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rok_the-boat
Joined: 24 Jan 2004
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 Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:33 pm Post subject: |
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| Lots of teachers left, which was great for me as I got my first univ stint. |
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Fat Sam
Joined: 05 Dec 2005
Location: Gyeonggi-do
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 1:05 am Post subject: |
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I'm seeing a trend with those of you that have been here since the IMF crisis of getting a university jo much earlier than if things had carried on as normal. Do you think in hindsight that the currency crash benefitted you in the long run? Would you be in a better situation now if it had never happened? Also, how long after were you back to the pre-IMF level in regards to income and savings?
The only person I know who was around at the time stuck it out and has been living in a cushy house on-campus ever since, with the long vacations and seems quite pleased with his situation. He only has a BA and I doubt I'd be able to do as well with the same qualifications today.
Finally, could it happen again? When I first arrived I taught adults and could sense the fear whenever we spoke about the economy -a full five years later. Every day people would tell me how badly the economy was doing, but I just couldn't see how it was affecting anybody. Was it scaremongering by the government? I know there's been an explosion in credit card spending but I'm no economics buff so I don't know if this could have an effect.
Despite not being there at the time, I was often told of the importance of 'doing your bit for the country' -it made me think of war-time Britain.
"How many days vacation do you get a year?"
"Oh, it's really good. We get 25 days."
"And how many do you take?"
"What? If I take my vacation then who will do my job? The economy will suffer."
"So how many?"
"None." |
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Homer
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 3:29 am Post subject: |
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| Homer, great over-generalization about older teachers. Thanks. |
Sorry you took that way ya ta! I was just describing the shift in teachers that I saw in 1997 when the economy went bust. The old teachers who replaced the young teachers were not all bad nor were all the young teachers that left good ones!
Apologies for the confusion if any.
But, after the IMF crisis started we did see a higher influx of older teachers, many of which had serious issues (booze or other). The mere conditions in Korea at that time attracted more cowboys and mercs than good teachers. That is what I noticed anyway down here in Busan. |
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JongnoGuru
Joined: 25 May 2004
Location: peeing on your doorstep
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 7:26 am Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
I was making megabucks (W1.8 million) for three hours of work a day in a company job. When the bottom fell out at the end of the year the whole country took on a grim look. I swear I didn't see a smile anywhere, at work or on the street for at least a year. My students 'boycotted' Titanic because buying a ticket would send money out of the country. No one was supposed to push the 'close' button on the elevator because that was wasting electricity. The Halloween party of '97 had more than 200 people. In '98 there were barely more than 20. Month by month my income declined because the women in my company were 'encouraged' to take early retirement, so my student numbers fell through the floor (I was paid partly by the students.) But most of all, I remember the call from my stockbroker telling me that I had lost everything. Grim times indeed.
PS: Homer, great over-generalization about older teachers. Thanks. |
Ahoy, Ya-ta, you shipwreck in progress, you!  This marooned old tea clipper also remembers it well. And who wouldn't? The events of those days were developing so fast, but time itself seemed to move in slow motion. There was an unreal quality to the last months of 1997 and into the new year. The presidential election, the 180-degree about-face by the Korean government, the sick fascination of watching the Won decompose before our very eyes.
Yeah, the unofficial prohibiition on smiling (though this is Korea, so it's not always easy to tell the difference). I never saw coffee sold out in the vending machines any more ("let's drink uri-nara cha!"). Groups of jolly Westerners hopping around central Seoul, showing up at posh hotel restaurants without reservations and being seated without a wait -- on Christmas! -- because all the Koreans were dutifully at home not having fun.
The "Let's Subjugate the Subjugator!  " posters in private and government offices in that sustained sideshow effort to paint the IMF, foreign central bankers, foreign journalists, foreign anybody as the villain of the piece. Yeah, they crucified a few of their own, too.
English teachers. I didn't have a sense of their exodus. Though I did know quite a Koreans who jumped ship in 1998 and 1999. And many who suddenly found themselves unable to afford that. You'd see younger expats in the bars tapping away on their calculators, a rolled-up copy of the IHT beside their beer. I would guess many were plotting an abrupt exit, but I don't happen to know any of the foreigners who left Korea mainly or solely because of the crisis. Foreigners come and go all the time.
For me, my friends, and the people I worked with, there was essentially nothing else going on, nothing else on anyone's mind or lips, all other nightmares and fears replaced by this real, daily, ever-worsening crisis. Many people just showed up for work and did nothing but read the newspapers and surfed the net for the latest disastrous revelation, the seeming unraveling of a country's industrial landscape. And I don't think I had any sense until about mid-1998 of when and where it was all going to end. At the time, Koreans were resigned to a decade of pain. |
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jajdude
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 9:23 am Post subject: |
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Arrival: May 31, 1997 in Ulsan.
The won was strong then. Come December it went crazy. I did not visit a bank to send money home until March 1998, when it got pretty stable again. My hagwon had to shut down in March as too many students quit. I did just under 10 months there. I think the currency was really only haywire for a few months. Some days it would change up to 100 won!
I kept a little graph on the wall.... something like this:
(cannot remember exact dates or rates of course)
Nov 19th $1 USD = 700 won
Nov 27 900 won
Dec 15 1300 won
Dec 21 1500
Dec 29 1850
every day for a month or so as the paper said. It was weird. It hit 2000 for a few days I think: 10,000 won = 5 us bucks.
It looks strong now though. Well, the us$ looks weak.
6 years ago....$2 US = $3 CDN
now................ $5 USD = $6 Cdn
approx |
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SPINOZA
Joined: 10 Jun 2005
Location: $eoul
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Very interesting thread this. Is there the remotest possibility all this could happen again? I'm not an economist myself - can anyone ponder the likelihood or otherwise of economic collapse in Korea again in the relatively near future? |
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dogbert
Joined: 29 Jan 2003
Location: Killbox 90210
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| Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2005 9:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
| No one was supposed to push the 'close' button on the elevator because that was wasting electricity.. |
True! I'd forgotten that. |
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Hollywoodaction
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 7:15 am Post subject: |
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| mack the knife wrote: |
| The best part was (and remains) the Koreans blaming the IMF organization for the WHOLE PROBLEM. What cack. Koreans can never own up to anything. They still call it the "IMF Crisis" instead of the "Korea and Most of the Rest of Asia had Completely Dug its Own Grave Crisis", which is the accepted nomenclature in the rest of the world. |
Did you know that the IMF is mostly funded by the US. Naturally, some of its critics view it as a wolf in sheeps clothing because when a nation accepts its help, American investors eager to acquire the local industries at rock bottom prices aren't far behind. But that not's why Koreans speak of the 'IMF'. It's a face saving thing.
The economic crisis was as a result of Korean banks giving bad loans to Korean conglomerates who swiftly moved the debts of their bloated and unprofitable subsiduaries to the books of more profitable ones, thus maintaining the appearance of stability needed for more loans to fund their growth. Took about 2 weeks for the Korean government to react to the plunging won, wasting the time trying to save face by blaming the crisis on an "insulting" bailout package offered by the IMF. That strategy worked in the eyes of Korean voters (for a short time), but it came close to destroying what was left of the Korean economy.
In any case...Do you remember how that whole boycott of foreign products ended up costing many Koreans jobs that relied on imports? Remember that 815 cola (overly sweet Korean cola produced by a former bottler of coke that was playing up on the nationalism angle)? (Don't drink Coke because of royalties...drink 815. Well, if you've had 815, you'd understand how that was not a very appealing idea) The ridiculous 'campaigns' like the one about not pressing the buttons to open and close the door on elevator because it used up 70won of electricity per day (what about taking the stairs?). The whole drive for saving money caused many businesses to go *beep* up because they relied on the patronage of other small business owners. Any economist will tell you that money needs to circulate for the economy to flourish. Young Koreans became wiser with their money for a short time, enjoying the bargain hunting (but once the economy got better, they discovered credit cards...and interest rates). Toys and snacks that were popular in the 60s and 70s regained popularity as Koreans were feeling nostaligic for 'better times'. Korean companies began to realize they couldn't continue to grossly overcharge Korean consumers for domestic products that sold for a fraction of the price overseas (my mom bought a Korean CD player for 179$ in Canada, but it sold for the equivalent of 550$ in Korea. 14 inch TVs that would have been 200$ in Canada were selling for 5-600$ in Korea). |
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 2:14 pm Post subject: |
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Someone asked if it could happen again. Mr. Hollywoodaction's post reminded me of when it almost did happen again.
One of the strategies to get out of the mess was to stimulate consumer spending. The major way to do this was to issue credit cards to any and everyone. People were getting pre-approved credit cards in the mail. Middle school kids, everyone. Needless to say, millions spent way beyond their means to pay the debt. The government had encouraged the practice then had to step in with a debt relief program to fix the problem.
For those who don't know: If you have a debt problem, you can be fired from your job and won't be hired anywhere else. I don't know the logic of this. I learned about it from a friend of mine who went through it. His older sister borrowed his credit card and used it to pay for redecorating her beauty shop, when went under anyway. It left my friend stuck with her debt. Somehow or other his boss found out and threatened to fire him. He wasn't fired but had to put up with threats for two years. |
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mindmetoo
Joined: 02 Feb 2004
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| Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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| Ya-ta Boy wrote: |
One of the strategies to get out of the mess was to stimulate consumer spending. The major way to do this was to issue credit cards to any and everyone. People were getting pre-approved credit cards in the mail. Middle school kids, everyone. Needless to say, millions spent way beyond their means to pay the debt. The government had encouraged the practice then had to step in with a debt relief program to fix the problem. |
Yeah, that was America's solution back during the '80s recession. Reagan deregulated the S&L industry. This created a lot more money in the form of easy credit. People built condos, strip malls, even churches on spec. They speculated wrong and the S&L industry lost billions when the party was over. |
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Hater Depot
Joined: 29 Mar 2005
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| Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2005 4:37 pm Post subject: |
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The S&L crisis and the 1997 Asian crisis shared the same root cause -- moral hazard. If you aren't exposed to the risks of the investments you make, you will naturally choose high-risk investments because they offer the potential of high reward.
I think the best book on the 97 crisis is The Chastening. |
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