Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bucheonguy]

I was kind of thinking this for a while. What exactly is wrong with Korea compared to reletively successful nations. I'm just taking about places with higher standards of living and places where people make more money.

Japan for example, had their traditional culture destroyed by the US after WW2. All their norms were destroyed and anything that represented the former Japanese culture were censored.

America is (was maybe) a very strong nation. A world leader for the past 100 years or so I'd say. So lets take them at their glory days and examine. They don't really have a stiff old traditional culture since they really aren't that old. They are also a collection of immigrants who had to adapt to one another. They also have a very free live and let live society.

For Canada, we do well, not really powerful etc. Just basically copy the American section.

China, though they don't have a very high quality of life, they are rapidly advancing. Their quality of life, according to people who've lived there, is higher in most places than the quality in Korea. Once again, the traditional culture was wiped out during the cultural revolution.

So the point I'm getting at, is Korea is being totally strangled by it's horrible "traditional" culture. It does nothing to distinguish the people here, it only makes everyone's life miserable. It's choking them and halting this nation's progress. That's my own view and I would welcome some debate on the matter.

Here's my arguments on why it's being halted:
1. Traditional master and servant roles. Never question your boss or you master.
2. High positions held by the oldest not most deserving. How can anyone make progress if you're top job goes to the oldest guy rather than the guy who really deserves it.
3. Herd mentality. Everyone just goes with everything and doesn't seem to think for themselves. They believe and do exactly what they are told all the damn time. In terms of believing everything, anyone ever heard of "fan death?"


So there's three examples of why I think the traditional culture is messing this place up. I know it's hard to prove and hard to argue so like I said before, I welcome the debate.

[Dances With Wolves]

My simple answer is the lack of diversity here. The United States is "was" so strong because it is a "melting pot" of people and cultures.

[Bucheonguy]

[Yu_Bum_suk]

[bundangbabo]

[afsjesse]

I think South Korea is a successful nation overall but with serious issues with regards to the role it wants to play in the world.

I've heard time after time that Korea wants to be a world leader, power, have more influence, money etc..... points of any well rounded nation in the west/east.

Korea albeit successful is far behind in its mentality. Just look at the economy, one of the most, if not THE most protected on earth with respect to capitalism. Taxes, tarrifs, regulations, approvals, bribing etc..... by the time any foreign company gets all of these things straightened out, China and Japan have opened their doors.

As mentioned before, the "herd mentality" and the "honor system" as it pertains to business and jobs is a huge iron anker dragging the ship down.

On the face of things Korea wants to change and open its doors. But it takes more than Lee Myeong Bak saying that OTHER nations should not turn to protectionism while KOREA is protecting itself.

This is in my opinion, the most double-faced propaganda that this country produces to the world. Then when a country, say the US wants to open the doors of trade and prosperity. Korea demands protectionism and exceptions to the rules to be added to any agreement... ie rice, automobiles. The proof is in the pudding, and Korea does not taste like a good chocolate mousse.. more like a bland vanilla.

[ovrproof]

how do you not think korea is a developed country? it's the 13th largest economy in the world - assuming you measure "development" by GDP (something i dont agree with but it is the unfortunate standard).

but you cannot look at south korea independently of geopolitical influences. korea's developmental state was something that was not allowed to happen in many other places due to cold war nonsense. companies like hyundai and samsung were helped along by the government (chaebol). this was not allowed to happen in other non-soviet nations as all the regulation supposedly reeked of "socialism".

[Ukon]

[Ukon]

[bundangbabo]

[Chet Wautlands]

Korea's traditional culture has pretty much been wiped out, too. If the Japanese occupation didn't do it, the past twenty or so years of adopting American culture has.

About a month after I cam to Korea I was riding an escalator in a Lotte Department store with a foreign co-worker. He looked around and said, "You know, someday Korea is going to become Westernized." He wasn't being sarcastic.

[Ukon]

[Goku]

I agree with the points YuBumSuck and UKON have stated

1) LikeYubumsuck said: Korea is not a trailing economy all things considered. Like Japan, Korea doesn't have a vast amount of resources or labor. Most other countries are dependent on resources or labor to buttress their economy. Korea is one of the top leading economies. In addition, the standard of living is incredibly high. Food is easily accessible, goods and entertainment are only inches away from your fingertips, and technology is advance. Compared to most western countries back home, how many of us can say that your subway system is as nearly as clean as the Korean one? Or that you can walk outside and be 5 mintues away from cheap networked computers, karoke places, book stores, norebangs, and hookers (jk jk). A true measure of a sucessful economy is the standard of living for it's inhabitiants.

2) Like Ukon Said: Korea like most Asian countries are collectivists and Confucian. China and Korea have common business cultures... Including bribery in many aspects (aka. Gift giving). Saving face and the job heiarchy are also very important aspects. If you look up business dealing in Korea and China you will see they are very similar. Especially when compared to other countries like Japan or Germany. And we all know China is growing to become one of the largest leading economies. And it's not their culture that's holding them back. In fact, they have almost changed the playing field because westerners have had to make paradigm shifts in order to accomadate Eastern business practices.

(If it seems like I'm comparing Korea to other Asian countries it's not that I'm racist, it's just that I have studied Asian economies more...)

3) Like Goku said: Although this sounds negative, it's really not... Korea doesn't have much of a "culture". When you look at Japan or Germany who take culture to extremes... ie. Germans are on time, on the dot, to the millisecond, and percise as a laser. Or Japanese who are bowing with angles of varying degrees to communicate respect... Korea is lacking in "culture". The cultural mentality of Korea hasn't vastly affected it to be holding it back.

Western economies are starting to slow down while Asia has begun to pick up more speed. Who's going to have to adapt to who?

Having studied International business for 2 years, we saw most if not all our case studies of how western business practices cause a falling out in business negotiations when dealing with the East. it's easier to cause offense to an Eastern Culture than a Western one (with the exception of Germany... ).

We don't have the right to say that their business practice are any less conducive to a good business or that it's not productive. That's merely our opinion.

Even though we see bribery and using family and friends as business partners as negative things in the west, they provide a huge sense of accountability and easier communication in doing business in the east.

There is no real right or wrong way to do business unless it truly conflicts with a free market economy (which is highly debated). Only perspectives.

[Bucheonguy]

Russia did it, China did it (more) but Japan really did it. Remember that something like 75% of Japan was completely destroyed. Now Japan is the second strongest economy in the world and enjoy a higher standard of living than Korea does. They far surpassed Korea.

[samcheokguy]

but they LIKE foreign stuff.