Korean Job Discussion Forums

[mindmetoo]

Now kids work hard, sure, but their parents and their parents' parents worked as hard. However, what will be the fruits of this generation's labors?

Now if you were growing up in the '80s and '90s, at a minimum, your hard work paralleled Korea's growth. You were part of a winning team. And given Korean herd culture, it makes it all the more sweet. You saw, in a sense, the fruits of your labors. Have you ever worked in a start up company and saw the share price rise and rise and you were more than happy to work like a dog. And then the company sort of matures, the stock price doesn't go up anymore, and you're not really motivated to work hard. "What can the company do for me?" becomes your attitude. What now they're taking things away? No more free coke?

Koreans growing up also saw more tangible fruits: suddenly you could buy a fridge, a tv, a car, a computer, a life time job gave you money and benefits to provide for your family and parents.

These kids, by contrast, are going to grow up into a mature economy. They will have to fight for their jobs. Their hard work will not be matched by massive rapid growth, large tangible changes. Change will be in small degrees.

I wonder if these kids are going to look back on the 6 days of week in school, the 12 hours a day in classroom, the beatings, and wonder WTF? Are they going to go abroad and see "we got as good in Korea or more and these North Americans don't work half as hard for it."

(Personally I think we do work as hard, but we work smarter.)

[kimcheechochy]

Hopefully people will stop having kids then. Our countries are too overcrowded already. Too much competition for jobs, school, healthcare, ect.. The world is going to hell.

[reactionary]

as for working hard, i read an article that went something like this:

north americans work longer hours (and have less vacation) than europeans, but europeans are more productive per hour...perhaps due to less stress.

i think the work situation in korea pretty much continues on that spectrum...(much) longer hours, (much) less efficient productivity, more stress.

but hey that's what SOJU's for! i predict they will hold onto their "drunkest Asians" title for some time to come.

[Kimchi Cha Cha]

Interesting post.

I talk to Korean friends my age and they say how their childhood was more similar to that of Western kids. Sure they had to go to school 6 days a week and study hard but they had a lot more free time to relax, go fishing, play soccer, etc. with only piano or ballet class getting in the way once or twice a week. Granted they grew up in regional South Korea and I have heard the hagwon phenonomen hit Seoul a lot earlier then gradually spread through the country.

Nowadays parents shove their kids in as many hagwons as they can afford or as time permits, and the kids lack downtime just being kids and spending time with their family. This adversely affects them on many levels, the kids have no time to relax and be kids, and will grow up with many issues because of this. I hope the kids of today at least feel a tad of resentment to their parents for what they did to them during their childhood, despite the parents' believing it was in their best interest, and adopt more balanced lifestyles for their children in the future.

I think kids will resent the fact that the fruits of their labour with not be as evident as it were for their parents and grandparents, but that has been the same case for people our age from Western nations and most of us have found a way to deal with it. 30 years ago, a University degree was an automatic pass in the upper middle class with a stable, high paying job in most cases, now a University degree is usually the absolute bare minimum.

Plenty of locals resent the West now as it is, rightly or wrongly, and I don't see that changing, though the ones that can deal with what is dealt to them with be the ones who succeed.

[RACETRAITOR]

[reactionary]

^ Unless they see other cultures, then see how their situation is BS. Koreans travel a lot, and a lot of Korean kids hear stories from foreign teachers or cousins, etc, about how life is different elsewhere.

Something of a relative deprivation..maybe in terms of time and leisure rather than actual material goods (which I think the kids in question don't and will not lack)

[ultra]

As for working hard, posting over 3,000 posts per year on a message board could be considered working hard, but it isn't smart.

[RACETRAITOR]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I've already met enough Koreans in their 20s who are bitter. They claim to love their country and be proud of Korea, but in fact give off so many impressions that they hate it, and can't escape it to be themselves.

However, I think that because of all the comforts, Korean young people lack the will more than ever to rebel. Korea's gone from being the country with the most impressive youth protests to one where the only thing HS students can think to demonstrate about is hair regulations at school. I think the result will be a lot more young adults acting out on an individual basis, or just becoming computer-addicted drones.

[Netz]

[excitinghead]

Like RaceTraitor hinted at, I'm amazed at the extent to which my 13 and 14 year-old students have already accepted the idea that getting 5-6 hours sleep a night and studying like hell for the next 6 years is all they have to look forward to, and even normal and acceptable. When I tell them how much I used to study and what I did at their age in New Zealand, they're so shocked half of them flatly don't believe me, and the other half do but thing that New Zealand is exceptional and the Korean torture is the norm in the world. Same goes for when I tell my 17,18 and 19 year-old students that what their parents are doing to them would be considered child abuse back home.

I know they're damn big these days, but I still find it so sad when 13 year-olds, still just kids, tell me what they expect for the rest of their childhood...they're virtually ajumma and ajosshis already.

[sojourner1]

Anyone who ends up in a matured economy that has already seen its' boom hay days of building will find anyone lacking experience in a lackluster job market. The older high paid people make it look all good, but in reality, it's not all good for the new graduates looking to make their mark.

America is like that where you go to school many years and find that not much is available since you are much less experienced than those who came before you with a downsized job market that simply does not support the number of educated professionals. They would rather hire a 40 year old with many years of experience over a 25 to 30 year old with limited experience while they only offer the 40 year old a junior level of pay. It's not, "hey lets develop some new talent," it's, "lets get the most for the least cost."

Korea is already getting like this as my Korean friends describe there not being enough jobs that adequately employ young adults after schooling with concerns that many will not find appropriate jobs after college. This is one reason why many young adults want to leave.

[mindmetoo]