Korean Job Discussion Forums

[wylies99]

By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff Reporter

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/04/123_64673.html

After news reports hit the nation last week that a species of mosquito transmitting viral diseases causing brain inflammation had been found, Koreans started snapping up any products associated with bugs.

The mosquitoes were only found on Jeju Island, the country's southernmost province, but the buying spree spread across the country. Domestic online retailers say that sales of mosquito nets and insect repellents jumped by about 50 percent over the past week from a year ago.

In the nationwide anti-bug fever, experts see the so-called ``bandwagon effect,'' or the manner under which people behave or take any belief just because many others do so.

``It is legitimate for people to prepare for the advent of dangerous mosquitoes. But I think it is too much for non-Jeju residents to gobble up mosquito nets right away,'' a Seoul analyst said.

``Koreans are susceptible to herd mentality. When their neighbors do or believe something, many of them just follow suit. I regard Internet witch-hunting, real estate speculation or regional dominance of a certain party to stem from such a perspective.''

Even the country's top financial regulator warned midway through last year that herd behavior can end up generating asset price bubbles, thus wreaking havoc on the economy.

``I admit that rich liquidity has been funneled into the market in an effort to deal with the financial crisis, but it has not caused inflation or an asset price upsurge at the moment,'' Financial Supervisory Service Governor Kim Jong-chang told a forum.

``Should the economic recovery start in earnest, however, I worry about the various side effects of the massive liquidity caused by such herd behavior.''

What Kim took issue with is the possibility this behavior may create an asset price bubble based on the low costs of borrowing ― the benchmark interest rate set by the Bank of Korea stands at a historic low of 2 percent.

``In particular, we are keeping a watchful eye on the increasing amount of house mortgages in areas such as southern Seoul designated as speculation zones,'' Kim said.

Another downside is that the mindset may call for mere conformity while intruding upon innovative thinking as amply demonstrated by partisan regionalism. In other words, herd mentality may choke innovation and change.

The nation's partisan regionalism, basically the long-lasting conflicts between Gyeongsang and Jeolla provinces, has been improving over the past few decades.

Such antagonism has still sprouted up during national elections. Under the country's regionalism, it does not matter whether or not a candidate's policies are innovative and constructive ― the only factor that counts is which party supports the candidate.

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[The Gipkik]

Understatement of the year, this one. The sad thing is how easily some westerners, who should know better, get sucked into this omnipresent collective consciousness. I guess there is comfort and forgetfulness in there for some.

[Bibbitybop]

Welcome to Comm 101

[Steelrails]

[reactionary]

I actually find that Koreans I talk to are becoming more aware of this herd mentality. I think that is refreshing. Sadly, the cause of it is probably newspaper articles or TV shows similar to this one, medium which in my opinion cause a lot of it here (and other places, of course)

[Banana_Man]

Herd mentality - half a country watching big brother, or any show with Simon Cowell! Everywhere is like this - human nature, not Koreans being different.

[reactionary]

OK, true enough. But do half of those people aspire to BE on big brother, or do they just like to laugh at the freaks?

[nautilus]

A lack of ability to think or act individually.
A desire to always be part of the group and inability to function outside of it.
A nation of followers.

You only have to take a hiking certain path to know that. Turn around and you'll see that 10 koreans have automatically followed you. This can get infuriating if you are trying to find a nice quiet spot away from the crowds.

[Adventurer]

Critical thinking is encouraged in the West to some extent and individualism. Individualism is frowned upon in Korea, though that's changing rapidly with the gradual changing of confucianism. The idea of group thinking was more common in the United States and Canada before PC thinking and multi-culturalism being officially out there. There was somewhat of a herd mentality in some areas in the US. So many people get so sucked into commercialism and molding themselves into how companies and corporations want them to be.

I just think it's worse in Korea. Questioning things is much harder in Korea. Also the saving face aspect of the culture makes it hard to question the logic of some and the society is very stratified. There is a certain deference to people with power, and merit is not pushed forward enough.

I am not a sociologist. I've seen the herd mentality kind of thing in North America, not just Korea. It's just in different ways. I think we are all brainwashed in a way and follow some kind of herd mentality, right?

[Dev]

[The Gipkik]

You bet "herdism" exists in the west. I've seen plenty of it, but equating this sense of belonging to the responsibilities of the many, the duties of the individual in Korea, is creating a false analogy. According to this analogy, suicide and face would also be criteria for following the herd in the west. It's a lot more diffuse there. Humans are a gregarious species, so there will always be a desire to socially bond with like-minded individuals. This creates a warm feeling of community and shared understanding. In Korea, there are different forces at work and much greater stresses to conform to ideal forms. And these ideal forms are much more limited in scope. This sense of collective identity is one of the reasons why Christianity has made such headway in Korea. Why intellectual originality is not prized. Why superficial codes are such powerful status symbols here. It's a question of degree. It's also a reflection of geography.

I would argue that this collective consciousness is increasing rapidly in the west due to the Internet and other forms of almost instantaneous media, but it's not quite the same animal. It may get there by a different means, but the forces, once again are much more diffuse.

[PigeonFart]

Yes Koreans are sheep like. That is very true.

[TheUrbanMyth]

[nautilus]