Korean Job Discussion Forums

[beachbumNC]

had good classes tonight. used a handful of "Would you ever..." conversation questions. the very last question in the last class was "Would you ever consider being a farmer?"

oops. this, of course, led to a discussion about the FTA.

one student got pretty mad about the whole thing. apparently he (and others, of course) is concerned that the FTA will destroy South Korea by flooding it with super-cheap American goods...first beef, then produce, then cars, and on and on and on.

but hell, last time i looked around the USA, there were loads of Korean goods there. LG cell phones, Samsung TVs, and not to mention the recent surge in popularity of Korean cars. I'd drive a Hyundai Sonata over a Chevy Malibu any day. And speaking of Chevrolets, the Aveo is actually built in Korea. And Hyundai and Kia both have factories in the USA.

as far as the beef thing, it seems to me that Korean beef wouldn't be hurt that bad. wouldn't American beef have to be shipped frozen? and therefore if anyone wanted high-quality beef wouldn't they buy local anyway?

at any rate, it seems the FTA is good for the consumer because it gives them more choices. and in the long run, it should be good for Korean companies because it would make them improve their products...not to keep going on about cars, but in the 15 years or so Korean cars have had to compete in the U.S. and European markets, they have gone from utter crapboxes to nice cars that people would actually want to drive.

but maybe i'm missing something. i'm no economist, so i probably am. are there any sordid unfair parts of the FTA that make the FTA one-sided in favor of American companies? (not that it would surprise me, but still, isn't a market full of choices better than a market where you can pick Samsung, Samsung, or Samsung?) is the FTA only with the USA, or are other countries on board as well?

somebody fill me in here.

[Ilsanman]

My perception is that these goods are already being sold overseas, and a lot of American products are not being sold here. Either that, or with a super super high tax rate, making them unaffordable to anyone but the rich.

Though Hyundai cars and the such will get cheaper, it won't be a huge difference to the average consumer. However, the American products will be a lot cheaper, and the average Kim will notice.

It is true, this FTA will hurt the Korean farmers. But they are inefficient and this country needs the competition to step up their products.