South Korea's remarkable economic transformation has come at a significant societal cost, creating a culture of intense competition, overwork, and disillusionment that is leading to a demographic crisis and a questioning of the true value of its rapid rise.
Mind Map
Click to expand
Click to explore the full interactive mind map • Zoom, pan, and navigate
on the surface South Korea is one of the
most remarkable countries anyone has
ever seen transforming from being poorer
than most African nations to being one
of the richest countries in the world in
less than 50 years all while its
northern neighbor has remained
economically backward in this story
often told in the media South Korea can
do no wrong but this doesn't paint the
full picture beneath the glittering
skyscrapers and world-renowned Brands
there's a darker side to South Korea's
rapid rise one that's pushing the nation
toward a dystopian reality in 2020 South
Korea witnessed 500 deaths from a
strange new phenomenon so strange in
fact that it developed its own term gu
Roa or death by overwork at the heart of
this toxic culture are a handful of
powerful companies which run the
country's economy and its politicians in
fact just one of these companies Samsung
accounts for nearly 20% of career's
entire economy in a land controlled by
the few and not the many people are
switching off for a country just to keep
a stable population Every Woman must
have 2.1 children in South Korea this
figure is only
.7 three times less than the replacement
rate and in 2020 for the first time in
the country's history more people died
than were born the South Korean
government are not new to coming up with
solutions from promoting actions like
this on TV to suggesting that girls
should start school a year earlier to
make them more appealing to men it's
just that none of them seem to do
anything to address the root cause by
blending the harshest aspects of
capitalism with traditional Asian
hierarchies South Korea has created a
society defined by Relentless
competition and materialism leaving many
questioning whether this rapid rise was
worth the cost or if it was just
inevitable to understand how modern day
South Korea became so broken we first
need to go back in history the culture
of stress and living under threat is not
new and at the start of the 20th century
Korea was invaded by Japan and occupied
under brutal colonial rule for 35 years
but after being liberated in 1945 it was
only 5 short years until another
conflict emerged dividing the peninsula
in two occupation World War II and then
the Korean War had left deep scars South
Korea was desperately poor and
vulnerable to further attacks despite
support from the United States it became
clear that the only path out of this
dire situation was rapid economic growth
an educated talented Workforce the
government reasoned would be able to
rebuild the country and power its
exports to the world under the
leadership of Park Chang he education
became the Cornerstone of South Korea's
Redevelopment plan this intense focus on
education tapped into a deep Cultural
Drive for achievement rooted in
Confucian ideals of respect for elders
strict hierarchy and an unwavering
dedication to work while this philosophy
is common across East Asia South Korea
adopted it with a uniquely intense focus
on academic success as the ultimate
measure of personal worth it is often
said that the path to hell is paved with
good intentions and what began as a plan
to rebuild the nation through Ed
education and hard work soon spiraled
into an obsession planting the seeds of
the country's modern day crisis more and
more people began attending universities
but before long an anxious pressure
around academic performance had bled
into elementary middle schools and even
kindergartens in 2020 around one quarter
of all Korean students expressed
symptoms of depression and in the last 6
years alone the number of 6 to 11y olds
treated for depression has doubled as
education became the ultimate vehicle
for social mobility in South Korea
families were driven to extraordinary
lengths to secure an edge for their
children this Obsession gave rise to
hugw ones private acmis where parents
pour vast resources to ensure their
children's success today these cies form
a 20 billion industry catering primarily
to those who can afford the high fees
all this pressure builds up to the C at
exams growling 8-hour long tests that
can determine a student's University
Place and entire future while South
Korea has prided itself on being a
meritocracy the sheer importance of
these exams has created a system that is
anything but many of the questions
extend far beyond the curriculum taught
in public schools favoring students who
have attended these Elite hug ones and
for lower income children this
essentially sets them up for failure
before they've even begun why all this
pressure the ultimate goal for a Korean
18-year-old is to gain admission to one
of South Korea's prestigious Sky
universities Soul National Korea or
Yonce seen as the key to a successful
career and a brighter future admission
to these universities is typically only
granted to students within the top 1% of
performers but in 2010 46% of high
government ranking officials and 50% of
CEOs in the major Financial industries
were graduates of these universities in
many ways these institutions are the be
and endle of Korean Society serving as
the final Gatekeepers of opportunities
even outside of these Elite institutions
around 70% of Koreans go to university
this is the highest rate in the world
which you may think is a good thing but
it has actually created an interesting
phenomenon despite so many educated
people Korea also has one of the highest
rates of Youth inactivity anywhere in
the world essentially Koreans are either
going to University or they are quietly
giving up on life or in many cases both
well over half a million young people
are simply unwilling to seek employment
and 45% of these people who are in
active have a University degree this
phenomenon of people quietly checking
out on life has become known as
careers's sampo generation this
translates to the three sacrifice
Generation The Generation which must
give up relationships children and
marriage in order to survive in the
modern economy you think that after
enduring a Relentless schedule from
kindergarten through a top university
your future would finally open up this
was once the case in the decades
following the Korean War the ideals of
hard work and diligence offered a path
to owning a home supporting a family and
collectively rebuilding the nation
sacrifice meant not just Personal
Achievement but also contributing to a
shared goal transforming a War torn
country into an economic success story
however today that sense of communal
purpose has faded a survey done in 2019
found that 90% of South Korean women and
82% of young men believe that people
born into poverty can never compete with
those born into wealth education is no
longer the vehicle for Upward Mobility
which it once was and yet people still
value it so much in developed countries
going to University usually Rewards for
you with more pay typically 40% more
while in the US that could be even
higher but in South Korea this figure is
just 20% in fact many students Now find
that their degrees have actually been a
net lost as they will never make back
the cost of tuition unfortunately as so
many people have now gone to University
it isn't really that unique anymore and
in order to stand out more and more
education is required creating what has
been known as an education bubble in in
a society obsessed with hard work
diligence meant eventually securing a
home and raising a family but now it
barely covers the rent that is if you're
lucky however in South Korea's capital
Soul this effect is Extreme over half of
South Korea live in the capital and this
is also home to the infamous Sky
universities the Pinnacle of society
since everyone who wants to do well
tries to go to one of these universities
and most people who employ those
graduates it also set up in the same
town the gradual buildup of people and
some really restrictive regulations
which prevent large scale property
development has made the housing market
of bidding wall which is usually won by
the elite in society an unintended
Consequence the concentrating economic
opportunities in a few expensive Urban
centers like soul is leading to the
biggest problem facing Korea nobody is
having kids anymore in rural areas
children are often seen as contributors
to family labor but by contrast in
cities the cost of raising a children's
skyrockets while work life balance has
become nearly non-existent but this is
only one from a whole list of reasons as
to why many South Koreans are simply not
having children aside from the brutal
work culture the traditional patriarchal
model of the early married stay-at-home
mother has deep roots in South Korean
history and confusion gender Norms but
instead of clinging to this vision of
bygone social relations which are now
nearly impossible to fulfill in career's
modern economy promoting a new one may
help child birth outside of marriage is
still heavily frowned upon in South
Korean society yet the bar to marriage
remains very high this is because it is
often associated with wealth notably for
buying a house this creates a catch 22
whereby people envisage marriage only if
they can afford a house but affording a
house is more challenging for unmarried
people than married people many Koreans
are now uninterested in marriage but
still want to have children yet
suffering the condemnation of having a
child out of wedlock likely discourages
them in 2022 only 2% of births in South
Korea occurred outside of marriage the
oecd average is around 40% and Rises to
rates like 60% in some countries like
France giving legal recognition to
non-married families would also help and
reducing social stigma around this area
is one of the many levers the South
Korean government can pull to fix the
crisis is but one which they seem
reluctant to do what is adding to this
problem and making people less
optimistic about life is South Korea's
job market more specifically the sheer
domination of the entire economy by a
literal handful of corporations during
South Korea's rapid industrialization a
few companies in particular came to
dominate Korea's export success and
Inter their economy these are of course
Korea's Infamous cha balls companies
like Samsung Hyundai and LG which place
members of the founding family in
ownership of management positions the
top five taken together represent nearly
2/3 of the entire Korean stock market's
value but despite such dominance
employment in these companies only works
out to around 12% of jobs in the market
the amount of money controlled by these
companies has meant that employment in
cha balls has become synonymous with
stability Prestige and Financial
Security these family owned corporate
Giants offers salaries and benefits that
outshine most Alternatives granting them
an almost magnetic pull on job seekers
in fact Samsung alone is estimated to
account for around 20% of South Korea's
GDP owning subsidiaries across almost
all aspects of Korean life this kind of
corporate dominance is not normal in the
United States the largest company
Walmart accounts for around 2% of GDP
but aside from being absolutely terrible
for smaller businesses this dominant
structure has bred a further wave of
rigid hierarchy and toxic corporate
culture Korea's terrible work
environment is well renowned for being
one of the worst in the world and has
consistently been the worst place to
work as a woman in the oecd for the last
12 years unfortunately these strict
hierarchies don't just lead to a
stressful environment but often have far-reaching
far-reaching
consequences not just for junior
employees or newcomers but for the
entire Society this was made famous in
Malcolm gladwell's book outliers which
follows the case of the 1997 Korean Air
crash in Guam in this case hierarchical
structure prevented a junior pilot from
reporting a critical error to a superior
contributing to the deaths of over 200
passengers and crew but unfortunately as
Korea's economy developed this hierarchy
extended itself across Society where
these cha bolts were placed at the top
of Korean society and devoid of any real
accountability particularly when it came
to their relationship with the
government historically the cha balls
have been seen as pillars of the
nation's post-war economic success and
for decades South Korean leaders have
equated their achievements with national
Prosperity essentially creating a
relationship in which any criticism of
these companies was akin to being
unpatriotic politicians often rely on
them for campaign financing and promote
their successes as National triumphs
while chals Lobby for favorable
legislation and public policies this
cozy relationship however has become
increasingly problematic for the country
not just in the waves of the scandals
from the Su fairy disaster where over
300 lives were lost due to Illegal
modifications and lack safety oversight
to Samsung's bribery Scandal which or
Millions exchanged for political favors
and led to the impeachment of a
president but for actually slowly
crippling careers economy structural
rigidities in its labor and product
markets have hampered productivity and innovation
innovation
excessive regulations entry barriers for
startups and the dominance of
conglomerates Shield large firms from
competition while stifling
entrepreneurship at the same time rigid
labor laws such as the seniority based
pay and strong protections for regular
workers make it difficult for companies
to adapt to technological changes and
New Opportunities ultimately South
Korea's struggles with low productivity
and inequality stem from a combination
of hierarchical cultural norms sustain
iic corruption and structural
inefficiencies addressing these issues
requires not only breaking the
entrenched ties between government and
Cha balls but also fostering a more
flexible competitive and Innovative
economic environment the result of all
this is not just an economy which is
slowing but something far more serious a
society which is more suicidal depressed
and ready to give up on life than any
time in the country's history and one
which unsurprisingly people do not want
to have children in the response in
Korea to their own demographic time War
has been somewhat surprising with some
reasoning that the main issue may not be
the rigid hierarchy or corporate fueled
expensive living but in fact feminism
while movements like 4B which promote no
relationships with men certainly aren't
making any more children South Korea's
demographic crisis far predates the rise
of feminism as a widespread Outlook and
the 2017 me to movement in fact it was
more than 40 years ago in
1983 when South Korea's fertility rate
first fell below 2.1 dropping to 1.5 in
1998 before reaching the worrying lows
of 0.72 today in December 2024 South
Korea made headlines when their
president tried to set up military law
over the country this once again shown a
spotlight on a country that is often
overlooked by its more controversial
Northern neighbor but in many ways it is
a country with even more profound
challenges these challenges are not just
the byproducts of rapid
industrialization they are woven into
the very fabric of South Korea's success
the same structures that once fueled
growth and prosperity now leave many
disillusioned burnt out and unable to
Envision a brighter future the question
is not whether South Korea can change
but whether it's ready to confront the
structures and ideals that brought it
Click on any text or timestamp to jump to that moment in the video
Share:
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
One-Click Copy125+ LanguagesSearch ContentJump to Timestamps
Paste YouTube URL
Enter any YouTube video link to get the full transcript
Transcript Extraction Form
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
Get Our Chrome Extension
Get transcripts instantly without leaving YouTube. Install our Chrome extension for one-click access to any video's transcript directly on the watch page.
