Dear editor,

I read a Sept. 21 editorial, “Debate on debt,” with great care and concern as an economist friend of South Korea which is a role model for India in many respects.

It is a matter of serious concern that the debt in Korea has touched nearly 40 percent of GDP. We should not be complacent with a figure of debt less than that of Japan (200 percent) and the U.S. (100 percent).

To settle the debate, we should stop blaming the administration under President Lee Myung-bak who has conceived the concept of a fair society.

During my brief stay in Seoul at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies between Aug. 31, 2010 and July 6, 2011, I have tried to understand, analyze and interpret the functioning of the Korean economy as a role model for us. It is sad to observe that the entire domestic market of Seoul is full of Chinese products with a long list of items I have purchased for my use in Seoul. Why?

One explanation was given to me by some marketers and Korean people around me that it is due to cheap labor in China the Korean industries are getting them produced in China. Even if this explanation is valid, I fail to understand “Made in China” mark on them.

I think my observation needs to be taken very seriously by the Korean government to ensure jobs for the unemployed youth which is the need of the day in Korea and elsewhere to face the challenges of crisis including national debt.