"I think suddenly the people who make women's skin-care products realized they were missing a whole other side of this business by not catering to men, " Mr. Spurlock said.

WSJ: Men's Grooming With Will Arnett and Jason Bateman: Hello, 'Mansome'

"They're actively putting out a reality TV show that will be edited and slanted to make my client look guilty but here in this case there's a whole other side to the story, " he said.

WSJ: 'DA' Show Will Go On

So if we have established agreements in which both sides are supposed to open up their markets, we do so and then the other side is imposing a whole set of non-tariff barriers in place, that's a problem.

WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Takes Questions from Senate Democrats

Who hasn't found themselves distracted by jabbering co-workers or, on the other side of the equation, wishing they could have a phone conversation without the whole office hearing?

FORBES: Ten Must-Read Tech Stories

The danger is that today's woes will distract attention from a far bigger threat to Hyundai and, indeed, to South Korea as a whole: being squeezed between the high-tech Japan on one side and low-cost China on the other.

ECONOMIST: Hyundai Motor