'Hell Joseon' through eyes of global experts
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Jeffrey Jones, international lawyer at Kim & Chang
Korea urged to reform political, education systems
By Kim Jae-kyoung
Despite the rapid economic achievements over the past decades, Koreans are getting more dissatisfied with what they are. Some of them dub the country even as a “Hell Joseon,” a term used to describe the country as a hell-like place.
The Korea Times had an interview with several global economists and businessmen to listen how they think about Koreans seeing their country as a hell-like place.
Q
:
Why do you think this (Hell Joseon) phenomenon is happening? Why do you think the gap between how Korea is perceived from the outside and from the inside is forming?
Mark Yeandle
: It may be about reputation rather than reality. “The grass is always greener on the other side.” Korea is comparatively a very good place to live and work in. If Koreans are really fed up with their lot in life they should look north of the border. I travel a lot worldwide and the last time I was in Korea four months ago I felt that Seoul and Busan were much better than in the past -- more friendly, more relaxed and well modernized.
Mauro Guillen
: This happens in many countries. Korea was a developing country two generations ago. The younger generation now takes its standard of living for granted. Perhaps also there is a sense of lack of achievement compared to the grandparents, who worked so hard and succeeded at turning Korea into a rich country.
Sohn Sung-won
: Foreigners have a bird's eye view of the Korean economy, while Koreans at home see everything including warts in the society. Korea is relatively young democracy with a lot of volatilities. Foreigners do not see the ongoing political turmoil in Korea while the natives see it every day. Koreans love politics and news is dominated by political events every day. Economically Korea is the first rate advanced nation, while politically it is a developing nation. To be sure, Korea has problems, but not as bad as the people on the ground thinks.
Jeffrey Jones
: Generally, foreigners have had a much more positive and optimistic view of Korea than Koreans for many years. It seems to be a matter of Korean culture not to speak positively about one's current condition to others even when things are going well. In part this is viewed as being humble and considerate of others. It is not easy for Koreans to accept others doing well. Given this unusual characteristic, it is generally best to not speak openly about things in one's life that are doing well. This seems to lead to a more negative public view of life.
The Korean language press contributes to this phenomenon. Foreigners do not generally read the domestic Korean language press which is less positive about Korea than the English language press. Also, foreigners do not have to compete in Korea in the same way as Koreans to include the school system as students or parents, the job market or the housing market.
James Rooney
: I know that Korean people always like to have some fresh drama in their lives, so maybe "Hell Joseoun" is a way of venting the negatives through that. But if one actually spends time in Korea it is the one place on earth that is the least like Hell . . . both in itself and even more especially when you make both superficial and deeper comparisons with almost every other country in the world.
Think of all the negative things that we do not have in Korea, which illustrates how lucky Korean people are without being properly aware of it. Here are a few examples -- gun violence, huge racial and social tensions, massive immigrant problems, transportation services that are unreliable, terrible airports and lack of universal health care coverage.
Q: Do you think that Korea is in a time of transition stage to move toward an advanced country? Or do you think that there is a structural problem and flaw in Korea
’s economy and policies?
Sohn
: History in other countries has shown that politics and economics go hand in hand. So far, politicians have been a headwind for the Korean economy. They have not been able to provide the necessary legal framework for a high-performance economy. This will have to change. Education is another area that needs to change. They need to emphasize innovation, individuality and creativity rather than group-think mentality and rote memorization prevalent at educational institutions and businesses. Labor Unions need to change and evolve as their counterparts in the U.S and other advanced nations have.
Guillen
: Korea already is a developed and advanced economy, certainly technologically sophisticated. There are very few countries in the world as rich and as developed as Korea. Still, Korea will face challenges down the road, so nobody should relax. The future will bring challenges -- population ageing, other countries with lower costs becoming competitive, etc.
Yeandle
: Overall Seoul is well rated in innovation, infrastructure and the business environment. It perhaps struggles in attracting international people but this is getting better.
Rooney
: Korea achieved its past successes by leadership from above, using institutional structures to do the thinking and guiding, and allocating both human capital and financial capital through a central command structure.
Almost every element of the past model needs to be turned upside-down for the future if we are to achieve success in the new paradigm. 56 years ago in 1960, Korea had no financial capital and almost no well-educated and industrially-trained human capital. Today Korea is rapidly becoming the country with too much money, but with a workforce whose skills and mindsets have been developed for an economy of the past instead of the future.
Q: If Korea has reached its limit under the current growth model, how should Korea reform its economy and address the
”Hell Joseon” issue?
: I do not buy the "Hell Joseon" view. Things need to change, but the Korean economy continues to be envy of the world for good reasons. Koreans have two key advantages for healthy future growth -- almost fanatic desire for education as well as the “drive” Koreans have to achieve something once they set goals. However, politics and corruption could become a fly in the ointment.
Rooney:
My personal perspective is that the single most important thing that Korea needs to do is to revitalize its existing human capital through new training, skills development, and lifelong learning support, while changing the education system of our youngsters away from learning how to pass tests and focus instead on learning real and practical skills, particularly the ones that will be essential to be a valuable part of the workforce of the future.
Too many people are unable to find jobs today, and yet at the same time too many employers are unable to find enough workers, managers, and leaders for the previous jobs that they have or can create if they could find enough qualified human capital.
This requires the retraining and revitalizing of the skills and talents of our existing adult population, plus significant changes in national mindset about what real jobs should look like, where they will be found, and which types of companies, business enterprises, and even social enterprises are really important for the future rather than the past.
Jones
: One of the reasons for the terrific progress in Korea is the Korean drive for success and not finding satisfaction with the status quo. Koreans are driven to look for better and makes things better. This can be interpreted as negativity, but it is simply a drive to improve.
: There are a number of reforms that will make things better. Levels of corruption should be low, transparency in business dealing needs improvement, reputation still lags behind reality. Reforms to enhance these would be valuable.
: Korea is doing many of the right things -- invest in education, improve the infrastructure, etc. What’s important is not to lag behind in these investments.
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Economically Korea is the first rate advanced nation, while politically it is a developing nation. To be sure, Korea has problems, but not as bad as the people on the ground think.” --
Sohn Sung-won, economics professor at California State University
“The younger generation now takes its standard of living for granted. Perhaps also there is a sense of lack of achievement compared to the grandparents.” --
Mauro Guillen, director of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania
“If one actually spends time in Korea it is the one place on earth that is the least like Hell.” --
James Rooney, vice chairman of Seoul Financial Forum
“It seems to be a matter of Korean culture not to speak positively about one's current condition to others even when things are going well.” --
Jeffrey Jones, international lawyer at Kim & Chang
“The grass is always greener on the other side. Korea is comparatively a very good place to live and work in.” --