Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Benbby]

I went to the shopping area of Dongdaemun and found what looked like a department store. But inside were stalls in this ten story building that are all owned by individual owners. Floors and floors of shops owned by small business owners. This is entirely unknown in Canada, USA, Mexico, Britain, and Ireland, the countries I have visited.

Here in Korea ordinary people make money and the country and economy develops. It is however, nothing that Mexico City or Sao Paolo could not duplicate and lift themselves out of their economic stagnation.

Without secure property rights for all, which small business owners have in Korea, there is no widespread economic growth. So Korea succeeds and Mexico and Brazil go nowhere.

[denverdeath]

I think they're referred to as "malls" in North America. Maybe the issue of space is the reason that they're made up rather than out here. Granted, I understand what you're saying wrt the size of the shops. Each of those little stalls goes for a rather high price, which is one of the reasons why you'll see the shops changing often if they are unable to be competitive.

[Benbby]

Mall, doesn't rhyme with shall.

A mall has many big stores, (inter)national chains, these small entepreneurs are not like that. Costs are high everywhere.

[Nemo]

[Paji eh Wong]

Another thing is that in some of these large retail buildings, the shops all have the same supplier. I know Techno Mart does. So the competition in these places is only at the most superficial retail level and not higher up the supply chain. The more time you spend here, the more you realize that a lot of Korean businesses are allergic to genuine competition.

PS. I'm not sure if you noticed, but the clothes in those places are crap.

[denverdeath]

[dogbert]

That's a pretty broad statement. I've seen (and shopped at) Doota like places all over the L.A. area. They're just not where your white middle-class individual usually shops.

[Benbby]

Korea is a cool success to me because a few months ago I read the book the Mystery of Capital by Hernando de Soto, and the text stated that in so many countries such as Russia, Egypt, Mexico, Brazil lack property rights. There were articles in the media how it took three years to register a business in Peru if you could do it at all. This stifles the growth potential entrpreneurial individuals have.

Korea has all these traditional bureaucratic problems beat and people are free to make money and improve their lives because they have property rights. They do not live hand to mouth with no hope of improvement. Without property rights you cannot get a bank loan, without bank loans-access to capital- businesses cannot grow. The elite get loans, not the street vendor.

All Western countries have property rights and developing countries lack this. I saw on TV last month SK is in the process of being moved from the ranks of developing country to a developed one like Canada and France. Big news.