Korean Job Discussion Forums

[radcon]

Park Chung Hee said that the extended family all living under one roof was a detriment to Korean advancement. If you are a young Korean and you don't have to make rent because you will live with your parents well into your thirties, you are less inclined to take a job that you don't want or that you feel is beneath you.

[atwood]

[Steelrails]

The allure of cheap consumer goods and of house slav...err migrant workers to clean up after us is the manner in which our countries, both adopted and home, will be the authors of their destruction. Greed and sloth, no other way to describe it.

[PRagic]

1. Land reform (still has some ways to go regarding farm land specifically)
2. Historical separation of MNCs from major banking institutions
3. Increasing inward migration (labor and spousal) nearing developed county by-percentage growth rates (not by absolute percentage)
4. Increasing national and regional-level government support for migrants (health, mental health, pre and post natal care)
5. Earlier, more diverse, and more agressively targeted outward FDI in the energy and raw materials markets
6. Earlier and more concentrated effort to bring competition into the medical and pharmaceutical industries
7. Broader reach of FTAs
8. Work share (migrant worker) programs have been institutionalized
9. Well entrenched targeting of 'green energy' industries (wind, solar, smart grids, geo-thermal...)
10. More concerted effort to play leadership roles in global economic governance
11. Regional level competitiveness encouraged and underway

These are just a few things off the top of my head that differentiate the Korean from the Japanese experience. In some areas Korea is still playing catch up ball, for example when it comes to innovation at the small to medium firm levels. The article does address this in part. All in all, after having followed E. Asian economic development for almost 20 years, though, I'd say that Korea has been quite a bit, and quite intelligently, to avoid falling into a Japanese-style economic funk.

The problem with the chaebol is well know and documented. The fact that a leadership transition at Samsung Electronics, for example, puts the company in a precarious situation is no surprise; in fact, this is text-book international organizational behaviour credo when it comes to tall, hierarchal management structures no matter the country of origin.

What the article doesn't tell you is that Samsung has already begun to diversity into completely new areas for development (5, to be exact), and the current chairperson has publicly stated that they'll be dead in the water in 10 years if they stick to the same knitting they've been doing up to now. The failure to move and innovate is what dragged down some of Japan's top conglomerates across a myriad of sectors.

If nothing else, I like it when they pump out an article like that. It draws attention to Korea, and modern Korea at that!

[jvalmer]

One thing for sure, the last 40 years Korea has surprised. If you would have talked to a US solider serving in 1960's Korea and told them in 40 years that Korea would be the 12th largest economy, he would have laughed in your face.

I for one think Korea is pretty much hit it's peak, but wouldn't be surprised if they do move up a few more notches in the economic ladder. Although I'm not as optimistic as some of those Goldman Sachs' projections putting Korea in the top 5 economies in 100 years.

[liveinkorea316]

South Korea didn't get to the strong position it is in now though importing cheap labor.

It wants to KEEP its position thru importing cheap labor. Very different propositions.

How much of that imported cheap labor is still working in the manufacturing and industrial industries in the West? It works nowadays in cheap service idustries that keeps living standards high for the rich and wages low for the middle class and poor.

If South Korean Chaebol think they need cheap labor then what that really means is that the factories should be moved offshore where the cheap labor is and Korean companies should focus on high value add activities that its citizens can do.

Of if it is happy to pay a slightly higher wage to Koreans to do the job that imported workers were doing and get Koreans out of the unemployment cues then that would be a good start also.

[Yaya]

Korea realized a long time ago that it cannot compete with China in the cheap labor department and must make higher valud-added items. I remember this one entrepreneur back in 2004 saying within four years, China won't need Korea. Well, it's been six years and China is still behind Korea, though catching up fast.

Believe it or not, all of that advanced education Koreans get might pay off, especially if more Koreans come back to work in their motherland. I'm thinking the science types will be more welcome, like those who can work in stem cell research and biotech, alternative energy sources, eco-friendly machines and the like.

Don't rule out Korea's ability to surprise.

[atwood]

[atwood]

[redaxe]

[Yaya]

[The Great Toad]

This reminds me of the many times I have a pleasant discourse with a very cute cafe lass who is working at Angels I U. or Starbuck. The kid will be very happy to speak with me and will say she makes 4,000 or 5,000 won an hour. That is a joke amoutn of cash. On the other hand a government office worker 35 year old said she was banking 4 million a month. So I guess the college girl dreams of finishing and passing the Gov. Worker exam so she can get a real salary. But, I have also met those lasses who tell me they are full time and are not going to college. I assume these 25 year olds will just save money and stay at home with mom and dad and hope to score a male mate who will have the Samsung or government job.

But as someone else said it seems to be the culture of loving at home assists in this ultimate job search. If kids had to move out and get an apatment they would take most any job they could... I guess they would live in one of those Goshewons or something with the low pay they made since they could not afford key money.

Lets face it hough no one - well at least no one with a huge brain like me - wants to work in a factory - well ok welding is fun - I sould see welding ship hulls that would be a entertaining job. But having welded and worked in American factories I can tell you assembly line work is sooooo lame and boring. The noise in the factory is constant and you need earplugs. I do not know why any guy with a uni degree would agree to that if he could crash at home with his mama and get a bit of Cass poket money from Da-da.

Anyhow the whole world economy is all like on interconnected overextended debt. It is only a matter of time until there is a massive world depression and it all becomes a terrible Mad Max movie.

[Menino80]

[Menino80]

[itistime]