Korean Job Discussion Forums

4 months left · Joined: 07 Feb 2003

Koreans Most Materialistic People in the World More than two-thirds of Koreans consider money the most important sign of success, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday. Korea and China topped the poll of 24,000 people in 23 countries on the question at 69 percent.

They were followed by India (67 percent) and Japan (63 percent).

But respondents in Western countries regard money as a less important indicator of success. A mere 27 percent of Canadians thought money spells success, followed by Swedes (28 percent), Dutch (29 percent), and French (32 percent).

Even in the U.S., only 33 percent of Americans agreed that money means success, and 67 percent disagreed. The worldwide average is 43 percent.

The young are more materialistic, with 48 percent of the under-35s seeing money as the hallmark of success, compared with 35 percent of those aged 55 and older.

Eighty-four percent of Koreans, Japanese and Chinese said money is more important than it used to be.

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/02/24/2010022400421.html

zeppelin · Joined: 08 Jan 2005

nautilus · Joined: 26 Nov 2005 Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!

stoned · Joined: 03 Nov 2009

westerners, what is success to you?

themagicbean · Joined: 04 Feb 2009

Happiness. Peace. That sort of thing.

Stalin84 · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Location: Haebangchon, Seoul

No surprises there. I did notice that it was an East Asian thing which is certainly more pronounced amongst the older generation.

My girl's classes used to get on the topic of relationships when I had them free talking at the end of class. I defined and asked them to make an order of importance list between personality, looks and money. For the most part, I got "money, then looks and then personality" as an answer.

Where most Westerners would say "personality, then looks and then money" (sometimes for no other reason than to be politically correct) most Koreans will unabashedly tell you that money is the most important motivator in any relationship destined to end in marriage. It certainly explains the outrageous amount of infidelity in East Asian countries: if you want love, get a boyfriend/girlfriend who is not your husband/wife.

Of course it isn't always the case and everyone is different but the overall opinion of it here is the opposite to what it is in the West.

I had a lot of interesting conversations with my Chinese co-worker about this. She comes from a part of China that isn't particularly affluent (though not poor either). Despite being a decent, normal person, she holds the believe that money is everything and every action you should take in your work life should be related to making more money. She told me that people in China see money as the means to an end and I take her word for it.

I think this belief is on the decline in Japan and Korea though as wars, famine and authoritarianism are fading from public memory.

visitorq · Joined: 11 Jan 2008

In the case of Japan, I don't really see it. I suppose money is an important issue because it's so expensive to live, but I really don't see them aspiring to be richer than their peers or judging others much by the size of their wallet. Of course there's a lot of "materialism" (Japan being the affluent country that it is), but just having more money than your peers doesn't automatically make them like or respect you. Most Japanese I know don't care at all about 'getting rich' (or marrying a rich guy for that matter), they just want enough money to afford a decent lifestyle (without having to work like a dog to get it).

Moldy Rutabaga · Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Location: Ansan, Korea

It's an interesting statistic. I do think people here are quite materialistic. I am also puzzled that Japan, being an affluent country for longer, would still be so money-hungry. As well, when I think of the World War II / Great Depression generation, those are not usually greedy people in my experience, although they gave their Baby Boomer children a selfish sense of entitlement.

To play devil's advocate, though, is it possible that we're socially conditioned to say money doesn't matter on a survey in the west because it's crass, whereas here it's a sign of being realistic or mature?

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

Stalin84 · Joined: 30 Dec 2009 Location: Haebangchon, Seoul

nautilus · Joined: 26 Nov 2005 Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!

pkang0202 · Joined: 09 Mar 2007

Ya-ta Boy · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Location: Established in 1994

nautilus · Joined: 26 Nov 2005 Location: Je jump, Tu jump, oui jump!

pkang0202 · Joined: 09 Mar 2007

What else is a factor of "success" than money?

Successful athletes make the most money in their sport.
Successful businessmen make a lot of money.
Successful educators get paid the most money.
Successful writers sell the most books and make the most money.

Money is a measure of success. If you don't have money, you aren't successful. The poll didn't ask what made you happy, or what made you feel better. It asked if money is an important sign of success.

And yes, it is. The more successful you are, the more money you make. Success and Money are correlated.

There are exceptions. I don't expect the most successful Buddhist Monk to be a Millionaire.

Seriously, what else could measure success? The number of people on your Facebook friends list? The number of socks you own? What else, besides money, would be a great measure of success, across many different professions and fields?