How the Rich Ate South Korea

[@Asianometry]

Hope you enjoy the video.

[@qwerty123443wifi]

I always do :)

[@middle_pickup]

This was your best yet!

[@sandman79sg]

Almost as good as the video on the corrupt ex-President Park Jun Hae

[@KomradZX1989]

Hey I really liked the silent ad for your newsletter! That’s clever. I didn’t even notice your usual thing for it wasn’t at the start. It’s a good idea. Do that for a video or two and then throw in your regular voice over for it for a good reminder then a few videos with a silent ad for it. Good to change things up. Video is 👍👍 as usual!!!

[@Hectico2257]

Fantastic video 📸 as always!

[@desertsky2213]

One of the most shocking things I saw in Korea when I first went there was the amount of elderly poor people. You literally see old grandmas cleaning bathrooms who should’ve retired like a long time ago.

[@jhee0113]

Hmm.. think a bout it. We were the poorest country about 70 years ago, nothing left with the Japan's colonial era and Korean war. What can you expect from that for the elderly people, most of them hardly had a chance for education.

[@jaychung1380]

You would think that Asian countries would commit to taking care of their elderly population, given the importance placed in being filial and respectful to seniority, but it seems these countries actually treat people worse than dirt if they're not family..

[@Alfredwijaya1]

I lived in SG n I saw these a lot meanwhile in Indo maybe u saw less

[@rojosik9385]

A lot places there is no retirement

[@gampa_10_31]

@@jhee0113 Japan was also completely destroyed in world war 2, in fact, Japan lose more than South Korea, but Japan did it

[@kevinavila9489]

What I learned from reading Manhwa and Korean Webtoons. Corruption everywhere, normal people are underpaid, rich people are evil af, and school bullying to the point of near death is pretty normal. They're fiction but they do reflect on reality. It's weird how Korea is one of the richest countries despite the rampant corruption that is deeply embedded in the system.

[@winterkitten]

South Korean national here! I wouldn’t say that corruption is deeply embedded in Korean society right now. There were a lot of corruption in the past, just like the movies and comics depict. However, as people demanded more transparency, a lot of anti-corruption measures such as laws or institutions got introduced in the 21st century. Right now, most Korean wouldn’t say that corruption is a big problem. Wealth gap would be the biggest concern.

[@kevinavila9489]

@@winterkitten That makes sense, people would have been fed up with state sponsored corruption. Regarding bullying, given the authors of the comics are probably in their 30s or older, their stories probably reflect on the times when they grew up. Because i just cant believe that the level of school bullying in the comics is realistic. it's like teachers and staff are absent and bullies have free reign, which would be kinda hard in today's smartphone world.

[@deathdoor]

Korea is a "rich" country, but Korea is not a "wealthy" country. There's no contradiction.

[@KuK137]

@pm Wot? How demographics will solve this? If anything it makes the problem WORSE, as the young generation has no savings or opportunities to accumulate wealth. Rich and old pulled the ladder out of reach once they climbed it, just check house or new car ownership rates...

[@kevinavila9489]

@@KuK137 and it's always those old bastards who harp on about how the young generation are lazy and dont work hard for their dreams SMH

[@bluemoondiadochi]

This reminds me of that russian joke from the 90s: "everything Marx taught us about communism was a lie. But, everything he taught us about capitalism was true."

[@nishobit.1293]

This is really good. 🤭

[@frocco7125]

facts

[@TheBikeOnTheMoon]

because the term capitalism was invented by Marx. Say whatever you want about his communism idea, but what he said about capitalism is true, that's why the term is used even until today.

[@hectoralejandro9883]

Imagine being celebrated for complaining and providing no real solutions.

[@MenRot]

@@hectoralejandro9883 so we should just shut up and sit still, living in poverty? Lmao.

[@maxpower9979]

It is fascinating how South Korea was able to develop its economy with such shameless corruption. I believe that a rich country is not a country without corruption but a country where the elites understood that it is more profitable to steal 2% of a billion rather than 50% of a million.

[@tucsonrides4851]

look at china. crony capitalism is the key to unsustainable rocketing success.

[@SkyWKing]

Yes, the theory is that as long as the pie is growing quickly enough, people don't mind sharing a smaller slice of that pie. And that corruption is what allows the pie to grow so quickly (since 'anti-corruption' adds 'friction' to the economy).

[@ihl0700677525]

Planned economy with private sector (instead of wholly state/collective enterprise) is proven to be superior model, as long as the central planners understand and able to foresee the market trend and the private sector follow/obey the plan (and able to carry it out ofc). It's work best when you are bit behind and trying to catch up with the current market leader. But once you are at the front and have to innovate to continue growing, IMO relying on bunch of central planners will no longer be a good idea, it will become a burden. At that point, if your "national champions" still unable to compete on its own without guidance and support from the central planners, you'll face stagnation. Stagnation removes market optimism and confidence, and without confidence, your society will start to decay. Therefore, IMO it's best to just adopt free market from the get go. The govt should just let the invisible hand of the market to freely decide. No intervention, no subsidy, no tax incentive, no central plan. This way, your economy won't be growing as rapidly as the centrally planned economy, but you'll enjoy organic growth on all sector. Your market will be more efficient and also resilient, since there will be no over reliance on single or few key industries.

[@004307ec]

@@ihl0700677525 neither the government nor the market alone is enough for a good future. See how Hong Kong messed up so many aspects. Even the United States has federal plans to compete with USSR, Japan and China.

[@thunderb00m]

No you don't need corruption yo grow quickly just good laws. But the democratic system of government for all it's good thing is prone to corruption so they make laws or add a bunch of bureaucratic red tape to justify their existence or to extract bribes to smooth things over. I consider a society has truly succeeded when they are able to make the law so easy that there is very little value to be gained from corruption that it's not worth the risk.

[@allenpradhan2063]

When I look at S Korea and India, I can see how different and similar they are at the same time. While in Korea the government was capitalist and was in cahoots with the rich, but in India, the government was openly "socialist" while allowing select industrialists and conglomerates to control a large portion of the wealth. They stop small companies from expanding by making stupid laws while at the same time bailing out multi-billion dollar companies with tax payer money.

[@terrancemyles3843]

India would probably be in the same position as China today had they not embraced Socialist policies.

[@B21_raider]

India till the 90s sucked the Gandhi regime and their closed economic policy basically made India a communist state for most of its early history a single party ruling for most of the 20th century . Capitalism even with its flaws is far better

[@Raja-mc3zt]

Not sure how you call that India doesn’t allow small companies to flourish. In India, still small industries and companies manage most of power station maintenance projects. In recent years there are thousands of small scale IT companies constructed. The problem is that Indians doesn’t like to be an entrepreneur much. If you go to a college and ask what he / she wants to be. Almost 90% will answer he wants to work here or there. Almost all of my friends are happy with an income good enough to feed their family and save a few lakhs for their kid’s education. Maybe it’s time to change the way our students think ?

[@allenpradhan2063]

@@Raja-mc3zt I was referring to the license raj which stifled small business for a long time. Of course, times are different today but still, there's a long way to go.

[@sympathiser_of_Germans_in_40s]

Now that we are finally showing some good signs we are hit by this Geopolitical nightmare.

[@Sabundy]

As someone who lived in South Korea for several years I can definitely say that South Koreans are nowhere as well off as someone might think. They have the highest household debt in Asia. The average person is living in debt from what I could tell. Most people owned several credit cards and I often saw people paying off one card with another card. But the biggest problem I could see was the Americanization of their thinking regarding the need to constantly keep up with one's neighbours by buying expensive brand name things of every sort ...... basically buying a lot of expensive crap that no one actually needs......merely for the purposes of showing off. And most of it being bought on credit. So when you see a Korean driving a Mercedes or a Lexus. They don't own it. Their bank owns it.

[@shojun11]

Lexus ? I didn`t know koreans drive a japanese brand.

[@mochichichi2458]

yeah that's the same impression I had. Basically living a lie

[@user-iu1ru1qz7u]

What you claim to be an American way of life is actually very much an Asian thing. Buying the latest of everything for no purpose other than keeping up and not losing face. That sort of low self esteem is borderline exclusive to China and Korea, no one else in the world does this on such a grand scale. Having the acquisition power to buy things you might want, and going into debt to buy something to keep up with your peers are not the same thing.

[@sadpanda8746]

@@user-iu1ru1qz7u yup as an asian i agree with you, its really surprising when i found out that mentality spread arround all of asian and not just my country

[@user-iu1ru1qz7u]

@@sadpanda8746 in my observation, asians as a whole seem to value saving face considerably more than other cultures. So just like Asian parents might force certain non career related standards(say, piano) on their children, so as not to be "less" than parents of more accomplished ones, it is perhaps the same principle, in the case the need to keep up with your peers in material ways.

[@rf2032]

"Top 1% of Koreans claim 12% of the income." US: Rookie numbers! (Our top 1% owns 27%).

[@wyw201]

Do you mean wealth and not income?

[@BrownBrown270]

🤣🤣🤣🤣 lmfao. @roland you would look smarter on KZbin if you knew what you were talking about before commenting. Now you look like a fool.

[@ankittola8596]

meanwhile indians our top 1 % : earns 53 % of the income

[@morgansheepman2403]

@@ankittola8596 another win for the boys!

[@nikhilchauhan4154]

@@ankittola8596 actually it is around 25% you are confusing it with wealth

[@Malaveldt]

This background really helps give context to the recurring theme I see in many of the manhwa I follow of the fight of a gifted outsider against corruption.

[@zyansheep]

Hello fellow manhwa enjoyer

[@nballs4200]

Name

[@ungrave5231]

my thoughts exactly. I've been wondering about this topic for awhile since I read that one where the guy goes back in time to being a kid while the financial crisis is going on, so he can specifically capitalize on it and take a bunch of money from the large players in the financial game.

[@sauravadhikari8645]

Hello brotherrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

[@henrybleisch9025]

Your words honor real truth and justice thank you. "In all things be fair"

[@annanimus2929]

The Philippines had the same issue when the government owned companies were sold off. Now electricity is overpriced and monopoly is rampant. Good thing new companies are popping up to fight such monopoly. As someone who grew up in poverty, I can say that a lot of talented and intelligent young individuals have played it safe. Getting a regular 9 to 5 job that pays minimum wage instead of pursuing your dreams and higher education. Family is highly regarded here and as per my personal experience, it's either I pursue my college scholarship and let my siblings die in hunger or I work. Of course I chose the latter. While working I even feel bad if I'll eat at a fastfood, spending at least $2 for myself. I had to break my own mentality to be able to treat myself without out feeling guilty. Growing up poor plus having no support from your own parents is really tough. Although I can confidently say I do not belong to the poor social class now, it is still hard. I'll just have to do whatever it takes to make sure my children won't suffer the same fate.

[@jahanb2002]

May you have good luck in everything you do ❤

[@votingbot2446]

*ehem Meralco lol

[@pipoypipoy9761]

Don't make children if cannot afford to feed them simple as that. It's you society and to Philippines.

[@wrong7495]

Because of a certain dictator that forced preceding presidents to sell all assets

[@ronielalado3868]

Im sure selling government owned companies wouldn’t have happened if some 20+ year-term president didn't wipe out all the country's wealth

[@MarkoCloud]

Contrary to popular belief, there are NO countries without corruption.

[@rojosik9385]

but some places are better than others

[@tiyanishongwe187]

@@rojosik9385 nope, some countries are better at hiding it

[@rojosik9385]

@@tiyanishongwe187 you're se4

[@rojosik9385]

You see people from poor countries try to get into rich ones you don't see people from Europe trying to get into Africa and the Middle East or American in mass try to go Latin America

[@tiyanishongwe187]

@@rojosik9385 and what exactly made Europe rich?

[@Cstriker1234]

It's amazing how deep the Korean industries had ties with the government. Great content as always!

[@peterevenhuis2663]

And you didn't even see the tip of it.

[@KuK137]

They didn't really have ties, though. Ties imply equal partnership, when the 1% just had the government in their pocket. The only solution to this is vote for people who will properly restrain, tax and regulate these scum, never, ever vote right wingers lying how their pro-ultra-rich policies are best things ever and something something it will trickle down...

[@peterevenhuis2663]

@@KuK137 , you don't have a Idea or you try to cover for them.

[@MASTERBUILDER-dd1rg]

korean society is not conservative. korean society is hyperprogressive, in other words, extremely decadent. however, most male koreans & half of female koreans are open to totalitarian fascism, which is the same as communism. except fascism favors the national collective over the one-world individualism of communism. and fascism is colorist, which is a sdmite mutation of lookism, which is one feature among many of sdmy. the bible is very clear on this issue. do you know how the dead sea between israel & jordan came to be? soon that sea will expand.

[@MASTERBUILDER-dd1rg]

@@KuK137 there is no one to vote for. korea is an oligarchy of families that collaborated with the japanese. park oversaw it. he needed japanese expertise, and the japanese are quite industrious on their own, while koreans need to be forced into a system in order to work. this is the premise of the korean economy, which supercedes the government. korean economy is to sustain local needs & wants, but most of korean gdp comes from export of expensive staples eg. vehicles, appliances. now, there is also the media, which is very popular around the world. korean government is simply the servant of the chaebols. they don't believe in liberalism. they want to outbeat japan in japan's own game. it is all about economics. the idea of freedom is very rarely asked in korean media. koreans today are descended from free independent manchurian warriors. the korean establishment loves fascism, and the fascism of society eg. uniformity of appearance & character, hatred of life, love of asura things, racialist delusions, is very obvious in korean media & in media covering korea.

[@XxBanziixX1]

As a person who lived in both south korea and north america I can tell you I find it funny that people here (NA) seem to forget that they live in the same situation. Koreans seem to be more self aware of this issue but in north america people seem to turn a blind eye. Corruption in big companies and them influencing the law and regulation for their own benefit is common here. This is more noticeable in korea since there are large companies that are few in number.

[@TheDysartes]

A lot of Americans believe corruption occurs in other countries but not in their own back yard, they blindly believe they live in a free democracy where the American Dream is possible for everyone.

[@scholarssolutions6735]

North America (mostly the USA) has done an excellent job propagandizing its people into believing that while there might be corruption, they still live in a “free” country that is democratic and respects human rights. In reality, the USA is controlled by a wealthy elite, like most wealthy nations. There’s an excellent study by Princeton that talks about how the vast majority of American people have no say over their government at all. That’s why politicians all have such atrocious ratings and can do all sorts of stuff the majority of Americans don’t agree with, like fund Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.

[@oseikebede2134]

I heard a statement along the lines of USA has legalized corruption and called it lobbying

[@eodyn7]

South Korea is far worse. You having an Asian fetish doesn't change that.

[@mpazinambao2938]

😯oooh. I'm in Africa, our problem is incompetence.

[@SkyWKing]

The success stories of East Asian countries in the second half of 20th Century and early 21st Century (but also Japan during the Meiji era) are very similar. All of them are fueled by 'a healthy dose of corruption'. In early stages of economic development, corruption reduces 'friction' in the economy: regulation, transparency, redistribution etc. This allows a privileged class of people to quickly accumulate enough capital to kickstart national economies. People turn a blind eye to corruption because the pie is growing rapidly enough their quality of life also grows rapidly even though their share of pie if diminishing. This is not unlike early European industrial powers where aristocrats with strong political influence started the industrial revolution. That's Deng's saying of 'let some people get rich first'. But at some point the rapid growth period is over, and inevitably people begin to ask for a bigger slice of the pie. That's when corruption really becomes a problem. The developed world had centuries to gradually evolve their institutions to reduce this corruption to the point the extra 'friction' does not slow down the economy too much. But even in their case the process was not smooth (actually it was very bloody). The developing nations grew too quickly economically, but didn't have the time to evolve their institutions, and thus suffer more pain.

[@AmanKumarPadhy]

Wasnt it the same for industrializing and globalizing europe bw 17 to 19 centuries?

[@capmidnite]

I think the Industrial Revolution in Europe wasn’t started by the established landed aristocracy. Rather, it was the upstart merchant class and “hands on” type of men that built the first factories and companies.

[@thetigerii9506]

All very similar? You forgetting singapore?

[@capmidnite]

@@thetigerii9506 Singapore while East Asian in culture isn’t part of geographic East Asia.

[@francisdayon]

I think another problem is actually the form of government. Elections are inherently corrupt as you need funds to get elected. This gives an illusion of participation to the people but actually gives them 2-3 choices the elites picked. Downside to this is you basically have leaders that are just actors and not real leaders.(quite litterally former movie actors in a lot of cases) We need to move the system to meritocracy where capable leaders are promoted. The Chinese model has flaws but how can we compete when we churn out leaders that are already bought even before they get elected?

[@hltco920]

Unfortunately there is no political solution. In Korea, the USA, UK, anywhere you look - no party is on the side of the people. It is all corporate interests.

[@winterkitten]

In Korea, we have Justice party on the side of the people with 6 seats in the national assembly.

[@dansketch4603]

I can't agree. Most of political parties in my country say they're on the side of the people.

[@kaveboi]

@@dansketch4603 and there's your answer : "they say"

[@mikolowiskamikolowiska4993]

The purple better start buying shares

[@jerrybi8400]

The mocracy

[@Hoppensagen]

Worked in Korea, and honestly the work culture there is soooo bad. Seriously, feel lucky to live in America. The managers and higher ups are literally crazy, they will lie and gaslight you, and blame you for random problems just to save a little face, or to establish a hierarchy, and make it look like they are teaching you something. Things in Korea are more about presentation, than actual functionality. When I was working there, I asked others if it was like this everywhere, and the theme was that most places will be like this or worse and more rarely you will get a more western place to work for. Now do you don't think I'm bashing a country, they do have wonderful public transportation, and healthcare is cheap and the taxes for it were not expensive at all. I think we could implement that here in America. However, America is a much better country to live in by far. What also made me sad, is that Korean food in America seems to be better than the Korean food in Korea. Idk, am I crazy?

[@deadmanwalking93]

Not at all. I can't say much about food, but everything else you have mentioned are secretly acknowledged by ALL Koreans. What I found beyond belief is that they accept those as just part of their work culture. Obviously, when everyone takes a passive position on what they know to be problematic, nothing will change. Why they continue that way despite knowing that it is their culture that is responsible for their high suicide rate is beyond me. I see no problem with national pride as long as it does not prevent people from reflecting upon their shortcomings. Whenever there is a problem of any kind, the first thing anyone should do is to consider what they could have done to prevent the problem, because if they start considering external factors to the problem they will never run out of things to blame. Internal factors is what one can control, so considering external factors to a problem should only come AFTER an exhaustive self reflection. Ultimately, the problem with Korean work culture (and Korean culture in general) boils down to lack of self-reflection, both on an individual level and population level. I reached this conclusion after researching Korean culture and history, because I wanted to work out just what makes Koreans think and behave the way they do. As far as I could find, they never really worked out their problem with corruption in governance (public and private). It is just that they got better at hiding it with their presentation of nicety. I could never live in such a society, so you are not alone.

[@aynrandfan7454]

Meat in america is definitely better than in Korea and cheaper relatively speaking especially for beef. Korean bbq joints in LA are very good

[@seoul_9584]

Korean food in America is not delicious lol what are u talking abt? U r weird

[@bayesianlee6447]

As a Korean who have experience on both countries, I do agree with you. But Food? oh no never. Most korean foods in America restaurants were too bad.

[@seoul_9584]

@@bayesianlee6447 ikr. Korean food in America is disgusting tbh

[@BracaPhoto]

We need an Asianometry for EVERY Country!! Your upload schedule is AMAZING and we all REALLY Appreciate all that you do ! Subscribed 👍👍👍

[@andrewradford3953]

Australia’s performance in the CPI(corruption perception index} has continually declined in the past decade, dropping by 12 points to 18th. Our politicians have sold out to corporations and are no longer serving the people.

[@DeedoDoop]

Thanks a lot! As a Korean i’m kinda dazzled that the 2014 ferry accident wasn’t just a random occasion and was closely tied to corruption. Even though I don’t agree with your ending statement about the latest president, (as a 17 yr old seeing my country’s real estate prices soaring it makes me hella scared) everything was a new, fresh experience. Kudos!

[@goventurefarbeyondtheshore5438]

hey could you please tell me how 2014 ferry accident wasn't just a random one? i've heard a lot about it but dont exactly know much

[@RichardYoh]

@@goventurefarbeyondtheshore5438 Sinking of the Sewol Ferry was an accident caused by sloppy regulation and mismanagement of by the Ferry company. For the sake of profit, the company had decided to ignore weight limit and ferried more people than it was capable of. Now the president is being blamed for basically a politically charged, fictional narrative of “human sacrifice” by the left wing politicans who have been taking advantage of the accident, including deaths of young school kids for their own political benefit. Its widely known now that once Moon Jaein came into power, nothing was done to improve disaster safety - for example there was a Sauna Fire, Toppling of Gwangju apartment construction, and many similar accidents that were completely ignored. The sinking of Sewol was an accident from overusing of the Ferry for financial profit and has no relation to Park, but often framed as so.

[@starzies]

@@goventurefarbeyondtheshore5438 My memory is a bit hazy on this, so I'll edit any misinformation out later. The first issue is that the ferry was overloaded in the lower decks. The ferry probably should have never left the dock. Then when it began sinking, the captain basically jumped ship without doing much to help the students onboard. Next, during search and recovery operations, there wasn't enough ressources being allotted to operation. Many of the searchers were in fact volunteer divers. Many accuse the government of not doing enough to help the passengers who were onboard that day. I may be wrong about this, but I heard that there was a foreign ship/costal guard nearby that could have helped, but the government didn't signal to them for help. In addition to all this, the media spread misinformation that everyone aboard had been saved, slowing rescue efforts.

[@goventurefarbeyondtheshore5438]

@@starzies oh alright. i think the people in power(the govt, rich) taking advantage of sensitive issues and molding it to their advantage, this is an issue rampant everywhere. i'm sorry for the accident:(

[@lurkingheretic]

​@@goventurefarbeyondtheshore5438 Starzies is mostly right--I live and work in Korea and saw it all on live news, and have read a lot about the Sewol because I teach Korean teenagers and you can't avoid it. The ferry was overloaded on the *upper* decks, including decks that were added after the ship was built. It was top-heavy. Shipping containers were just laid on the topmost deck and not tied down. When the ship listed they slid towards one side, contributing to the capsizing of the ship. Similarly the cars below decks were not tied down, same problem. This is a very common problem on ferries here (I used to live on an island that was only accessible by ferry. Only large trucks were ever tied down, and not even every time!). The ship was overloaded in general, but inspectors were understaffed and simply looked at the waterline of passing ships. Had they boarded, they'd have seen much of the ballast water had been pumped out to compensate for the weight of the cars and cargo. Ballast is what prevents a ship from tipping over. The captain was in his cabin having some fun, leaving the helm to a junior officer. He knew they were going to be going through some swift waters (an underwater current) and would have to make a turn, but he left someone inexperienced in charge. She turned the ship too sharply, the current caught it, the containers and cars slid to one side, and the ship could not be righted. The captain did in fact tell the students to stay in their cabins. We have recordings of this from the students' cell phones. The phones themselves were ruined in the sinking but their memory cards were retrieved. In some cases 'rescuers' had removed the memory cards from the phones of dead students in an attempted coverup. There was a Japanese coast guard ship nearby offering help, but it was refused. The rivalry runs deep. Yes, the media told us that everyone on board was saved. Watching the live footage though I suspected that was a lie. Where were the lifeboats? How does anyone survive a rapid capsizing like that? There's a display/protest in Gwanghwamun Square that memorializes this, or at least there was the last time I was in Seoul in 2018. At one of the island schools where I worked there was a student made poster of the ship surrounded by yellow butterflies.

[@ethanryu4170]

You definitely need Korean subtitle for this. This kind of things can never air in the main media because chaebols own the media there.

[@compacc7377]

Korea is actually slowly moving away from a chaebol-dominated economy as new faces and innovators have appeared in the transitionary period into a platform and internet-service-based economy. Naver and Kakao for example. Taiwan's economic structure is actually more concerning because they're solely relying on TSMC

[@AndrewLee-vb1rr]

Completely agree that innovative tech companies like Naver and Kakao are leading a new wave in Korea away from chaebols. It will take time but it is surely happening

[@ismt101]

TSMC is one of the biggest reason why Taiwan continue to exist.

[@raphaelcardoso7927]

@@ismt101 and could be one of the reasons it might stop to exist

[@haraldsyilivesterkarugaba1430]

@@raphaelcardoso7927 why ?

[@AndrewLee-vb1rr]

@@haraldsyilivesterkarugaba1430 Because the rise of economic growth reliant mostly on TSMC rids of opportunities from smaller competitors and adds bureaucracy. There needs to be growth fueled by start-ups and small/medium enterprises to lead organic growth. Monopoly hinders innovation

[@raylopez99]

A shoutout to Joe Studwell is needed: In How Asia Works, Joe Studwell distills his extensive research into the economies of nine countries-Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and China-into an accessible, readable narrative that debunks Western misconceptions, shows what really happened in Asia and why, ...

[@RobBCactive]

Funny I've seen your comments on chess games with 3 Bb5!

[@raylopez99]

@@RobBCactive Yes! it's my favorite opening as both black and white.

[@RobBCactive]

@@raylopez99 What's your view on playing d3 rather than O-O?

[@raylopez99]

@@RobBCactive Fashionable blasphemy. The old ways are best Rob...

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

Wut?! Why'd he skip India? It's literally one of the biggest economies in the region...

[@Hayan_Yeou]

Thank you for shinning some light on the subject! People need to know and our politicians need to realise. I'm not ashamed that the topic became part of your video. In fact, knowing there is a problem is the first step in fixing the problem. Can't fix an issue if you refuse to know about it, right?

[@rockjockchick]

Yes

[@익명-q6x]

그나마 윤석열 대통령님이 잘하고 계시네요.

[@capmidnite]

Many other underdeveloped countries received massive amounts of foreign aid and tried to build export-oriented industries around the same time (1950s 60’s 70s) but failed to mature the same way the Korean economy did.

[@billlumbergh6294]

let me humbly recommend to you to read about/the book the bell curve and it all makes sense... if you have human capital and halfway reasonable policies (so no North Korea please) , you dont need "foreign aid". Foreign direct investment will flow because it makes ecnomic sense.

[@sambatra6162]

Exactly!!

[@adapienkowska2605]

@@billlumbergh6294 'the bell curve' by Charles Murray? Why would you recommend this pill of nonsense?

[@billlumbergh6294]

@@adapienkowska2605 I recommend it because it because it gives answers to the question of why did korea develop and many other countries dont despite all the money flowing. I do not regard it as nonsense, it is rather tragic for the world for many reasons that too many people do.

[@adapienkowska2605]

@@billlumbergh6294 you just haven't checked their sources and/or know little about genetics, heredity or IQ if you think this book is anything but a pile of nonsense.

[@kryts27]

Really, in a way, what has happened in South Korea with the Chaebol in the 1980s-1990s, is a microcosm of what happened in Japan with the Zaibatsu in the 1930s-1940s, with their similar corrupt influence on their national governments (except that Japan had colonized Manchuria and the Zaibatsu wanted a slice of that pie). The difference being that the Zaibatsu was partially forcably broken up immediately after WW2 by the Supreme Commander Allied Powers (of Japan), and the Chaebol had not faced such an imposition from losing an international war in the mid-20th century. Both have played a leading role of the elites in these countries, and their political and economic effect of these mega-company industrial combines (controlled by a small number of families and very wealthy individuals) is both beneficial to their countries (in their growth phase), but also malignant in stifling small to medium business competition and growth and hence employment of Koreans long-term, as well as skewing national politics to their own conservative interests. Particularly, since like Japan, Korea is undergoing an aging population demographic crises since 2000, with low immigration to offset that economic malaise.

[@miraphycs7377]

Korea and Japan is slightly different in that the post-war economic success of Japan is because Zaibatsu was busted and more competition was allowed (Zaibatsu's contribution was rapid westernization and industrialization of Japan in the late 19th and early 20s century). Toyota, Sony, Panasonic, Honda and such companies were little nobody before because of the Zaibatsu like Mitsubishi's monopoly. But because competition was now welcomed and encouraged, it gave them opportunities and now they are globally recognized and known, surpassing the original Zaibatsu. Look at Mitsubishi's cars compared to Toyotas and Hondas for example. Also unlike Korea, Japan have a robust, numerous yet crucial medium and small sized companies (albeit less well known) that support the economy like Toray and Fanuc

[@ArawnOfAnnwn]

The Zaibatsu never really went away. The modern incarnation of Zaibatsu are called Kieretsu now.

[@f430ferrari5]

@@miraphycs7377 I would think South Korea is starting to have many mid size companies in the entertainment sector. Groups like BTS and Black Pink and the K-Pop sensation is global. The same can be said of SK dramas and movies. Maybe another way to look at this though is that everything is a global market these days and not necessarily just domestic. Accordingly, large entities of that nation must originally dominate in order to have global presence. The fragmentation of what Japan has weakens their global position? Certain Japan companies even partnered in with non-Japanese companies and not sure how overall successful. Toyota and BMW? Nissan and Renault? It seems Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, Sanyo, JVC, Alpine, Akai, Sansui, Yamaha, etc are all dying off. Some already have? None seem to consolidate? Isuzu, Suzuki, Daihatsu? South Korea population is also half of Japan’s. I find it incredible they have accomplished what they have is such a short time. There are so many other sh*t hole countries that have way bigger issues. Mainly non-Asian. It’s so convenient and easy to Asian bash.

[@hazelmint6671]

@@f430ferrari5 I agree. The Kpop and Korean drama industry are really hitting it off now.

[@ricseet4095]

South Korea has learnt well from their master US.

[@edwardkim8972]

This video has a bit of a clickbaity title. Corruption in South Korea is a bit more nuanced. It's not the kind of corruption that pervades the entire society, economy and bureaucracy, making public services inoperable and the economy unworkable. Their healthcare is highly efficient and effective and their trash will get picked-up on time. Where corruption is pervasive in South Korea is in government to large industrial corporation relations. Although the Korean conglomerates have extremely cozy relations with the government it does cost the corporations something. In order to enjoy these benefits from the government the larges South Korean conglomerates must: 1) add economic wealth to the nation 2) add to the nation's technological base 3) contribute to the South Korea's diplomatic relations with important countries (i.e. set-up factories in the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia, for example) and global organizations (i.e. Olympic Committee), etc. If a chaebol doesn't do the aforementioned, then they lose their relationships with the government and the government will back another national champion. So, IMHO... this video doesn't tell that important side of the story, a side of the story that explains how South Korea can still be economically successful while still retaining government to business relations that can be described as too cozy.

[@Albert-oo1wk]

Except the healthcare as well as numerous other government-led services have been threatened since 2008 and only became stable during President Moon's regime of 2016~2022. Take the SRT-KTX railroad for example. During President Lee's regime, government-owned KTX was forced to sell profitable rail networks to public company SRT in the name of "capitalist competition", except SRT is owned mostly by Chaebols and placed KTX into the red by government-forced sale of the profitable networks, which defies the very concept of "competition". Like it or not, conservative governments has long attacked and tried to turn over public service programs that grew with tax money into private companies purchasable by the Chaebols, and these cooperative actions between the conservative governments show that "GDP growth" is merely a cover to hide the inequality of growth of chaebols at the expense of ordinary tax payers.

[@edwardkim8972]

@@Albert-oo1wk again, if South Korea is as corrupt as it is supposed, it would have never gotten as far as you yourself described.

[@afgor1088]

yes... so the rich are the corrupting ones. the video title is accurate

[@edwardkim8972]

@@afgor1088 no. Again, South Korea is a high functioning country. There is corruption in South Korea, but it doesn't affect it's ability to be a developed and high functioning country. That needs to be mentioned. South Korea is a modern, developed and functioning democracy. It isn't Brazil or South Africa, stuck in a perpetual middle income trap.

[@afgor1088]

@@edwardkim8972 uh huh . sure thing bootlicker. bye

[@logo2462]

I’ve really been enjoying your takes on labor politics overseas. (In addition to the in depth engineering content of course!)

[@idzkk]

It gives deep insight on industries and regimes

[@davidc750]

Honestly with having duel citizenship and lived in both US and South Korea for over 10 years, I can say things here in the states are not much different in terms of corruption compared to South Korea. Difference would be how and where it is corrupted, like how we can't have decent national healthcare where Korea has one of the best in the globe, but on the flip side of the coin in Korea term equal opportunity is nearly non-existence in place of bribe, corruption and your upbringing, where US has not perfect but far better opportunity for everyone to be successful if you work hard.

[@Jennifer-v9y]

That and sexism in South Korea is among the worst in a developed society, not to mention racism. So yeah, other than those two tiny points, not much difference 😅

[@ebdo7863]

​@user-mb5zy5ck5t well it's widely known that women in Hollywood will have their careers ruined if they don't 'help out' the producer!!! And African American are among the most racist people in the world......especially toward whites and Asians!!! So, quite similar in other words.

[@mvflp2218]

Considering South Korea is a satellite state of the West (its prosperity is largely due to western financial and industrial influence) Its only fitting that they both suffer similar pains

[@ebdo7863]

@user-mb5zy5ck5t I'll reiterate. African Americans are unbelievably racist towards Asians and whites. The fact that youtube took my comment down only reinforces that belief!

[@anggasurbakti8269]

I always found that it's funny that SK has suneung which considered the most difficult exam but after passed it, people then become slaves for their chaebol

[@winterkitten]

haha you successfully captured the reality

[@PiroKUSS]

Suneung isn't considered as hard as the Gaokao.

[@Deirz0128]

@@PiroKUSSit is

[@PiroKUSS]

@@Deirz0128 Not

[@Siao222]

Thank you for your video. Like how you mentioned the need for control on big businesses versus the need for them to be competitive, something that has no easy answer to. Also regulatory capture, a hard to detect way of corruption that went under the radar for most people and it exists everywhere even in countries that are not corrupted like my country Singapore.

[@Siao222]

​@Patrick Hamosthere are more examples in Western countries if you want. Boeing? Every single defence industry related company in every country I can think of, this is not an unique question for only Asian countries. The point is, certain industries are not so straight forward that you can succeed simply by being innovative or creative, you need government backing in terms of funding, legislation, employment, etc. Look at TSMC, look at ASML these kind of companies will not exist without huge amount of government support at the start. Remember government support does not necessary meant funding, it can meant exclusive government contracts and reduced red tapes, but all these granted the companies competitive advantage over other companies.

[@rockjockchick]

@@Siao222 yep

[@bulmatzzambbong4141]

길바닥에 껌 뱉지 마시고 집에서 옷을 꼭 입고 계시길 바래요 ㅎㅎ

[@hedgeclipper418]

I knew you knew the semiconductor industry, but I didn't realize how much you knew your politics. I sincerely think you are one of the best quality, best-researched channels on YT and I appreciate your willingness to say what you mean and not bullshit about the true nature of the problems.

[@namrnam5413]

Hello from korea again. Sad you didn't mention the company SK group : ( Impressed by your correct pronounce Chae bual, not Chai Bol : | enjoyed the video, as always : )

[@موسى_7]

Did you know that chaebol is Iraqi Arabic for 'urine tea'? چاي بول(chai boul) Think of corruption as urine, economic development as tea.

[@namrnam5413]

@@موسى_7 ahh~ the smell of corruption...

[@jonas1015119]

Complaining about wealth inequality and big business, then electing a conservative CEO who actively exacerbates these problems doesnt seem like the best course of action to me

[@genericereal]

President-elect Yoon was a prosecutor, not a businessman. In fact, Yoon worked under the Moon administration to pursue corruption cases in the government and was part of the investigations against figures including impeached President Park Geun-hye. So, it isn't black-and-white--before his campaign, Yoon had developed a reputation as a respectable prosecutor. Also, it was a very close race, with Yoon beating out Lee by less than 1%.

[@henrikswanstrom9218]

Don't worry. Capitalism will fix it.

[@anonme_]

I thought so too. I mean, what was even the logic behind it?

[@vtgare]

@@anonme_ The logic is that "it used to be better 20 years ago" but they didn't realize that the government decisions 20 years ago is what caused inequality in the first place. So they took a step back and made things worse, shocking ain't it

[@anonme_]

@@vtgare I'm sorry, I didn't clearly understand. Do you mind explaining it a little bit?

[@blacksorrento4719]

If you go back through world history, very few companies ever grew to the heights they did without some form of corruption, dirty deals or knowing people in high places to pass laws that benefited them in some way. The majority of them could not as my grandmother used to say “ be shook down without some dirt falling out “ Corruption, politics and high positioned officials seem to go hand in hand in any country.

[@cooltwittertag]

none did. There was no major company in history that didnt use some form of corruption. even small companies ceos try to be friendly and close with local representatives to get a competitive edge

[@ZipClipChannel]

Even microsoft was the result of Bill Gates's mom's connections with companies that bought his products in large volumes.....

[@DimaRakesah]

What amazes me is that these rich folks who built their empires with corruption are the first to insist they "worked" for everything they had. Yes, you worked. But so does every other working class person in your country.

[@Criminelsoyeux]

meritocracy is a scam and not only is korea. you can see that in america for ex with elon musk

[@hellothere4858]

Interesting that you used the term common prospertity and I agree that there are parralells with the tech crackdown in China , very much in the fear that big business becomes a force that the state becomes too dependent on and risks losing power to them.

[@Birdylockso]

When all businesses that become too powerful, they will inevitably want more control of the political direction. China is smart enough to crack down on these big techs before they figure they can throw their weight around and manipulate the state. This will avoid plutocracy or oligarchy down the road. It's too late for Korea.

[@anteeko]

@@Birdylockso "China is smart enough to crack down on these big techs" You have to be careful with that. What on the outside can appear like "cracking down on the bad guys" is more than likely in reality just show and sometime even worst like eliminating competition for your "friends". Just like the crackdown on corruption in the recent years in China was never a real crack down on corruption but on the political opposition.

[@Birdylockso]

@@anteeko "Just like the crackdown on corruption in the recent years in China was never a real crackdown on corruption but on the political opposition." Your objection suggests that there is no real corruption in China. Of course you will agree there are plenty of real corruptions. So, pray tell, how would any crackdown on corruption NOT be interpreted as a crackdown on a political opposition? How does a country's crackdown on corruption NOT be labeled by outsiders as simply a tool to crackdown on “political oppositions?” Isn’t this one of those “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” situation?

[@user-mg4yw9yc7l]

@@anteeko Steve re: corruption China Hunt down Ang Yuenyuen. She has few things to say about that, and they speak contrary to that. It's worth the trouble. 从 m

[@anteeko]

@@Birdylockso "How does a country's crackdown on corruption NOT be labeled by outsiders as simply a tool to crackdown on “political oppositions?” Isn’t this one of those “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” situation?"" You will need to have an independent justice system for a start. Hoping for an authoritarian government to "police itself" without an an independent justice system is delusional. And believing an authoritarian system has an independent justice system is delusional.

[@lzh4950]

1 of my university lecturers used Park's impeachment to warn us against skipping his lectures (because apparently the scandal that led to the impeachment was 1st discovered when a undergrad in Korea was wondering how the daughter of Park's friend managed to score 'A' in a module despite skipping some lectures, which should've been impossible there. So there was suspicion of cronyism)

[@TheMrgoodmanners]

It's the same issue with Japan, it's also become a major issue in the US. Most industries in the US are dominated by simply two or three companies. Telecoms, rail, defense etc

[@KuK137]

There being just two or three companies is not the problem. Lack of regulation, oversight, forced competition and taxation is. Having 50 companies will fix nothing, without regulation they will simply just make big cartel and the situation will be just as bad as with two or three companies...

[@TheMrgoodmanners]

@@KuK137 not quite. It's a lack of regulation and oversight that leads to such outcomes. The US case is particularly terrifying given how few of those companies actually pay taxes

[@AureliusLaurentius1099]

The industries you mentioned are natural monopolies overseen by the government or owned by the government. I mean no one is buying 400,000 dollar javelin missiles aside from the US government(as much as I want to)

[@harukrentz435]

@@TheMrgoodmanners its amazing how amazon completely dominated the market. here in indonesia we have many companies competing in the market.

[@Momoko4ever1]

@@KuK137 the scale of those two-three companies exceeds 50 companies. Number is not the problem here, it’s the size and influence

[@andyyang5234]

I don't see that much of a similarity between Taiwan and Korea. Conglomerates that span multiple industries and sectors are relatively rare, with the top companies very focused on their core competencies. I think it's fair to say that Taiwan can recognize that huge corporations are a necessary evil to enhance economies of scale and provide R&D, but not in a way that the companies interfere with politics and regulations. It would be interesting to see what happens when Taiwan decouples with China though. Many Chinese companies that originated from Taiwan didn't really quite care about Taiwan itself in the past couple decades, as Taiwan is no longer their base of operations, and the market is small. But if they're forced out of China and re-headquartered back to Taiwan, there's a chance they'll want more influence (e.g., Foxconn's Kuo's folly in the previous election). That might be what pushes Taiwan more towards what Korea's like.

[@Jus_d_Orage]

Truely great video for understanding my country’s history and current politics! Thanks!

[@PedanticNo1]

I love the way you pronounce Chaebol. It is pleasing to the ears. Joy has been sparked.

[@alcyonecrucis]

Good thing I’m an Asianometer so I can appreciate all the nuances of the world!!

[@aniksamiurrahman6365]

Asianometer? What does that even mean? Asianometry subscriber?

[@dingyipu9372]

@@aniksamiurrahman6365 Asian cultures are more inclusive and diverse.

[@nationalsecurityagency3918]

Well as a Korean, I can confirm that the what he's talking about is real. What I want to say is corruption does exist, but is not as huge as some of you think. Yes, the favorite subject of K-dramas, webtoons, etc is about the hero guy fighting the corrupt society. That is because many people in Korea(including me) feel that this country is corrupt (more than it actually is). History is what makes this mess. Korea's fast growth was possible, because there was corruption between the government and huge companies. Some of the corruption since continues until today. I personally feel that this video is making bold claims. Yes the Jabeol have some power on the politicians, but they cannot "control" the entire society. Most people feel that Korean society is corrupt, angry about it, and want to fix it. I hope Korea progresses towards more clean society than before.

[@user999hui]

agree. Koreans are manipulated to attack, blame, collapse big companies. because it is still in war with communists in the North. They don’t have a hope for taking over S.Korea unless its economy break down from the inside. Because the gap of two is too big now, only after S.Korea lose what it achieved, after becoming the same level to the North, you will think about being unified. Not minding North to take Korea. Because it is considered beautiful fair society. People who continue spreading this propaganda get a big support, money and fame by doing so. It is not specially more corrupted nor unfair. It has been actually giving very equal opportunities than it is in other countries. You didn’t even have to go to expensive law school or study law in college. Anybody who pass the exam could be a lawyer, attorney, or judge. It goes the same in all fields. Unlike US , there was no special charity exceptional for entering college, either. No benefits whoever your parents are, how much you donates to school. Even dictator’s children only went according to their score. Korean big companies also hire people by exams and interviews. We call hiring ‘public hiring’. It is for new graduates. The other way is ‘expetienced hiring’ this is for people who is moving to different companies. Not through recommendations, person to person web like in the West. If you do so, your company will need to shut down. It is only foreign companies hire this way. Interviewers cannot ask what your parents do coz it is taboo topic here. If we see housings, a lot of people live in the apt. If one thing is popular everyone has it. Same with fashion trends. It shows how much Koreans are obsessed in equality in the subconscious level. This is extreme belief in Korean society. Koreans do not admit or respect other people being more talented at some parts, genius, smart, pretty, rich or whatsoever. People believe everyone must be the same. Very stingy with praise, or appreciation. trying to destroy extra ordinary person. There is a case of genius violinist being taken advantage It is considered okay. monarchy is considered retarded, very evil, exploiting human so it is believed to be eliminated. But reality is many countries are still monarchy and they are more peaceful, living well. Koreans equality belief make people to have rage inside. Blame others for your short comings. The social mood encourage people to burst it out. I don’t see difference between Chinese red army breaking cultural heritages saying dynaties only exploited people. all people born different and put in different situations. Everyone has their own concerns and cross over their shoulder. And the universe is cause effect. What has to change is Korean people’s mind, realize there are manipulations and being more matured. Koreans traditional belief is too communistic, and not respecting. This is what it needs to be changed first.

[@redox4088]

You are saying that while the two most recent leaders both failed miserably, one got arrested for bribery and tax fraud and the other got impeached. Not to mention the absurd inequality. I can't think of another developed nation with such stories.

[@branksi9950]

brother, you dont know how they share their wives behind that door, politicians and top rich they dont control each other, they are together,

[@st.lucient4755]

As an outsider, my perspective is to focus more on the monopoly/oligopoly power structure that keeps classism firmly in place. Corruption is inevitable, but classism by the rich and their eternal attempt to keep poor people poor and rich people richer is the main issue. If they are wiling to dial it back a bit and give the "common people" more slice of the pie via increased quality of life, welfare and trickling down better payment/wage, that would be the ideal future. Just, how much are you supposed to sit down and wait till one of them grow a heart big enough for that ?

[@hmmer3471]

What video is saying not allowing others to compete

[@john_doe_not_found]

SK has the same problem as every modern economy. It isn't that the big corporations are too big, it is the environment the government creates to foster new start ups. Leave the big corporations room to run, and focus on how to grow the grass roots industries and small companies. Don't favor the big corporations, just also don't kill them off with over regulation. It is the small and mid cap companies that need assistance. That is where new ideas and new ways of making money are likely to come from.

[@leef6234]

Deregulating the economy is literally what favors big corporations

[@john_doe_not_found]

@@leef6234 Big corporations cannot occupy every niche. Corporations that try to do everything become unprofitable at everything. There are always new disruptors finding cheaper ways to do things. As long as the environment fosters start ups and small scale, the big corporations on top will have to continuously re-invent themselves to not be replaced.

[@ivanalcazar9060]

@@john_doe_not_found Except that’s exactly what’s happening. Did you not watch the video? There’s an extremely complicated network of ownership for the Chaebol and their affiliate companies. So much so that they can’t really tell which companies lose money and make money, thus creating market inefficiencies that cannot be challenged. Do some research on Hyundai for example and look at how many different industries they operate in, the same can be said for LG and Samsung. Big businesses need to be regulated so that they cannot dictate policy to the government and ordinary people. Letting big business run wild is exactly what has created the massive wealth inequality and plutocracy that exists today.

[@timocallaghan4408]

I for one hope that the 'lying down movement' will help to overcome the inequality countries like Korea face. When productive society is based on constant, extreme striving from the first year of school to eventual retirement just to survive, even a somewhat marginal drop in individual productivity across an entire generation can cause quite dramatic shifts in power by exposing facts (Namely, chaebols need employees more than employees need chaebols). The same effect can be seen in Japan's generational abandonment of romantic relationships and marriage, which is now causing record low birthrates and forcing changes in how the country operates, as the traditional motivational levers suddenly become irrelavant.

[@somekid7]

Degrowth (aka "lying down") is a great start, but every worker who participates will quickly realize that centuries of retaliation strategy standards from employers have been set. There's a reason why labor union leaders were targeted and raided recently in the ROK. It goes back as far as the torture and illegal detainment of labor activists under Park Chung Hee and Chun Doo Hwan. It goes back to Jeon Tae-il and his fight for his fellow garment workers. A worker who resists the growth demanded by investors will be hammered down, and the fight between the worker and bosses begins. It happens all over the world. Workers need to be prepared and educate themselves on labor organizing and striking strategies, or else your "lying down" movement will end in unemployment or police brutality.

[@nm364]

Nice video, as a Korean who lived US and Korea I think the biggest problem of Korea is that the 'perception"and the "standard". TBH all the problems stated in the video is nothing different from other countries and it doesn't seems to be any problem in any country. What makes Korean miserable is their perception and high standard of many forms although they live in good society compare th many countries, they would talk shit about everything.

[@CreamTheEverythingFixer]

I honestly lump it in with the wider Asian Tiger Economy. Japan benefitted greatly from its extremely close relationship between corporations and the government, propelling ;its industrial and economic growth from the 1890's all the way to the 1930's. Even after the US forced the Zaibatsu's to break apart limiting the amount of influence they had, they still retained some very close links to the government. Hong Kong literally facilitated businesses into its representative system, as did Singapore to lesser extent. Both made so businesses were almost apart of the functioning administration for the cities. Taiwan and Korea also ensure the questionable close relationships between businesses and governments are maintained as well. You could point to two reasons as to why this is case. 1. Need for rapid economic growth and development. 2. Lack of political and institutional legacy to prevent corruption.

[@terrancemyles3843]

This is basically the price for such rapid industrialization under such a short period of time. Monopolies are pushed and competition discouraged which leads to high economic growth, but a myriad of problems due to intense growing pains and a high backlash.

[@youngmoon8762]

Corruption is a big issue in Korea. But the size is important. Park Geun Hye was fired from the president for receiving a $2,600,000 worth horse for her friend from Samsung and sentenced to 30 years in prison. The CEO of Samsung spent two years in prison. Gifts worth more than $30 for government officials and bureaucrats are illegal, and unlike in the United States, lobbying is illegal. It is also illegal to recommend relatives and acquaintances to HR managers in the company. These are not considered corruption in most other countries. Many people wonder how South Korea can achieve economic growth and social stability despite threats from North Korea, political corruption, and polarization of society. That's because the standards are different.

[@kevinmiller9760]

Park Geun Hye was released from the prison after four years, although she is supposed to be there for 30 years. The CEO of Samsung ? I think you mean Lee Jae-yong ? He was sentenced to prison for 5 years, but it was later changed to 2 years and 6 months, but in fact he was released after approximately 7 months.

[@gottlobfreige1075]

Due to Christianity

[@blue-d4g]

​@@kevinmiller9760the fact that they went to prison in the first place says something. There was corruption involved in their early release yes, but certainly shows that the level is different compared to some countries where they'll never go in the first place.

[@pbc_03]

As a Korean, I can tell you that this is truly shocking. Not really. The days of Kings, Queens and emperors by title are gone but the system of monarchy is live and well. Classism is heavily ingrained in Korean society. Nobles and peasants.

[@Mariajbh2]

The monarchy has nothing to do with that, many European countries have a monarchy (without political power, it is just an ambassador) and they are the most egalitarian and free countries in the world. It is a problem of thought and social development

[@CaptainFordo21]

@@Mariajbh2 you just said that "the monarchy has no power", its exactly why Europe is free and prosperous.

[@Mariajbh2]

@@CaptainFordo21 Asia or America has much less freedom than Europe and does not have a monarchy, the kings have not been worse than the politicians

[@CaptainVKanth]

Despite the high level corruption, I'm actually surprised how their movies/tv series are allowed to show corrupt police/politicians.

[@seoul_9584]

Yea. bcs Korea is not corrupted.

[@soryang8523]

That won't last with Yoon Seok-yeol in power. Critics and political rivals will be prosecuted. South Korea's justice system is corrupt through and through, and Yoon controls it. This is why the chaebol put him in power. He is now the president elect. The lower income people and young people who voted for him are out of their minds. The black list will begin soon.

[@RealCherry8085]

Corrupt but free.

[@albert9772]

Lee Myung Bak's government actually had a media blacklist, which even included the director of Parasite, Bong Joon-ho. Coincidentally, K-pop and K-culture started hitting world stage after the end of Lee Myung Bak's administration.

[@CaptainVKanth]

@@albert9772 yikes.

[@yuchan063]

The elderly poverty rate among Koreans is the highest in the OECD. The current generation of seniors in their 70s or older lost their jobs in their 40s when they had to prepare for retirement through savings due to the economic crisis 30 years ago. This economic crisis is called the IMF in Korea, and these IMF generations are incredibly poor. So, if you go to Korea, you will see a lot of elderly people doing hard work like cleaning toilets, even though they are well past their retirement age. The IMF generation is the saddest generation in Korea, which suffered a war in the 50s, a dictatorship in the 80s, and suffered the most from the economic crisis in the 90s. Therefore, Korea has the highest poverty rate for the elderly in the OECD and the highest suicide rate for the elderly in the world. Moreover, Korea's life expectancy is the third highest in the world after Japan, exacerbating this problem.

[@theideaofevil]

The IMF crisis is a very interesting and important lesson about the nature of the US dominated financial system, and how US Capital will ruthlessly exploit that system for its own gain and destroy any perceived threats to it's dominance.

[@thijmenbaak718]

This was exactly what i was feeling in South Korea. Loved there for over a month and it felt like an absolute capitalist dystopia. Don't get me wrong, I love koreans and Korean culture, I just despise their government and it's capitalist policies

[@mudra5114]

Move to North Korea and check out how it feels.

[@tobiisiba1641]

You will love china.

[@slee2695]

@@tobiisiba1641 lmao..they worship money as a religion

[@genericereal]

Yeah... a month is really not enough to say that you understand the place. I've been in Korea for 8 months now, and I have a very different opinion. In some ways it's worse than what is typically described, but in others it is better than how others describe. But I guess it depends on where you come from. If you come from a country like Thailand or Vietnam, it may seem that way because there's a lot of consumerism, but coming from the US or Europe or Japan, it doesn't seem nearly as bad.

[@kenos911]

@@slee2695 and the lord and savior xi xinping

[@jinsong6940]

There's an issue with Chaebols but they were a result of Koreans realizing a company alone can't compete on the international level without help because Korea is such a small country. So government started promoting one company over another (i.e. death of Daewoo over rise of Hyundai). This was a good move for Korea as a whole. People argue the means because we all want to be equal and fair but a country like Korea would have never even entered the international market without this kind of intervention. Now there are companies who still hold too much influence over the government due to this history of ties with the government but the corruption of these companies are kept better in check than most western countries.

[@juliansmeeth5954]

I'm so glad u made this. In America u will never hear anything bad about South Korea or anything good about North Korea.

[@paz1514]

Because there is nothing good a bout North Korea, its a communist hell hole where women are sold to mainland china as sex slaves (And a lot these women take it as an opportunity to leave said communist hell hole) Imagine being so desperate to leave a communist hell hole that you willingly go into human trafficking.

[@eatcarpet]

"anything good about North Korea." that's because there isn't.

[@Prometeo59]

Very interesting. From an outsider perspective it is hard to grasp the power and size of these friendly chaebols. Would be great to learn more of how they manipulate the Korean economy in their benefit.

[@milk__teee]

I see comments talking about how Korea has ain’t-corruption movements and whatnot recently but, from what I’m wondering is how tf did Koreans elect a fucking cultist as a leader? Or why Korea has so many cults in the first place. Bruh imagine electing a cultist in 2011 or something bruh, that’s recent. Also why is Korean bullying legitimately like the bullying you see in kdramas or Manhwa? I actually thought up until last year that what you see in films or stories were super exaggerated by authors. Apparently not, the rich people in high schools will bully others for being ugly or poor, of course this is in probably more remote areas in Korea which are poorer, probably right? But the fact that bullying is that bad in a 1st world country is insane to me, let alone how Korea has a SAT which basically determines your career. Korea does seem like a cool place to visit but not a place that I would like to get and live for the long term. This is also considering how much less you get paid for doing the same jobs someone in Europe or America would get, not because the severe bullying or cultist trying to reel you in

[@carmenkellum4470]

This shows that no matter what the government try to do there will always be an affect on the people. Corruption is everywhere and in everything. It is true that the rich get richer and the poor gets even poorer.

[@PlimsollHero]

Thats what happens when there is corruption and no regulation of capitalism.

[@myerwerl]

I remember seeing a comment that says you have no chance of succeeding unless you work at one of those companies in korea.

[@erickim828]

As a Korean, I endorse this video. In addition to the video's point of immature 재벌 strata, the 졸부 (aka the "premature, spoiled wealthy") in South Korea pretty much ruined the country. Of course, they use teenagers (K-pop) to manage their global image.

[@JetteSwan]

I thought their biggest kpop export used to regularly criticize the government and society of Korea.

[@erickim828]

@@JetteSwan The first generation k-pop members used to. Now they are in the same strata of 재벌 (e.g. JYP, SM, Big Hit, YG, etc.). Criticism naturally turns into hypocracy when the end result is money and power.

[@JetteSwan]

@@erickim828 Okay yeah “Hot Sauce” is no “Warrior’s Descendent” but neither was Catallena. I wonder if with the new president Bangtan might start being less nice again and we’ll get more songs like “Am I Wrong” again. TBH though I think K-Drama has a much wider influence. I’ve never been to Korea but I have a feeling the guys aren’t all power virgins who can fight off a mob with one hand while only having eyes for one woman. And yet people want to go there to find their own.

[@erickim828]

@@JetteSwan BTS does have a huge fan base, but I'm not sure if the solidarity we see is a mature one or a group of young people with blind faith. I agree with your point about the influence (and reach) Korean drama has on their viewers. The vastness of their various genres would determine the influence itself, but my personal opinion is that dramas are no different from pornography in terms of soliciting fantasy.

[@I_am_somebody_1234]

@@erickim828 agree 100%

[@pixelpotato4874]

It's the same story all over the World,selling state owned enterprises to private corporations, usually telecommunications, electricity,water and roads are often privatized to the detriment of the local citizens.

[@harryzhang3111]

I have done business with the Korean. I always wonder how can their attitude propels Korea to today's economic level. One of my supplier is a marketing guy from a huge Korean company and he set up an one-clerk office in Hong Kong to cheat on his own company. I thought he might be the only bad guy only to be shocked by the fact that all sales people from that company in the region did that.

[@seoul_9584]

Koreans are smart asf. Thats why

[@seoul_9584]

Koreans have the highest IQ in the world.

[@kalimacho1]

Smart asf still got ass kicked by Japanese in the past

[@irvhensalkholm5227]

South Korea is always an aesthetic country. Beautiful on the surface, and on the internal... I leave that to your imagination.

[@Misaka-gt5yj]

So like every city in the world. Go to New York City and San Francisco. It's more blatant.

[@greenrachel769]

you didn't disappoint me. What a magnificent and knowledgeable video

[@p2p104]

Been in Seoul in 2016, I could not get used to living there. Beautiful country but I could not overseen that weird feeling from overall society. People seemed sad.

[@MNkno]

Another good video- thank you! Only one point I would add: before the Japanese colonial state, there existed a Korean state that was also quite corrupt and unequal. But that is, as far as I know, off the public record in English, so not really a fault of your excellent coverage of events since WWII...

[@herbyoon1857]

Meg Nakano...yes because it was a kingdom with royalty and peasants and a merchant class...totally class based. Japan had a 30 year head start and took every advantage of it. So all I'm saying is look at Japanese history and don't state the obvious as if your people and society were somehow not the same.

[@MNkno]

@@herbyoon1857 I HAVE taken a long deep look at Japanese history, and really don't think it was simply that "Japan had a 30-year head start" but was 'somehow' exactly the same. You noted that Korea was "a kingdom with royalty and peasants and a merchant class", but Japan had, after near-constant civil war and social upheaval from around 1465-1605, ending in a short series of military governments that brought all the local warlords and factions under one commander, the Shogun. It was a struggle between multiple parties, a struggle that excluded the royalty/nobility. The class-based system in Japan, unlike Korea, left the royalty/nobility irrelevant and off to one side to write their poetry and engage in intrigues for irrelevant personal advantages. After over 140 years of civil war, the country was unified. The first to get close to unifying the country was killed by his own men. The second, who succeeded, was the Toyotomi shogunate, which launched invasions of Korea in 1591 and 1597, and it seems to me they did it because their shogun was unable to imagine how to rule in peacetime. These campaigns were (I imagine) hated in Korea, and certainly unpopular in Japan (but who argues the top military?) The third military unification and shogunate government was the Tokugawa, founded in 1603/1604, and although it was quite often brutal, it set up a system that ruled more or less peacefully for over 250 years. They did this by turning their military into equally disciplined bureaucrats (with swords for enforcing the rules). The noblity/royalty, with their power to make emotional decisions and historical proven failure to stamp out intrigues, were not in power in Japan. It was a military dictatorship turned bureaucracy, and everyone survived sheerly by making the least emotional, most strategic decisions for the long term. And one thing that WWII did was convince most of the populace that military governments, when they make bad decisions, can make REALLY disastrously bad decisions that damage everyone (almost everyone) involved. The journey of each country to "a good place" is long, and different. I don't think the paths of Korea and Japan were the same. I don't think their cultures are the same - it's closer to being 3 brothers, many similarities but also very different personalities. You can say you like one or the other better, or that in any single point in time one is richer or in more trouble than the others, but in the long term you can't say one is better than the other. They're just different.

[@misterbacon4933]

Very informative for a regular European. Never knew this about the politics of South Korea.

[@davelowe1977]

Corruption only happens when the official system doesn't work for ordinary people.

[@sonicboy678]

As I was watching this video, I couldn't help but think of the US. That's how uncomfortably similar the stories are, even with their key differences.

[@laramurieltzvir80]

Awesome video. Greets from Argentina!

[@theophilusthistler5885]

John, Ive been binging your videos more & more over the past couple months. I love your channel. You are enlightening .e on information I never got to learn on high school economics, history etc and not mentioned generally as even an aside. I think that generally as Australia is kind of part of Asia e.g. trading partners/ job market / real estate etc, though obviously quite seperate in other ways we dont societally give a crap about our regional neighbours at many levels.

[@andro7862]

When you have, instead of a country with corporations, corporations with a country; you're doing something wrong.

[@hoangle2483]

US corporations: " did someone mention my name ?"

[@dutchmilk]

Singapore glance

[@Laotzu.Goldbug]

@@hoangle2483 at the end of the day, despite the whining you may hear on Reddit, American corporations are still subject to the government and have to play ball. That's not to say that they don't have outsize influence, but the fact remains that the public-private exists, while in South Korea it is absent

[@capmidnite]

@@hoangle2483 The US economy is so huge and diversified it can’t really be dominated by a handful of companies like the Korean economy. There ARE regional centers of corporate influence such as the DuPont company in Delaware, or the Ford Motor Company which has been controlled by the Ford family like a chaebol.

[@speedzero7478]

@@hoangle2483 I think this is why so much Korean stuff like "Parasite" feels topical to USA society too.

[@Apudurangdinya]

If you look hard enough, corruption is everywhere, bc wherever and whenever you go, human is human, can't change that

[@johnsmith-by4mg]

Corruption is the subject, so it's exaggerated quite a bit. In fact, the dictators of Korea were very honest, and they built heavy industry infrastructure and highways with loans from overseas, which laid the foundation for transforming from an agricultural country to a heavy industry nation and leaping into an advanced country at the same time, and this policy was successful. Also, Korea's current per capita gdp is about 35,000 USD, which is similar to Italy's, and the Gini coefficient is between 0.2 and 0.3, similar to Western Europe. The poverty rate for the elderly in Korea is a side effect of short-term economic growth, and the insufficiency of the pension system is cited as the cause.

[@Criminelsoyeux]

okay, but when we talk about North Korea, they are bad because they have dictatorship ? its only exaggerated for south korean dictators ? funny

[@oceanheadted]

Excellent presentation and analysis, sadly it seems the mainstream media in the U.K. have given up on this kind of programming in favour of reality TV competitions.

[@willhooke]

Amazing video 👏🏻 I had no idea of these issues facing South Korea 😮

[@armorbearer9702]

The Sewol sinking is truly a tragedy. I always put the blame on the incompetent crew repeatedly telling the passengers to stay put.

[@ara682]

Check out median disposable income taking into purchasing power parity by OECD, Korea has gone from poorest country in the world 70 years ago to being level with Germany and rising. Literally the best economic and development improvement in the world by a landslide. No one is higher on that median-income list with a higher population aside from the U.S. and the U.S. is on the opposite trajectory. Not much of an economic weakness after all.

[@Olivman7]

Yeah, the video makes a lot of grand claims about Korea's wider population not benefitting from the economic growth, but doesn't back them up with numbers. How did the gini coefficient evolve? The child mortality rate? What percentage of the population suffers food insecurity? If those numbers all improved, it's a bit of stretch to claim the the rich "ate" korea.

[@Flyingmachines350]

Excellent analysis! Keep up the good work.

[@aniksamiurrahman6365]

Nothing to do, Mr. Jon. Roman democracy was destroyed by Ambitious military leaders like Caesar. Back then, the military was Rome's main source of power. These days, economy is the ultimate source of power. And our democracy is being dismantled the same say.

[@alexanderchristopher6237]

And how did some of those ambitious military leaders rise? Because of economic domination as well. The major economy of Rome at the time was tied to the land and the dominant players are major landowners that increasingly drove the smaller landowners to ruin, creating an economic, social, and even political problem with divide between optimates and populares. Marius came up with the solution of him using personal funds to reform the Roman legions by recruiting from these people, promising land in newly conquered territories and loot. In turn, it gave the generals political power as they don’t have to listen to the Senate. In turn, there is now a continuous demand for conflict for the legions, which in turn created new military heroes like Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar, winning glories in Asia and Gaul respectively. As such, both the military dominance and the economic dominance were linked to one another in spelling the end of the Roman Republic.

[@vagtsal]

I see many parallels to my own country greece. Here the oligarchs are the big shipowners, the corruption is also bigger and older than the country, and the society has also fallen into conservatism and nihilism.

[@sofyane4428]

People from korea that I have encountered, always come around as tight minded, harsh, stubborn and extremely racist. This documentary helped me in a way to better understand the dark background.

[@raghunomics]

Great little summary. Thank you. Helpful and allows me to see how much our Raghunomics can standardise the common areas of reform required of every country.

[@williamlouie569]

This is how nations in the world operates. Small rich elite groups get to run the nations regardless what you called them capitalism, communism, dictatorship, democratic. ....

[@AA-dq5uo]

Wow your channel has grown!

[@ttgeopol1289]

Capitalists around the world behave the same: "as long as I am fine, I am willing that you suffer in order to maintain the system running"

[@DioTheGreatOne]

Yes, and communists are 100% different. Right?

[@ttgeopol1289]

@@DioTheGreatOne Not a 100% different, but they proposed a different system with the intent of "solving" the problem. Fascist/national socialists by the way also proposed a different system. By 1938, three different systems were in competition.

[@Raccoonsworldsnack]

Actually south korea is not corrupted much, it's even not a problem. Actual problem is comparison culture and social media. People's standard of living is so so high almost 50% of people think their life is doomed even if that life is better than average life of world. There is definitely some ethnic things for this problem but most of the reason come from sns, internet and social media. If a country developed well specifically for digital things, people get nuts. And it's not only the Korea's problem. Revolution is unstoppable and it always has side effect. So one day whole world will go through this problem because of the revolution of social media.

[@sujathaviswanathan7210]

Is there an episode on India too? I’d love that. However, this was very informative and gives me a peek into the success story of South Korea. Great work!

[@mimiwey9014]

This is capitalism working exactly as capitalism does, and it’s happening everywhere

[@paz1514]

Much rather have that then communism

[@ezwan7656]

East asia capitalism is the extreme version of capitalism its feel more like a caste system tbh.

[@huipiomy]

Korea so developed because people Korea one of the most hardworking people .They are not depend on government to survive despise the government so corrupt

[@surferhacker]

Good summary for SK's industrialization history in modern era. Even if I disagree some of your content, it looks to be well summarized in general. Keep up the good work.

[@safi.4537]

The S Korean movies and dramas are on point with what the rich is getting away with, and the poor is literally stomped on: bullying to the point of suicide, (especially on children in school)police corruption, giving the poor guilty and wrong, to apologize to the rich, when it s/b the other way.😢😢. America has it’s issues, but I can’t live in a place like S korea😢

[@AURELIAN-restitutororbis]

massive respect for basically making a college presentation for youtube

[@박승현-n7e]

Tbh, this is actually a very well informative video on the history of S.Korea. Even though Korea is trying to abolish the Chaebol. We can not ignore the past rather we should learn from it to avoid it.

[@bobnoname9159]

While this video does provide some good insights that people should be aware of, overall it"s a tad sensational and a bit dated. Korea's Gini Coefficient which is a measure of income inequality is better than countries such as Canada, US, Australia and Japan and comparable to some European countries. Chaebols also pay far higher taxes than many of their western counterparts sometimes in excess of 3 times as a percentage. While its true corruption continues to be a serious problem in Korea and many other OECD countries, the title "How the Rich Ate South Korea" seems designed as click bait.

[@proxymoxie]

Thank you for reminding me to be depressed about the state of my country again today.

[@wilmeramadoraguilar47]

This is not a Korean problem, corruption is a prerequisite for capitalism

[@kalamay]

Such bs. You say like corruption isn't just as rampant or even essential in left-leaning countries

[@DioTheGreatOne]

​@@kalamay Logic and common sense does not work with leftists, they are incapable of understanding it.

[@SirPumpkinhead]

Thanks so much for creating this video. Extremely informative to understand how corruption has worked in South Korea.

[@manthankohad1837]

This channel deserves billion subscribers

[@xxmrrickxx]

Very enlightened. Understanding the origins of the “national champions” helps make sense of hogwans, obsessive educational achievement and obsessive work culture. As an American with friends and family in Korea I’ve been trying to piece this together.