Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ya-ta Boy]

Ten years ago this week I came home to a ringing phone. It was my stock broker (Korean). He said he'd sold all my stocks and bought one that was guaranteed to almost double--that was the word at the time he bought it. A couple of hours later, my new stock had lost something like 20% of its value, and went on to lose 100% of its value. In the next few days, the entire Korean economy collapsed.

Of the almost 200 foreigners in Taejon at the Halloween party of the year before, only one other person was left that I knew by the middle of '98. It became a mark of patriotism to NOT go to Titanic--the money for the ticket would leave the country. People were turning in their wedding rings and those tiny gold rings people give to babies. I think I remember that a couple of tons of gold were collected that way. If you reached out a hand to push the 'close' button on an elevator, it was very likely someone would lecture you on how much electricity could be saved by not pushing it. 'For Rent' signs appeared everywhere. Construction stopped. A man in Busan cut off his son's finger so he could collect the insurance.

It was more than a year before I saw anyone smile on the streets.

Does anyone else have any memories?

[the_beaver]

Most of the whities disappeared and those of us left somehow became special again.

[The_Eyeball_Kid]

It must have been a special time. I would have walked the streets telling Koreans that they 'did it to themselves'.

[Roch]

[Return Jones]

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

[The_Eyeball_Kid]

[halfmanhalfbiscuit]

[lastat06513]

I left Korea a few month before it began and I came back a month or so after it ended.....

The only thing I remember was that my coworkers were saying how much beer they could drink with only $20.......

[bassexpander]

Could one have purchased property cheaply at that time?

What would a 3 BR apartment have cost back then?

[BRawk]

Alan Greenspan's new book had some interesting information on the crisis.

Korea was dong a good job just before that, putting up a front that everything was A OK. Apparently, he learned about the trouble the Korean economy was in from officials in Japan. Korea had approached Japan for help, but since the then Korean government had a vocally negative view of Japan, they said they wouldn't help. However, they new it was going to be bad, so they let the states know.

[CeleryMan]

I recall the emergence of the so called "IMF Discount" or "IMF Sale." You got admire the steadfast resolve of Koreans. Masters of exploiting both tragedy and good times for the almighty won!

[Benicio]

Got here in August '97 and word was not yet out.
Everything was still rosy and no one seemed to have a clue.
I think it was October when the facade came crashing down.
Man, it came down hard!!!

All of a sudden, the Koreans were staggering around, totally gob-smacked. They were all thinking "We are so dilligent and hard working. How could this happen to the Miracle of the Han?".
It was as if it was some nightmare that they were somehow going to just wake up from.
Well, it was real.

The value of the Won plummeted fast. It was 888 to the US dollar when I arrived. Us foriegners made a betting pool as to what it would be at the New Year. The guy who bet the lowest- over 2,000 Won to the US$- won.
It was sad and bleak. Many waygook teachers took off.
I'd say over half.
I had just gotten here, so I figured I'd stick it out and see what happened.
Winter '98 was a sad, sad time in Korea. Many Koreans acted like it was a sin to smile or laugh.
Eventually, they started calling it the "IMF Crisis" and turning the ire towards the group that was trying to help them out- as if the IMF was to blame for the whole thing. The chaebols helped to fan this sentiment as they were constantly b!tching in the media that the IMF was trying to destroy Korean corporations and the Korean way of doing things with their "reforms".
The IMF was saying that the chaebols and banks needed to change their ways to prevent this from happening again. The chaebols and other groups fought the IMF as hard as it could! They said that what the IMF was doing was unnecessary meddling.
Some groups lashed out at "foreign" things. People with foreign cars were refused gas at some places and sometimes found their cars vandalized.
Everyone was trying to be frugal. Summer '98, I was riding with Korean co-workers to a wedding. It was boiling hot. The owner/driver turned on the AC only to be yelled at be the older teacher. He looked at me and said "IMF!".

If North Korea suddenly collapses, it will be far worse!

[Young FRANKenstein]

[Mr. Pink]

Hell yeah I was here for that. I still remember how by December 97 the value of the won went to crap. I had planned to take a trip to Singapore during my x-mas vacation...oh wait, couldn't because a) ticket price doubled on me b) it would have taken 2x more won to buy Singapore dollars.


There were like 5 IMF Hof's in my neighbourhood at the time too. The selling of gold was pretty cool. I remember the world economy was pissed that Korea might lower the price of gold by dumping too much of it on the world market - guess they should have thought of that before devaluing the won through speculation.

Times were tough. Many hawgwons closed down. The student number at my hawgwon dropped by about 40%. I remember the owner had all us "white" teachers dress up and go pamphlet the local elementary schools.

My wife tells me her family still hasn't come around from all the money they lost during the IMF period. Way too many Koreans got burned because of it.

Everyone honestly thought it would take YEARS for the economy to get back on track. The Canadian dollar was like 1400 won or so something. It was 600 won when I came to Korea. Hindsight is 50/50 though...if I knew it would to to 800 within a year, I would have borrowed money in Canada, and made money on the crap exchange rate.

I guess in the beginning it was like having a little taste of what life might have been like in 1929 at the start of the Depression. Yes, I heck of a lot of Koreans killed themselves in 1997-98.