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In a report published in 2007, Goldman Sachs forecast that by 2050 the per capita GDP of Korea will exceed $90,000 in current dollar value, and that Korea will rank second only to the United States, with a difference of only a thousand dollars separating them. By comparison, Great Britain, which the forecast ranks a distant third, will lag behind the U.S. and Korea by $10,000 in per capita GDP. (China will have the largest absolute GDP, but for every Korean there are 25 Chinese.)
By contrast, the 2014 per capita GDP of Korea is around $25,000, so consider that in 35 years Korea will be almost four times richer than it is now. Imagine if you can what it will be like to live in Korea then. Of course, it's not certain this forecast will come true, but if it does ― and if it even comes close ― the Koreans living in that time will have many choices about what they want to do with their lives and how they want to leave their country for their grandchildren, for such is the power of money.
The reliability of this forecast can be gleaned from facts anyone can find on the internet, one of which is that Korea consistently ranks at the top in implementing IT and making it available to its citizens. Here are some more: Currently, the World Intellectual Property Organization of Geneva, Switzerland, ranks Korea among the top four countries in patent applications and patents granted, along with China, Japan, and the United States.
Korea, however, is first in patents granted per 1-million population. This shows that Korean companies are not only developing a lot of new ideas and technology, but will continue to create and bring to market products that people all over the globe will want. That Korea ranks high in creating intellectual property didn't happen suddenly, for the design, engineering, testing, and refining that are necessary to foster innovation take time to conduct.
In OECD's PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) evaluations of the academic prowess of fifteen year-olds world-wide, Korean students have placed near the top in math, science, and reading, along with students from Finland, Hong Kong, and Japan. This is a testament to the dedication of the students, their teachers, and parents, and shows that their diligence is paying off for the students, which in the long run, will benefit the nation.
In (US$) dollar value of exports in 2013, Statista (The Statistical Portal) ranks Korea seventh behind China, the U.S., Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, and France. High value exports, the kind that drive this ranking, are the result of precision manufacturing made possible by science, technology, and good management, which depend on intellectual acuity and business savvy. Consider that in accomplishing this, Korea has no natural resources, and has less than 1percent of the world's population.
Surprises can and will happen in the coming years that could change everything, and no one living today can anticipate or even imagine them. For now, though, figure that if the Goldman Sachs forecast comes true, the Koreans will be among the most influential people on Earth, and through their creative talent and productivity, they will have opportunities to make lasting contributions to humanity.
Most of the people who will lead Korea in government, business, science and medicine, the arts, and media of all kind during that time will be in their fifties and sixties. Interestingly, these leaders ― whose decisions will be vital not only to Korea but to the world ― are now in their twenties and thirties, finishing college and starting their first jobs.
Whatever kind of nation and world they'll help build and be part of, they'll need to cultivate broad and long-range views of the work they must do both at home and abroad, for their global prominence will come with important responsibilities in taking a leading role in preserving the environment and making the world better for the generations yet to be born.
Right now, these young Koreans are a generation of possibilities. But in so many ways, what magnificent possibilities they have.
Lyman McLallen is a professor in the College of English at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
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