the original Lotte Co. and the Japanese market remained the company's largest confectionery operation until the 1990s. International success in the new century In the 1990s and 2000s, Lotte turned to the international market for further growth. The company had made its first international extension, other than in Korea, in the late 1970s. In 1978, Lotte set up a