South Korea is a Cyberpunk Dystopia

In this video essay we discuss South Korea, and it's dependence on Samsung and other Chaebol. Additionally we discuss many other facets of Korean society such as the CSAT/ Suneung Exam.
Sorry the audio is weird, I had to use the youtube editor to crop out some of the copyrighted music I originally used
Follow me on twitter: / quinnhenryyt
Thumbnail photo: / cloudynight_k

[@SofaMuncher]

Exposing your youth to 10-12 hour school days leading directly into compulsory military service feels like a crime against humanity.

[@konstantinkrastev4478]

corporate feudalism is anti human that's the point

[@MUZUKUN-YT]

Lol because it is 😂

[@freezxng_moon]

The study is bullshit yes.. But the compulsory military service is a great thing imo, especially when your neighbor is north korea

[@peterclarke7240]

Sadly, compulsory military service always sounds great on paper, particularly if you're either young enough to not be doing it, or old enough for it to no longer apply, but it has a tendency to both wreck your economy AND create an armed force that simply isn't fit for purpose. There is a reason, after all, why the world's best militaries are professional, not conscription-based.

[@riopark5274]

as a south korean, i am terrified of the military. I am thankful i don't have parents that make me focus on my studies so much, but the fact that i need to go to the army makes me scared. I am working to get out of here as quickly as possible and go to America.

[@kosipisakii]

Amazing how they were able to fit two dystopias in one peninsula

[@md-io4tb]

Underrated! Edit: ... not anymore.

[@kech-agmaio8620]

Underrated!

[@Captain-Sum.Ting-Wong]

Every country has its problems, but they are not at all comparable.

[@kevinfromsales9445]

East Asian countries have been experiments for decades in how to keep control over the human population in both obedience and size reduction with the least resistance possible. The west is just playing catch up.

[@gurriato]

@@Captain-Sum.Ting-Wong Of course. They are both pretty bad, but North Korea is an utopia compared to Worst Korea. North Koreans don't mutilate their children's genitals, for starters.

[@Kitsune-kun663]

I've always found quite remarkable how koreans managed to create a communist AND a capitalist dystopia

[@MUZUKUN-YT]

Practically the most dystopia by far is South Korea. North Korean people are overall happier in their systems because their economy is dictated by the people rather than big banks and corrupt/greedy individuals. Their birth rate is also over the average and more homes are being made not just within pyongyang but in other areas of the country. EDIT: Before you go around replying to me, please read the replies below.

[@Hello-oe7wg]

​@@MUZUKUN-YT you seem to defend north korea to its core, I sympathize with socialism but north korea is not even about communism nor socialism anymore, its just a brutal dynasty with no law or system in place to protect the people from the brutality of the regime.

[@debilman9065]

@@MUZUKUN-YT Well, Should South Koreans get sick of their place, they still have an option to migrate to a more chill country while North Koreans can only migrate to a more chill afterlife

[@ecnalms851]

@@MUZUKUN-YT South Koreans have way more freedom than North Koreans and are richer

[@overlordbrandon]

​@@Hello-oe7wg This, I've been thinking that North Korea is more like a absolutist monarchy more than your average socialist dictator hell hole

[@CanonessEllinor]

Not having kids in this type of society honestly feels like an act of kindness. What loving parent would want their child to live like that?

[@retarded_fat_virgin]

Ты просто евроцентричный универсалист. Если кто-то живёт не так, как принято в европе, если он не безликий "общий человек", то он неправильный, неверный, его надо исправить. При том это не Европа прошлого, великая Европа долга, коллектива - нет. Это ценности Европы настоящего: деградация, жизнь ради себя, самоуничтожение

[@SonoftheFortunate]

They don't know what other societies are like

[@KrikZ32]

@@SonoftheFortunate do you think they don't have access to the internet in south korea?

[@acon2953]

​@yusufshaikh9768 what a dumb saying bro you seem to be from arabic culture right? You assume every human being doesnt eat pork then?? We know how other country society are and we travel abroad humans are humans dont be dumb

[@acon2953]

Im 23 yr old korean man who lived since born here, and yeah i really want to have a child but you are right, i dont want my child to go through this distorted society its hard life

[@nulnoh219]

Neo-Feudalism. Or Corporate Feudalism. These companies controls every facet of an employee's lives. Housing, education, healthcare, etc. The Chaebols are basically medieval feudal families.

[@TheJarric]

so it is in cyberpunk

[@ZETAPLUSA70]

If it's getting more extreme, in one day we might see these big corporations even got their private army and replaces the regular police And your security is determined by are you a subscriber or not and what kind of subscription plan you have, similar to the Trauma Team in 2077

[@shakey3306]

How’s it different in the usa to be fair? You have all those famous billionaires and you think at the expense of what?

[@TheJarric]

@@ZETAPLUSA70 happened all ready strikers vs pinkertons is biggest batle in us soil after civil war and theres been smaller corp wars too

[@forstuffjust7735]

​@@shakey3306even in the US you wont get someone forgive a jailed millionare just because he is too great of an economic asset. In the US billionares still have to be shady, in SK they can afford to do it out in the open, they have that much power

[@ks_ig2728]

It’s amazing how both North and South Korea became the caricatures they portray each other.

[@dulguunjargal1199]

They became perfect examples of Communism and Capitalism at the end of the day

[@huntersuper98]

@@dulguunjargal1199 They truly embody the extremes. SK is still leagues ahead of NK in places that I'd live in but neither are places I'd choose to go there to live there.

[@nepu47]

Becasue "we" as nations are born in the purpose for a proxy war.

[@dulguunjargal1199]

@@huntersuper98 Communism will always stagnate And Capitalism if left unrestricted will always lead to Corporatocracy (And no the only Reason why Communist Countries made new Technology and Weaponry was because Capitalist Countries did before which Threatened the Communist Countries)

[@huntersuper98]

@@dulguunjargal1199 If I were to choose one extreme I'd choose Capitalism over Communism as that at the very least allows for the chance at success and the ability to get yourself out of it. No matter how slim that chance may be a chance is better then none.

[@error-user-not-found]

As a native South Korean, this is an interesting video. I was lucky enough to have parents who weren't obsessed with my school grades, even though my father actually ran a "cram school". I remember him coming home late after his lecture when I was young. I didn't want to, or perhaps wasn't strong enough to compete in the fierce competition and decided to start my own little design business right after high school. I make just enough for me to save up for the future, but I’m generally content with my life. My girlfriend, on the other hand, works for Samsung after graduating from Korea University (one of the top ranked universities in Korea, as the name implies). By most Korean standards, she lives a very desirable life. However, she is stressed at most times, and buys weekly lottery tickets so she can one day quit the job. I believe most Koreans are aware that competition is the source of their misery. They also are too afraid to refuse the competition because they invested too much into it. They desire and earn capital, without knowing what they love, hence rendering what they worked for meaningless. The problems you mentioned in the video are very real, and I agree that it may seem quite dystopian from an outsider view. However, there’s nothing I can do to change the country that I was born into, and I for the most part, love Korea and Koreans. Thus, I refuse to stay in a nihilistic state, and I won’t stop attempting to make South Korea a bit less of a cyberpunk dystopia for people that I care and love.

[@xdumoo]

Help your girlfriend brother

[@mountconquer]

People like you are the hero that we need to better our culture

[@Frosty1979]

She is buying lottery tickets? She is not good in math then.^^

[@mosantw2024]

"They desire and earn capital, without knowing what they love, hence rendering what they worked for meaningless." very well said.

[@marinecomponentvandefensie5351]

just move to the countryside lol, let these greedy moneyhoarders drown in their own money

[@녹두-u5w]

I'm a native of Korea and I'm currently working in the funeral industry. This will also house funerals for people who died by suicide. Unfortunately, most of those who died by suicide are young students or beginners in their early 20s. They must have all been exhausted in the constant competition. I hope this social system in my country will change as soon as possible.

[@Dom-fw7nz]

I would 100% feel hopeless in such a harsh and strict society, it's bad enough in the west being so stuck in the rat race for funding our lives and trying to get by but having such long school hours and then facing straight into mandatory military service and then college and then full-time working for probably 10+ hours daily too. Yeah, life would feel pointless and neverending

[@aoki6332]

its a issue world wide when you look about it people keep complaining about "Woke" ideology not realizing that there not the problem but a result of a bigger issue plaguing our society in a whole Young people are lost we inherit decade of consumerism and neglect of our forefather and while Young people world wide try to find solution the old guard try to shift the blame on them and this is way more apparent in Asian culture where everything is build around respecting your elder Korea is a image of what Uncheck Corporate Power can do unregulated Capitalism will only result in Kleptocracy

[@cyanideOwO]

i lived there for a couple months (grandma was from busan) and i personally witnessed 2 suicides from schools

[@gedgar4502]

My mum's korean and I was thinking of living there one day till I found how fucked things can get

[@clementpoon120]

south korea: end stage capitalism north korea: end stage psuedo communism

[@rand0mati0n]

I remember a Korean student came to our school in the U.K. on secondment when we were 15. He was, by his own description, extremely lazy, and a bad boy. He had a leather jacket, and he had flunked out of his school in Korea. And he was the best mathematician in our entire school - he was out performing the kids tipped to do Maths at Cambridge 3 years ahead of us, and after a few months they let him just pick his own work from his old Korean textbooks. Dude was an absolute beast, and honestly a super chill guy.

[@ashantilematthew6277]

Yeah...that's because they focus on high-level math at young ages in Korea. So even if you stink at it by Korean standards, you'd be amazing compared to most of the west 😅. That being said, a lot of them forget how to do it after high school.

[@allerielinston8516]

Bro literally went “Weakest South Korean Drop out”

[@raynooble217]

We all have that classmate who said they didnt study for the exam and still got A+ for it.

[@clayyytonnn153]

Can we start some sort of a petition to receive more of these interesting stories from @Alexander Martin?

[@manhattanvi]

we had a korean guy too, pretty good at football and seemed effortlessly smart. makes me wonder how shit the british education system is along with other cultural differences that make it so people from other countries are just typically better. Language is a good example

[@hedgehoginasunhat]

I lived there for 5 years as a teacher in both public and private settings. The reality of it is really miserable, I got to know some of my students well in my final year working at an after school academy. These were elementary school kids, most days I was forced to call them for speaking tests after lessons finished. One of them told me he was really tired because he had lessons all day, was going to have dinner quickly and then work on homework before his online English class, which finished after 10 pm. That kid was studying more than 12 hours a day. One time he broke down into tears because he got under 70 on one of the daily tests we do and his father would be "very angry", so I quickly doctored the test and gave him a little pep talk outside to let him know he can always tell me if he feels like he might get in trouble. I told him that his happiness and safety is much, much more important that the little red number on the paper, but of course in SK it seems to be the opposite. I still think about this kid. I think about all of them. A several months after that happened he was back in my class, and I was fighting to hold back tears while they were doing a test. Korean work culture is another hell entirely. He noticed I wasn't too cheerful when he handed in his test, so he put his hand on my shoulder and said "Teacher, it's okay." God, please, if I taught them only one thing, I hope it was compassion.

[@ILaunchNukes]

The solution is Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un

[@zkme2734]

Man thats horrible

[@ool_ongtea3283]

Omg.. that story is really cruel and sad..

[@kevin89298]

@@ILaunchNukes not as good as Pol Pot

[@Hacker_Kamyko]

​@@ILaunchNukes shut your dumb fucking mouth

[@ddd-op5wy]

Their education system is actually really sad when you think about it, even sadder than it appears at first. All studies prove that 8-10 hours of sleep improve memory and cognitive ability by so much that any good student should value those hours way more as sleeping time compared to studying. Not only that, focus diminishes the more it is used, and breaks are mandatory for replenishing it. This means studying long hours straight is inefficient. So not only are the students living in horrible conditions, they're legitimately not even benefiting from it at all.

[@BleedForTheWorld]

It makes me think that they know it's very harmful but this cruel schedule is designed that way in order to instill a sense of rigid order and thereby preserving everything else that comes with it. After all, within capitalism, there exists the "haves" and "have-nots" and this is a strict order of hierarchy. Guess who gets to be part of the "haves" if the ONLY WAY to be like that is to study through a cruel schedule?

[@despecc]

Sleep deprivation and rigid scheduling is good for controlling a population. Don't give them time or energy to think

[@ILaunchNukes]

​@@despecc North Korea doesn't sound so bad after all.

[@tinycindy2977]

They keep their young dumb and exhausted by overloading them with work. Imagine being korean and not exploring european universities instead of slaving away sleeping 3-4 hours a day. You don't even need serious money for that, you just need to know some languages and have courage.

[@arkurts]

it is another form of slavery all the "countrys" have that. if u dont succeed enter there you are very obidient so it is easy. to control you a slave.

[@pads6367]

I'm Mexican, and I made friends with a Korean woman living in my city. I remember she would tell me how she would spend months without even talking to her friends and that it was actually a normal thing to do. That, actually, if you continuously tried to arrange plans with friends they would think you're slacking off and not doing anything productive. As a Latin American, I was just shocked every time she told me that kind of things and it was so alien to me how she would measure everything in terms of productivity, even more than us in the Western hemisphere.

[@temp7350]

Seems like a lie, we get agitated if someone doesn't respond in 1 minute. And Mexico?...a western country? lol.

[@pads6367]

@@temp7350 who is "we"? And yeah, Mexico is on the Western hemisphere. You just gotta open Google maps to know that. Or is your brain not even able to understand how to look at a map?

[@temp7350]

@@pads6367 western countries represent developed nations with a western culture, just as same as how majority of European countries are called "Western" same as Canada and the US. And we call white caucasians "Westerners" and call US/European cultures "Western culture". Mexico is a third world shithole, same as the rest of South America. Do South Americans call themselves as part of the western society? No. Even geographically, would you call Indians as Asians then? No one thinks Indians are same as us Koreans.

[@Hinami2000]

​@@temp7350 most mexicans are schizophrenic to some degree it's how they cope with living in such a dustmen

[@Hinami2000]

​@@pads6367 lamento reconfirmarte que méjico no es parte del oeste😔 ni ningún país de Latinoamérica🤠

[@themostbestwizard]

The "nut rage" thing actually became a national scandal. The woman went to prison and her father appeared in public apologizing for failing as a parent.

[@jr.jackrabbit10]

damn

[@wingdingfontbro]

"Aw nuts"

[@rainbowresorts]

damn thats nuts

[@wickedchild8501]

No offense but this must've been hilarious

[@Solaxe]

@@rainbowresorts very original joke, you've just repeated what someone right above you said

[@intifadayuri]

People tend to forget cyberpunk is a genre about the horrors of necro capitalism and the immoral use of technology. The fancy neon light so characteristic of the genre are supposed to be invasive, uncomfortable to the point there is no longer a space without advertisements

[@viethoangtruong54]

And that is the reality of South Korea. The country is literally a playground between powerful Chaebols to gain control over the country.

[@TheSubso]

@@beamgigachad1846 are you trying to say that it's not a result of capitalism or what is the point? In the classic cyberpunk (Mike Pondsmiths) the governments still exist but are basically slaved to the mega corps of their respective area. Which you know, south Korea.

[@Carl-Johann3]

​@@beamgigachad1846There has never been the end and true form of Communism. In the Communist Manifest there isn't even a Goverment anymore in the final form.

[@eom1682]

@@Carl-Johann3 that sounds like anarchy

[@TheSubso]

​@@beamgigachad1846 You're so strangely incoherent. Nobody in the video or this comment chain imposed the binary of communis/capitalism. Dunno the genre of Cyberpunk probably is misunderstood by you too, or atleast you are missing the point. Also incidentally, big goverment is not "a country going communist". Big goverment isn't antithetical to capitalism or corportism (however you want to name it) either. There are even communist ideals that are wholly without goverment - namely anarcho communism. You use empty platitudes of checks and balances, while the reality is that if there is a systemic problem you fail to adress at all. Also, if you think its purely the implementation of "communism" that made vietname or venezuela the way it is you are a bit naive. IF they are so self destructive why did the outside world feel the need to impose sanctions and induce coups of often time facists dictators? :D Geninue question.

[@ubacow7109]

The original Cyberpunk scene was actually, based on HK Kowloon, the neon lights, chinese text & logos, crowded cities, rain, alleys, & dirty environments. It was Akira that really brought all of it to light which solidified cyberpunk into a hard concept, Japan depicted the ideal cyberpunk society, but Korea might be closer to the social aspects of cyberpunk society.

[@utkarsharyan]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/pX2TpqCmhbWYY5o

[@TheIIIJulianIII]

William Gibson's sprawl trilogy, which arguably had a huge influx on the whole cyberpunk setting, was published before Akira. There you can already find Japan not only for aesthetic reasons, but also in the mega corporations called "Zaibatsu", that basically do exactly whats depicted in the video.

[@Vectrex-pi5ib]

The Movie Blade Runner was released way before Akira (1988) and a few months before Akira (1982).

[@wrcz]

@@TheIIIJulianIII zaibatsu isn't a cyberpunk or Gibson's term though, that's just a normal word used in Japanese

[@jrshaul]

Neuromancer predates Akira by four years.

[@jazzkang6946]

As a native Korean, I can relate to the line from 8:20. If large corporations like Samsung, Hyundai, and LG collapse, our country will collapse. In Korea, the difference between large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises is incomparably large. I see this as one of Korea's many Achilles heels.

[@michaelcoward1902]

i'm amazed SAME's can even exist in this hellscape.

[@Suryoyoyoyo]

Government should divide the companys .

[@섬광탄고양이-l6k]

@@Suryoyoyoyo I'm south korean. If any of Sk's big companies collapse, Sk will collapse as it is.

[@MeowMeow-kn1nr]

If government did that USA would flag that as communist rule ​@Suryoyoyoyo

[@김수영-t8q]

그 아킬레스건은 이미 많은 나라가 가지고 있어요.

[@Jaxymann]

The nature of South Korea could almost be described as a 'boring dystopia', which to me is even worse than the tenets of the trope: in dystopian fiction, the world is often over-the-top depressing and filled of caricatures of cartoonishly evil corporations, politicians and people juxtaposed against a lone or small group of renegades fighting the system - think Blade Runner, Cyberpunk 2077 or Ghost in the Shell. But in Korea, the dystopianism is so baked-in to society that it's just accepted as a way of life: it's noticably undemocratic and dominated by the Chaebols & groups that wield massive influence over society, but it's not *so* overwhelming to the point that it will trigger resistance from the populace.

[@andreaslind6338]

That is even MORE depressing, somehow...

[@TheJarric]

thats actually setting in cybergen same maker as 2020

[@HelloWorld-cq1sq]

I think the primary reason why there's no revolution isn't "it's not bad enough yet." I think the primary reason is that people are ideologically captured and there's no agreed-upon idea of "if had we had this kind of economic system, things would be better." Sure there's some for example communists, but there's no consensus among the population that "economic system X would be much better." I think if tomorrow someone invented an economic system and everyone agreed that would be superior, then resistance in South Korea to the current system would immediately start.

[@dshyon]

I find it funny that us Westerners constantly sit on this high horse when it comes to criticizing Eastern societies. I’ve been in Korea, studied Korean history, and know why they have the work ethic they have. It’s also hypocritical as Westerners to talk about political corruption and corporate influence when our lives are also dominated by consumerist garbage. If anything, the Covid era showed just how incompetent Western government and infrastructure is in regards to things that really matter.

[@user-un5qv3dc9n]

I must say, this culture did not spring up overnight. It's been like this for centuries. East Asia has traditionally had a culture where we select our government officials through a state-run examination. This has been the case for over a thousand years. If people wanted to work at the government, they had to take a test. It was particularly harsh during the kingdom of Joseon(last monarchy of Korea). Hundreds of people from all over the country would gather in Seoul to take the examination, only a handful were selected. It was common for people to study years, I mean like ten, twenty years.

[@hjll9163]

As a Korean, I think the biggest problem of Koreans is comparative culture with others. In Korea, there are many people who get happiness by comparing their situation with others. That's why more and more people find it unfortunate to live an average life at a similar level to others. This naturally affects fertility and suicide rates as well. Motivation to live better than others was the driving force of economic growth in the past, but now it is holding back.

[@panangramgepearanan3974]

The way you worded this is wonderful. I’m not even Korean but your comment made me understand stuff I never understood about Korea so much better than before God bless you and have a good one 🫶🏾❤️🫶🏾

[@bbbenjoo]

This! And it's direct roots in the philosophy of confucianism sprinkled with nationalism is really killing the ability to talk abstract and critical about any topic in my experience. People will feel attacked from the second you question anything. Also what's my opinion worth if I'm clearly younger and a foreigner with no degree. I'm not supposed to have an opinion at all. On the other hand, the part of germany which became democratic at around the same time as south Korea has similar problems. But their narrative is totally different. I would give Korea 30 more years. The influence of the Koreans which had the chance to acquire a much bigger reservoir of cultural finesse and new rhetoric from studying and working abroad or getting into foreign internet culture will take time. Korea is great at exporting culture. It won't be bad to assimilate "the good" parts from other cultures. But this time hopefully not as aggressive as they did with capitalism. From my experience I never saw a country which so quickly can adapt to new realities. 10 years ago feminism was seen by most women I knew in Korea as something they could only identify as radicals but never themselves. Now even my mother in law was confused the last time we visited the grave of her ancestors that there are only the names of the husbands/father's on the text about the history of the family. Heck, my parents in law and most of the family like me, that is enough proof that Koreans are far from being inflexible and couldn't get over judging to feel superior. (I do not even have a bachelor degree but they are fine with it. I love them)

[@97alexk]

@bbbenjo Interesting read! What would you say is S. Koreas confucius aspect in their cultural philosophy?

[@nomdaploom]

The secret to happiness is to be grateful for what you have rather than envious of what you don't.

[@97alexk]

@@nomdaploom Very true! Also i like to add to keep yearning for meaning instead of happiness. Meaning is that which affirms life. And life will always have suffering and obstacles. But the suffering and obstacles can be meaningful.

[@PhoenixRiseinFlame]

You forgot to mention the crippling alcohol abuse a lot of men in Korea suffer from. I remember a Korean colleague telling me that Korea is the largest consumer of alcohol per capita in the world. People get over worked to the point that getting black out drunk every night is the only way to cope. You also forgot to mention the horrific classism present in the country. The wealthy often treat service workers like subhumans. My French friend was dating a Korean barista while I lived in Seoul. She would tell us stories about how people would throw their credit cards at him (which is even more offensive when you understand the culture around passing cards with two hands) and refuse to give him eye contact. Also Seoul is a mega city with more people than the entire country of Australia.

[@DevilsRadvocate]

South Korea is not in the highest alcohol consumers, its not even in the top 10. Greater Seoul, is also slightly bigger than Australia, not just Seoul. Though, your points still stand.

[@PhoenixRiseinFlame]

@@DevilsRadvocate ah you’re right about it not being the top (it’s possible it’s changed since I talked with my colleague). However, some stats show that for male alcohol consumption per capita, South Korea ranks fourth in the world. Also some stats seem to show that SK had the highest amount of alcoholics in the world. Either way, my point is that a large portion of the population use alcohol to cope with their situation.

[@excalibro8365]

The culture about passing cards is only about IDs, or any cards that's representative of someone, so mistreating their card is like mistreating the actual person. Credit card doesn't represent anyone, it's just a payment tool.

[@PhoenixRiseinFlame]

@@excalibro8365 not true, at every place of business you are expected to pass the card with both hands and do a slight bow, and the person receiving the credit card does the same thing. Source: I lived in Korea for a year and everyone I know in the country follows this principle.

[@st.constantinus8140]

한국인들은 술을 마시는 걸 좋아하지만 정말 놀랄만큼 술문화가 저질적인것도 사실입니다

[@someday-beethoven]

As a Korean, thank you for dealing with the problems in Korea. Korean society definitely has a grotesque side to it. And I'm really sick of it. In Korea, they don't teach us how to be happy as a single human being. There's only competition here. Low birth rates and highest suicide rates tell us this. Recently, marriage rates are also going down. Provincial cities disappearing and children are disappearing. Unless something big happens, this will continue. And I hope the problem isn't too tragic. Once again, thank you for your interest in the problem in Korea.

[@kanalbenenner7830]

its crazy that a whole society of grown up humans cant see that they are killing themselfs and their children

[@someday-beethoven]

@@kanalbenenner7830 Yeah. It's like Matrix. (1999)

[@Akrafena]

As another Korean who hasn't been back to the country in 8 years, I agree with your statement, and want change for the nation.

[@ended6819]

​@@kanalbenenner7830its happening so gradually (insidiously) that i doubt even a percent of people on the planet care enough to think or act to restructure society and re-educate everyone to change the worst habits 1 by 1 and actually live a more reasonable and sustainable lifestyle immediately. Some people really might not be on this earth if they didnt have their temperature controlled environments, phones to argue with randoms on the internet and generating waste when over consuming everything in their lives. I think nothing will change if not enforced so we need some radical enforcement of a plan. Or some how the opinion of the masses change rapidly magically. But it's weird, either someone has a doomer perspective or they decide that everything is fine/is going to be fine. Though I think something drastic will definitely be necessary with how unwilling to change humans are. Every day passes with only talk and fake action about caring.

[@notannie4798]

I think there are only two viable options. Either there is a revolution and the whole system is toppled down and rebuilt. Or you increase immigration and make sure people actually integrate into Korean society (which will actually change long term the cultures, values, etc...) by getting rid of your xenophobia/racism, otherwise society will stay the same with the addition of a slave class

[@lupinthethird8674]

As Korean, Can confirm. Due to these problem, people became sensitive, hostile and hateful to each other. Been avoiding korean media for years cuz im sick of these crooked mind of people This video is exactly how i felt during my early 20s and most part is true. I hope Korea can change.

[@ericsohn9133]

It's the nature of internet; people can say whatev they want as long as they are anonymous.

[@SimplyDuker]

A comment above you (also Korean), wants to change SK. Maybe you can help him with that.

[@jrshaul]

In America, Koreans are depicted in news media in a very idealized format - perfect, fit people dressed in expensive clothing. We are sometimes asked "why can't we be more like that?" It is very strange.

[@lupinthethird8674]

@@jrshaul One time Obama said that American education needs to learn from Korean education (something like that, cant remember exactly), at that time i was studying 9 to 10 living miserably. You only see what you want to see, but reality is always quite different. (But also there are good things about S Korea, and journalists usually pick up good topics about Korea for some reason, maybe due to politics.)

[@damianw5861]

I met lots of Korean friends back in early 2000 and they are friendly, happy and fun people, it is sad that many young koreans today turn to toxic hateful person

[@mashucha]

I remember asking why my dad took me to America and got me American citizenship rather then staying in Korea. He said that I would be grateful when I grew up, I certainly am now.

[@prodtyphoon]

damn another korean, throwing away their heritage to the white man

[@l__l2328]

@@prodtyphoon They do gene splicing now? How do you lose your heritage?

[@chloeprice5418]

Thats another dystopia with "less"suffering from schools and work

[@drakoyaboi3344]

Another America hater. Bruh.

[@JerryO1995]

@@chloeprice5418 the suffering comes in a different flavour. The flavour of a quiet white guy snapping.

[@jmaj4521]

Native Korean here, a teeny bit of the research are missing some info or outdated, but for the vast majority this video is on point. Thanks to my father's job our family had the opportunity to live in the States for a couple years when I was in elementary school, and that was one of the happiest periods of my life that i can remember. Neverending competition really wears you out

[@Blqnt1029]

I'm like that too.... I'm full native Korean and I currently live in So Cal. It's been almost 11 years now since I lived in the States, and I agree with you.

[@UnluckyHistorian]

South Korean immigrant in USA. Dawgs, I feel bad for u and Blqnt guy. My parents just called it quits from the beginning and moved over to USA when I was barely in elementary. But the again, the reason why they did that may have to do with the, uh, my "objection" to studying.

[@cpK054L]

Nothing is out of date except the fact that LG is utter trash. If you're really a Lee, which family are you from? My last name is not even from Korea, let alone from Chosun to Shila empire so it surprises people when they realize my family history transcends Korea Korea is collapsing and it's because they followed a bug-like Talmudic cult. even the Presbyterian churches are siphoning the livelihood off the country.

[@cpK054L]

@@Blqnt1029 You're parents F'd up. You only delayed the inevitable.

[@nope6471]

@@UnluckyHistorian I'm glad and the others in this thread are now free

[@CliGe-i9i]

1:45 Additionally, Samsung has a private security company called 에스원(S-1). It's like Arasaka's security team

[@Miraclelnvoker]

i didn't know SK is this hardcore levels of dystopia

[@yunocostas193]

Give it a decade or two​@@Miraclelnvoker

[@enclavesoldier769]

At this rate the Samsung family line is on line to become a dynasty like Arasaka… wait

[@sunviewer7]

ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%97%90%EC%8A%A4%EC%9B%90 holy shit

[@shawnl4477]

Two corrections to make as a Korean 2:25 Most kids in Korea want to be doctors (rather than Samsung employee), cause they're all told that doctors earn a lot of money & have some freedoms in life unlike others. Being a Samsung employee isn't the main goal of most kids, but it's true that we work really hard to get into the prestigious universities and be doctors. 5:59 The birth rate is 0.78 now 😬 It's sad

[@chansu_shin]

Quite accurate

[@growingup15]

Didn't think a birth rate could get so low. Yikes

[@linnen_elm]

bruh- doctor is just like that in every part of the world. so you should exclude it.

[@Enforcedcraft]

Just compare Niger has 59.38 birth rate the highest in the whole world. Compare that to Korea and it looks like people of Korea are damn sterile or not really wanting to have kids( I know I've watched the video and seen documentaries) but damn it's such a massive difference. Heck let's compare another richer country Saudi Arabia. It has 53.34 Birth Rate index per 1000 people. It's just mad how low birthrate in Korea is.

[@darklex5150]

Bruh, it dropped 0.06 in just 3 years?!

[@tacocat835]

as a south korean i truly believe that this video has things very well put. i've spent a part of my youth in USA and when i came back to my home country a few years after, i started noticing these things about our society even as a student i felt that it was immensely unfair and dystopian that students had to put this much effort and time into getting better grades all for them to get unfulfilling jobs and live unhappily under a corrupt government it's honestly impressive how south korea is considered a "developed country" despite having normalized these horrid standards and expectations. i am proud of my country for some parts of its culture, however i cannot say the same for its economic dependency on big companies and traumatic educational system that has rooted itself into our country's educational values. good grief.

[@obelus2426]

Developed in this sense just refers to how industrialized the country is. It doesn't say anything about quality of life or the overall well-being of a nation's people imo

[@bendover7841]

That sounds more like a societal problem than an economic one.

[@hexalby]

@@bendover7841 What's the difference? Society is economy is society.

[@bendover7841]

@@hexalby No.

[@kimmmmm871]

@@bendover7841 True, but it originated from same background. Korean government intentionally sponsored certain region and companies for rapid development causing divide between people, normalizing unhealthy political-business collusion. Government handled conflicts using brutal forces, literally sending military tanks to the oppressed part of the city comitting genocide (+ blaming they were all commies). Older generations have tendency of relating economic growth with republican party's dictatorship. Which makes conversation about basic human right super hard. People think it's better for the government to ignore annoying stuff and give all the support to the big companies then Korea will be great again!

[@meganlouise9007]

They take testing seriously, I did sub-par on mine in America and my parents were like "Well, you didn't fail. Congrats." I'd be dead meat if I was in Korea

[@MrBruh-yb9qi]

There are some subjects where i get a 6 and i celebrate it like scoring a goal

[@jackmiddleton2080]

A solid third of all the students in my high school just leave in the middle of testing because they know they have no future in academia. A lot of them know they can't pay for college.

[@Simoxs7]

I had a middle of the road grade of my final exam here in Germany and now I’m in one of the top universities… its very different around here..

[@eintyp4389]

@@Simoxs7 jup its funny how in germany we have working healthcare taxes and regulations. SK and the US are some Nightmarefule Cyberpunk Dystopias for sure. No Naturaldisasters, Good safe and well paying Jobs with almost no Qualifications, nice Enviroment and Climate, No North Korea at the Boarder etz. Wir haben einfach Glück gehabt als wir geboren wurden.

[@Nanancay]

Girl you'd be dead meat in Asia 😭 they all take education super seriously

[@lorddrac_dontaskmetodance]

South Korea is so corporate, their national flag is the Pepsi logo. 😂

[@avus-kw2f213]

So was north

[@jayasuriyas2604]

😂

[@fmansancity]

As a Korean teenager, the system looks even more gloomy for the younger people. One of the key motivators behind the crazily insane education was that there is a lingering narrative since the 1960s that if you grind yourself in school, you'll be able to just slide right thru college having a good time, maybe do ur military service during this time frame, and boom! you have a nice job, and you are anticipating a husband/wife, two little kids, a nice home in an apartment in Seoul. This was true until the financial crisis(usually referred to as the IMF Crisis) hit Korea in 1997 and Korea's economic growth started stagnating. Koreans in their teens and 20s share a sentiment that they are all fucked for the future. The people in their 20s, they were the generation that saw the financial crisis and its lasting effects when they were very young. They had seen the world crumble down in front of their eyes or the world already crumbled down(ie suddenly having to move to a shittier house, suddenly your parents couldn't get you your birthday present). Although they were drilled in with the standard success story that I mentioned above by their parents and they did grind their time and energy into studying, their other talents ignored ofcourse and the only form of leisure being the occasional time that they spent at PC-Bangs(Internet Cafes, but I like this term better), they realized it was all an illusion after they graduated from highschool. The standard success story was only possible for a majority of the population when the nation was rapidly developing in the 1960s to early 90s. It was now something that was available to the few on the top. Although they put in their best effort, their parents' generation, still living in the illusion that you can live the standard success story, pressures them by asking "why can't you get this done? Why Can't you get a job at samsung and the other jae-bol megacorps, why can't you get into the SKY(3 top unis in SK) Universities." Housing prices having skyrocketed leaves no chance for the ordinary korean college graduate to buy a home in Seoul. Getting married, well first of all you aint got the money, second, do you really want your kids to go thru the same shit you went through? Anyways, many people end up studying for years after college, usually working part-time jobs on the side, studying for exams to get into the megacorp jae-bols, or getting a public service job(This honestly has. fallen out of the trend these days). Or they get a job at a smaller company, believing that they are failures for the rest of their lives(their parents relatives also consider them failures, they most likely wont have the chance to get married or have kids, especially for the dudes). Just as any disintegrating society does, people turn against each other, blaming them for all the problems. In Korea, I swear, you can find a woman on twitter that believes all korean men are rapists and should be eradicated, and a man on dcinside(think of it as the korean version of reddit) who believes that feminism is the cause of all of Korea's societal problems, on the same bus, same school classroom. Although polarization is a problem all across the western world in general, none can compare to that of Korea. Academic craze is getting worse every year. I especially feel this more because I live near Dae-Chi, which some may recognize, the heart of Korea's private education market. There are now these things called 초등의대반(cho-deung-eui-dae-ban 初等醫大班) which is where parents send their elemantary school kids to study highschool level courses so that they can get in to 의대(eui-dae)(medical school in Korean). Now the road to success for my generation are the three under and that's basically it 1. be a kpop idol( if you got the looks of course) 2. be a youtuber, rapper or some kind of trendy job 3. Study your ass off and get into medical school or anything stem Yeah,,,, I guess we're fucked. 아주 빠르게 탈조선 합시다 여러분

[@kaska1123]

Wow. All the k-variety shows just paint the cutest picture of SK.. They actually make it seem like the hyper polarization effect didn’t hit there. But I guess it did. Thanks for your insight!

[@yejiseo3952]

근데 솔직히 다들 이렇게 사니까 뭐가 이상한지 모르겠어요 도대체 다른 나라 학생들은 어떻게 사는거?

[@fmansancity]

@@yejiseo3952 일단 미국(물론 빈부나 지역에 따라 당연히 다를테니 중산층 기준으로 말씀을 드리면)은 운동이나 악기를 하기도 하고, 동아리 활동도 하고(한국처럼 입시를 위한 그런게 아니라) 그러죠. 다른 나라에서도 고등학교는 성인이 되기를 앞둔 정신차리고 성적도 좀 챙기고 뭐해먹고 살지, 대학은 어디를 갈지 생각을 해야하는 시기는 맞지만 한국처럼 공부에만 올인해야하는 그런 시기는 절대 아닙니다.

[@davidjacobs8558]

한국 교육의 근본적인 문제는, 옛날엔 자식새끼 7-8명 낳았으니, 그중에 똑똑한 1-2명만 대학 보내고, 나머지는 나가서 돈이나 벌라고 쭂아냈다. 그런데 지금은 애들 1-2명만 낳으니, 부모들이 지 새끼가 멍청이 바보라도, 어거지로 지잡대 보내고, 지잡대학원 보내고, 그것도 모잘라 유학(이라고 쓰고 어학연수로 읽는다) 까지 보낸다. 그러니 나이는 처먹고, 꼴에 학위는 있으니, 힘든일 궂은일은 할 수 없고, 대기업에선 학위가진 멍청이들 써줄수가 없고. 그게 한국 교육의 근본적 문제다.

[@pinkturtle2016]

Wow living there seems to be extremely depressing

[@kiryuchan137]

It'll never stop being amazing how Koreans managed to create two dystopias on the two ends of the spectrum

[@gabrielalvespereira3750]

One sides you rot with literal starvation and tyranny, a gigantic prison, a literal hellhole. Another just takes your will to live with the most horrible society ever, you rotting away just like the north.

[@midnightsnack1306]

Human nature tends to overcompensate

[@TheDragonRelic]

Stop believing in all the bullshit CIA propaganda you hear about the DPRK. We can live peacefully stop pinning people against eachother

[@quietrio]

Well, thanks to the Great Soviet Union and the almighty United States of America.

[@TheDragonRelic]

@@romanpopcorn nigga don’t be retarded

[@callumhornigold1961]

I loved in South Korea for two years, working at a cram school. I’ve seen 17-year-old boys with grey hair who were suicidal due to the pressure to study. They even have a specialised police force that has to stop cram schools operating after 10pm, otherwise parents would force their kids to continue studying. I had students achieve 98 percent in tests and be absolutely distraught they didn’t get 99 or 100 percent. The issue is, while Korean education has performed highly in global league tables, it often gets pipped at the most by Finland, which couldn’t have a more antithetical schooling system. I’m Finland, studying hours are very short and play is encouraged more. It was sad to see but equally a very interesting experience and had a lot of good points. Their hospitals are far better than the UK, and so is their food, transport and technology. However, I yearned for English history abd old buildings while I was out there.

[@CowwienKanava]

Both Finland and South Korea could learn a thing or two from each other when it comes to education. I live in Finland and recently there have been multiple news articles of how some children entering high school can just barely write and read. Meanwhile some kids have to re-do a year because they are absent too many times even though they perform way better than many others.

[@novastar6112]

@@CowwienKanava "how some children entering high school can just barely write and read" at risk of sounding like an ignorant dumbass, isn't this the case everywhere, and is barely a big deal? news articles exist to get attention, usually via fearmongering after all. unless there is a dedicated data analysis into the situation for both environments, i highly doubt that the article holds water.

[@Real-HumanBeing]

What was "sad to see about it"? Doesn’t Finland score among the best education systems in the world?

[@叵]

asuisin mieluummin sveitsissä tai norjassa

[@Dave_of_Mordor]

@@Real-HumanBeing they do. i think Scandinavian countries consistently score the highest, with Finland being ranked 1 ALMOST every year

[@jongpac2]

I am one of the Korean who recently moved in Canada in my 40s. I think I’ve went through all the competitions that you mentioned in this video. During pandemic, immigrate to Canada with 4of my family. I realized it’s never too late to challenge for your better life, and living in a new world is also tough but grateful opportunity! 🎉

[@free_spirit1]

Good fortune in your new life to you and your family 💪

[@Zonatedjaguar90]

I'm going the opposite way moving from Canada to Korea is it a good move?

[@shiddharthokarmaker47]

@@Zonatedjaguar90 what's wrong with canada ? I am from asia though, just asking from curiosity

[@Zonatedjaguar90]

@shiddharthokarmaker47 There are soem things wrong with Canada, like how the housing market is insanely expensive and Canada has been getting slowly less safe back in 2010 people used to have thier doors unlocked but it's not like that anymore gas prices in Canada are also insanely high. Healthcare is also pretty bad with you having to wait a long time because there is a massive shortage of doctors. Things like Marijuana and crack have been legalized and even assisted suicide. However, there are still many good things about Canada as it is still pretty safe, and I think the weather is good. It is pretty easy to move into Canada compared to other countries if you ever want to move in. I have lived in the United States at one point, and I do think that I preferred my time in Canada. I believe that if you want to move anywhere, you should do your own research about the country and decide yourself if you want to move there. I am moving to South korea because my parents took a job offer from some guys in Saudi Arabia and we are being located in Korea

[@RustieFawn]

You moved from one dystopian nightmare to another. Does anyone actually learn about the country they try to flee to?

[@mikeyangel420]

I've always found the idea of cram schools absolutely insane. You send your kid to a school that's just shy of 12 hours, HALF the day, then send them to an after school to do MORE studying? Imagine having burnout at 13 years old.... Also the saying about 3 hours of sleep is incredibly unhealthy and dangerous. Your brain cannot develope properly without adequate sleep. I feel so sorry for the children that have to undergo such treatment.

[@apexfalllegendarium349]

no shit i would burn my work then the whole fucking room I need sleep fuck you

[@uncomfortabletruths7990]

Ur so dumb to actually believe they dont sleep enough😂😂

[@Royaleisred]

Three hours of sleep a day can cause fatal insomnia where eventually the brain can no longer sleep at all and what happens after that is extremely gruesome. I would rather not go into details of fatal insomnia its something I wouldn't wish on anyone.

[@32BitJunkie]

A lack of sleep has been shown to disrupt learning; you don't retain what you've been taught. I'm wondering what exactly these kids are getting out of 16 hour school days, aside from gray hair at age 17... Their PISA scores are almost tied with Canada and Finland, who are much more lackadaisical to downright lazy about school.

[@mixingcat5213]

yup, that happened to me. I was once a kid who really loved math n stuff but about 14 I was just too exhausted and was unable to proceed further. and you know what? burnout wasn't the worst thing. after realizing I was further behind all the other kids after that rest of 6 months or so, I had to endure 5 more years of stress and now the final test is just 6 months left. I sometimes still wish I didn't had that 6 months of rest...

[@zafron777]

I remember when I first moved from South Korea to USA, I had to study very hard to get all A's in high school because of the language barrier. When the school gave out our grades for the term, I could get straight A's. When a girl sitting next to me saw my grades, she asked 'Wow. Never seen this kind of grades before. Are you getting a car or something for this?' and I remember her face when I told her 'Nope. I am just not getting grounded.'

[@matasa7463]

"Because, bitch, I wana live!"

[@VideoCesar07]

😅That girl definitely sounds like many entitled kids who instead of thinking about the long term benfits for putting in hard work they want a short term reward for a bit of effort. You were a good example that if you are ready and willing to do whatever you have to do to achieve something then you will only have speedbumps, not obstacles or excuses. I guess it does help when you have parents who are always breathing down your neck to be an overachiever.

[@hyunka2756]

@@VideoCesar07 the amount of reaching and assumption done here to convey your love for “overachievers” is astounding, 10/10 performance

[@rahulmehta7476]

@@hyunka2756 I interpreted it as having more of a condescending tone to the person who wrote the comment / "overachievers", as they stated their success to be the result of "parents who are always breathing down your neck".

[@zafron777]

Hey guys cool it. Point i was trying to make was that i was actually getting punished by my parents if i didnt get good grades. It was normal in Korea back then for parents to physically punish their kids for discipline. It often ended with some actual blood. I dont blame my parents because it was normal back then to take some beating. In US, i have seen more of 'carrot' appoach than 'stick'. Just the cultural difference was kinda shocking for me back then. I remember when I was 8, I really wanted to go to neighborhood playground but my parents wanted me to study so i had to stay at home crying and solving math problems during my weekends.

[@hortmadeline6524]

It seems that the strengths and weaknesses of the Koreans I worked with are evident in this video. Every time we collaborated on research activities, I noticed something remarkable about them-they delivered exceptional results at an astonishing speed. However, at the same time, I felt a sense of disappointment as they didn't seem to exhibit as much enthusiasm for the field as individuals from other countries. After our research was done, people would often discuss their research topics at the bar, but Koreans tended to brush it off and didn't seem particularly interested in talking about it. In other words, they were more inclined to participate in work and competition rather than viewing research as an interest or passion.

[@StarboyXL9]

God that makes me want to help the Koreans so bad.

[@aaaaaaaard9586]

It's the exact same pattern how they prepare for exams. Spend enormous amount of effort in a short period time, getting the result is the only goal: no insight, deep thoughts, fundamental understanding, passion or interest. After you get good grade brush it off and move on. This is why most Koreans seriously lack in fields that require creative and critical thinking.

[@aaaaaaaard9586]

​@Guidingstar Yes I vividly remember... in my uni when anyone asks a question that is not about which material will be in the exam, everyone was super annoyed and this guy would be labelled as a selfish werido.

[@denzelb1333]

passion does not pay the bills.

[@aaaaaaaard9586]

​@@denzelb1333 unless you plan to flip burgers for the rest of your life you need one.

[@jayjay-bf5uf]

As a native, total misinformation with children's want-to-be part, nearly nobody wants to be salary man. in elementary, they tend to want to be police officers, judge, doctor, teacher things.. In Korea, doctor would be absolute no.1 wannabe occupation.

[@markaven5249]

Better than our society, in America our kids are saying KZbinr.

[@pandemoniumx5999]

I am a native Korean. One more thing I wanna say is that Korean society is extremely in a hurry, which means if you cannot finish a project or get a certain certificate within 2 days, applicants will complain on this with insanity. This applies to children as well. Parents do not wait for kids to find out what they actually love. They just let them study. Moreoever, Korean parents think that everyone is same even though there's a huge difference in talent for each other. They always brainwash kids like " if you make efforts, you can do anything" However, anomalies can occur everytime. If this happens, they gaslight you in this way: it is because you did not try hard. Shit how can I change Environmental things

[@Soshoyo]

Sounds like disappointment cope.

[@H3art_c10uds]

​@@Soshoyo bro learn how to be more emphatic.

[@Soshoyo]

@@H3art_c10uds Yeah very empathetic of you to assume i can't empathise because i don't enable. If i wasn't empathetic i wouldn't know how to offend people in ways other than reading off slurs and insults from a dictionary.

[@H3art_c10uds]

@@Soshoyo what is going on😃 anyways be like that ig

[@EliteNormie]

@@Soshoyo what are you even saying? you aren't empathetic. being lenient and allowing compassion, and yes sometimes "enabling" mistakes to happen is part of being human and makes you a good person. there's no shame in that

[@05pincat10]

it's really fun to watch a video about the depressing state of my own country, but with a cyberpunk ost playing in the background. let me add a few things: 1. if you ask a korean primary schooler what they want to do when they grow up, they will more likely answer "KZbinr", since youtube has become a major influence to kids' entertainment in korea. BUT if you ask a college student what they want to do they will most likely say to work at Samsung. 2. the "3 hr 4 hr sleep" phrase(Sadang-Orak for short) dates back to 70s (yes, even my parents had heard it when they were students) and isn't well known to students nowadays. but it is still relatable to every students who's studying for Suneung. 3. the planes being grounded is for the listening section of the English exam where students have to answer questions based on the short conversation played on the classroom speaker. you get to hear it twice. 4. fertility rate has gone down to 0.7X mark this year. 5. nowadays korean men mostly serve less than 2 years in military, the shortest being 18 months. but every year there are less and less men to serve in the military, less and less people are volunteering to serve military as their jobs, so there has been discussions about the situation like extending the service days or female conscription. i've taken Suneung, i've served in the military. all i need to do now is to get hired by samsung 😂

[@femto8578]

good luck bro

[@swagmund_freud6669]

They could solve their military problem by having a volunteer army like pretty much every western country. I mean they're a US ally, really I don't see why they need such a large military. And yes I know North Korea is right up there, but NK is a paper Tiger that if they really tried anything they'd be destroyed by the US and SK militaries in less than a month.

[@el10leo]

As an Argentinian living with +100% annual inflation rate, I call myself lucky not to be born in Korea. I'm a fan of Heung-Min Son, good luck to you and I sincerely hope things get better for your country.

[@aitoluxd]

​@ghost mall I appreciate it too. And I appreciate you too

[@Слышьты-ф4ю]

Hm, maybe add the alternative like conscription like in Tsarist Russia, when you take small % from each village and make them serve for decades (so there's still good enough % of population in the army as you take small % any time you want to increase your army, and soldiers get patriotic and experienced over that time). Rioters and smartasses go first. Everyone hopes he wins the lottery, so the more individualist society is, the fewer protests about it would happen. Srsly, great counterpart to the contract army where everyone has to like to serve the country.

[@Allahuakbar420]

i am korean high school student. It is true that the "chaebol" are so deeply involved in the Korean economy that it is virtually impossible to lower their influence at this point. Also, the passion for learning in Korea is too stressful, and most people work like machines after 수능. I am planning to leave Korea as fertility rates drop sharply - which tax is likely to be levied on the young to support the old.

[@afive9727]

Being Bigchungus420 always gives you the with the critical foresight into the future socioeconomic trends of Korea. Smart move.

[@davidjacobs8558]

한국 교육의 근본적인 문제는, 옛날엔 자식새끼 7-8명 낳았으니, 그중에 똑똑한 1-2명만 대학 보내고, 나머지는 나가서 돈이나 벌라고 쭂아냈다. 그런데 지금은 애들 1-2명만 낳으니, 부모들이 지 새끼가 멍청이 바보라도, 어거지로 지잡대 보내고, 지잡대학원 보내고, 그것도 모잘라 유학(이라고 쓰고 어학연수로 읽는다) 까지 보낸다. 그러니 나이는 처먹고, 꼴에 학위는 있으니, 힘든일 궂은일은 할 수 없고, 대기업에선 학위가진 멍청이들 써줄수가 없고. 그게 한국 교육의 근본적 문제다.

[@Demise6969]

​@@afive9727 the most based name I've heard

[@pinkturtle2016]

​@@afive9727 😂

[@callofmetals24]

Nothing wrong with helping the old...

[@chunduck_]

As a student living in Korea, I totally agree with you regarding education. Fortunately, my parents don't force me to study, but when I see others, parents and children are strangely obsessed with studying. I think that's probably because most Koreans have a culture of ignoring engineers.

[@yoimosan]

Engineering as a career? I think another korean pointed out all the excess study comes down to everyone wanting to be a doctor rather than work for companies like samsung.

[@turtleanton6539]

​@@yoimosanyes🎉🎉🎉

[@dydalswl1]

All true. I finished middle school in korea and now living in the states. As a student, life really is horrid. You wake up at 7am to make it to school, and then go to private academy until 10pm. It's basically a prison. Oh not to mention the authoritarianism that is so prevalent that physical punishment in school was not only legal but condoned until the mid-2010s in all schools and private academies. All teachers of different subjects had their "weapon of choice", ranging from plastic rulers to baseball bats. Imagine your parents paying 1000s of dollars a month for your kid to be in a private academy to do the beating for you if your kid is not upholding the insane standards that society forces them into. It's pure madness. The "childhood" I remember from Korea is very brief, which is from when you first start getting memories to the age of 10, when prep for middle school begins. People look down on other professions other than the mentioned corporate jobs as if other professions are not needed for society to function. It really is disgusting and hypocritical. Like all the stereotypical images that pop up in your head when you think of any nation, the bubbly picture korea puts out there is only true for tourism. Living there is choking, hopeless, and depressing.

[@ILaunchNukes]

Glory to Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea doesn't sound so bad. No corporate greed. Everyone just suffers together.

[@chloeprice5418]

Lol as a fan of korean movies i knew it was miserable

[@yuneea]

Part of the reason why I cant stand some Kpop fans romanticising Korea as if it is a paradise, without acknowledging the faults

[@dydalswl1]

@@yuneea yeahh, all cultures have this dark flipside to them I think. Japan is not an anime wonderland, it bears similar problems as Korea. Brazil is not Samba party world, it has unimaginable crime problems. England's image of dandy gentlemen is not so great when you look at housing and drug problems. I guess it's good to cherish the good while not being ignorant to the reality.

[@Jarney_]

I live in australia and had to wake up 7 to go to school, but thats because i live in a rural town

[@MrStephenmindo]

Japan was never a small agricultural country in the 20th century. There industrialisation began in the 19th century and they were powerful enough to defeat Russia then. Japan has always been a major power throughout the 20th century. Just became more powerful economically after WW2.

[@AG26498]

True. Japan's only weakness and the reason it went to war in the first place was lack of resources.

[@pickleparty247]

Japan had to completely rebuild after WW2 which could be what he was referring to

[@bot-h2h]

Japan economics is destroyed after ww2 i think

[@davidjacobs8558]

yes, I was going to write that too.

[@ohyeahyeah6313]

anyone could have beaten russia in the early 20th century as the russian military was poorly equipped and arrogant due to fighting with the weakest power in europe on a regular basis

[@notdpanda9525]

I wouldn't call japan a small agricultural economy at the beginning. Japan was the first non western country to industrialise and very much had an industrial base before and during ww2. Edit - now changed to non.

[@JS-bp7bu]

Yea idk what he was on about at the start, they were miles ahead of the rest of Asia until the 1960s

[@bydloshkolnik]

It was reduced to the rice fields, but due some politics and cold war has risen from the knees. To bad they never intended to play fair. The Japanese Zaibatsu were operating on the supplies which were being stolen from the "colonies" after Americans forced them into submission, the whole Japanese economy had to be rebuild. They tried to rebuild it honestly, but pretty fast reverted to the old ways. Reverse engineering and espionage and price damping. The Japanese products were selling lower than the production cost. The light industry of USA has suffered much from it and was destroyed. All those companies like zenith - the first TVs and remote TVs, Xerox , IBM. But due USA involvement into Korea/Vietnam/Chinese Formosa, Japan needed to be a staunch ally. And there were plenty of problems with such alliance. Japan, had a plenty of various communists and anarchists. Many of which were hunted by the Yakuza hired by the USA. Only in the middle 80s the American corporations managed to twist Reigan's balls to force the Japanese to pay. It led to the destruction of the Japanese light industry. And rise of Japanese cars. The Japanese government used to give almost free loans to the former manufacturing conglomerates to invest into modernisation and more impact on export value, some took the money and invested it properly and it lead to the rise of Toyota and conquest of the west with the Japanese cars, but most took money and invested in the real estate. That's how bubble has been blown.

[@mohammedahmed-ue3eb]

How is Japan western? can you define western please?

[@LegioXXI]

@@mohammedahmed-ue3eb "western" in that era basically means = being an industrial, imperialistic power. Because until the Rise of Japan, only western empires fulfilled that role.

[@iamcortman1]

​@@mohammedahmed-ue3eb It was probably a typo. Most like meant to say "non western"

[@김유신-g9z]

As an one of the korean citizen, I watched this video really impressively. As you said, there are too many social, cultural problem in this country. But most of us already has been used to this dark aspects, so it is not a big problem for us to live with them. So, this video is the most interesting thing I have ever warched in this year. I could realize our society's problem with other country's people's perspective. Thank you for providing such a high quality video like this. 😂

[@supykun]

Busan here. You can omit the 'cyberpunk' in your title and it'd still be accurate. The society here's shaped for people to live cookie-cutter lifestyle that has little space of true innovation. People all think the same here, live the same here and accept their subpar fate here. Anyone who tries to go out of this margin is ruthlessly shamed or attacked without a second thought. They either have no desire or don't know how to really make their own mind. For people like me it's really depressing that for something I find is a better choice they ostracize me and push me out as an outcast- even something as simple as attires, haircuts, preference of food or trivial beliefs.

[@hominhmai5325]

Lmao bugs

[@shakey3306]

Americans liking it out of hate in a constant attempt to convince themselves their country is the best, regarding what you say, the majority of people agree with it, it’s called democracy

[@slee2695]

Lmao then go back to America..diversity is working out great there lmao

[@GTH4121]

So sad to know this. May sanity prevail in the coming days.

[@donghye1004]

thats so crazy! im korean american and didn't even know that was happening over there, that makes me not want to go back for a visit (but ive already bought tickets sooooo...) thats genuinely so freaky and i hate to think about how true that seems to be, especially as ive continued to watch korean tv all the time and everything seems to be sunshine and rainbows...

[@sweetwheatsy]

It says a lot how many of the contemporary award-winning South Korean movies, such as Parasite, portray the huge inequalities and classicism prevalent through the whole society. Incredibly important conversation to be having.

[@djjimmaster8261]

K-dramas too. The Penthouse makes so much more sense to me now

[@cpK054L]

classisms? bruh, they are literally a caste system.

[@eagleye2893]

Hell, Even Squid Game Uses That Premise.

[@ILiekFishes]

@Ruslan > shares unsolicited contrarian opinion > refuses to elaborate > leaves

[@jasongamer8649]

@@ILiekFishes He's right though, Parasite was bad because the characters were absolute sociopaths, degens to the max, yet the movie is trying to make you root for them over the actual normal good people who happened to be well off.

[@moju9413]

As a Korean, I feel the need to correct some misleading information. Firstly, while Samsung is indeed a significant part of our economy, it’s not necessarily the preferred destination for top students. This is because Samsung places a high emphasis on efficiency, pushing their employees hard and even firing them if they’re not performing up to par. As a result, many top students aim for medical school, where there’s no boss to fire them, and the potential earnings are either equal to or slightly higher than those of a Samsung employee. Even when students get accepted to both a non-medical major at Seoul National University and a lower-ranking medical school, the majority opt for the latter. This trend is concerning, as our economy relies heavily on exports, particularly semiconductors. We need engineers, yet our most talented students are gravitating towards medical school, not engineering majors. Secondly, the phrase ‘사당오락‘ which you mention in your video about students’ sleeping habits, is no longer universally applicable. It may have been relevant in the ’80s or ‘90s, but people nowadays are well aware of the minimal human sleep requirements. While there are still students who sacrifice sleep, especially during cramming periods, this is not a common practice. However, it’s true that we engage heavily in cramming schools, many of which run until 8pm, 9pm, or even as late as 12am. This leads to a total study time significantly exceeding that of the average US student. Lastly, Samsung’s reach is broader than what you portrayed in the video. While you only mentioned companies bearing the Samsung name, there are numerous others indirectly linked to it. For instance, CJ (a food and entertainment company) and Shinsegae, which owns E-mart (Korea’s equivalent of Walmart and Costco), department stores (including the world’s largest), and a 50% share of Starbucks Korea, all have roots in Samsung. Also, Hotel Shilla, the hotel where foreign dignitaries stay, and Everland, which is Korea's largest amusement park, are a Samsung offshoot. A fun fact to note is that Samsung’s founder, Lee Byung-chul, initially started the company as a sugar manufacturer. So, Samsung’s impact and influence are far more extensive than what meets the eye.

[@RudyG01]

Sorta adding to this, the SK government allowed the Daewoo group to fall back in 1999, which at the time was the second largest conglomerate in Korea. I don't see why Korea cant adjust or navigate a gradual dismantling or breaking up of the Chaebols. While it will be a painful experience its a better result over the long term.

[@skunkbrains5656]

Bro really said: You're wrong, it's actually even worse, you fool. Damn.

[@dodie-poopsco.6893]

​@@skunkbrains5656 i was waiting for the video to address the subsidiaries of Samsung but it never did lol

[@cumulus1869]

So Samsung is just the Dutch East India company of the modern age except Asian. Got it.

[@user-is3yn7xr4c]

@@cumulus1869 This superficial analysis is so pretentious using English prejudicial perception towards a society that he knows very little about its history and its actual non-western cultural practices. That's why the narrator of this video results to use his biased English prejudicial perception and English cultural terminologies such as dystopia, hostage, slave, corrupt, spoiled, etc. because he can't really get an actual understanding of the cause of post-WW2 south korean societies' current situation using korean perception due to obvious reason he can't comprehend korean because he doesn't speak korean. He also forgot to mention the actual cause of the current south korean society's situation, which is manufactured by imperialistic western businessmen who built transnational trading infrastructures and pro-american institutional policies including American factory-model education system that were established by English imperialistic technocrats in south korea since the end of world war 2. And that those chaebols are still being mandated by imperialistic western technocrats, privately. The English imperialistic technocrats are exploiting the south korean government's power over the collective-national-shaming-cultural unconscious instincts of korean locals, that's why the korean locals are not revolting given the fact that their societal situation is no longer as pristinely functioning as their previous actual korean system they had in the past centuries.

[@cumulus1869]

@@user-is3yn7xr4c I'm not English. Also what the fuck are you blabbering about?

[@drdanyu]

I am extremely grateful that my parents decided to immigrate to Canada from Korea when I was young. (My dad used to work for Samsung) I am not saying that the life in North America is necessarily easier but there seems to be more breathing room and different opportunities to achieve success in this country.

[@homebrandrules]

whats yr opinion about the term kyopo ?

[@davidjacobs8558]

Koreans in USA are the poorest among Asian Americans.

[@drdanyu]

@@homebrandrules it really doesn't bother me at all.

[@danielhong6908]

Bro same I'm also from Korea and came to Canada

[@YumFit1]

It's easier because white people are lazy so it's easier to compete LOL, like much easier getting into Univ Toronto versus SNU or Peking/Tsinghua

[@colebearden95]

I'm an American who has lived in South Korea for the past 2.5 years. I will give some of my opinions that I've gathered while living here. The education system is very insane. You see kids starting those cram schools even in 1st and 2nd grade, and continuing with it until they graduate high school. Once students get into high school, they literally study almost every waking minute for their college entrance exam. This creates super unhappy children, which is why you see high school kids committing suicide regularly. But, it's necessary for kids to remain competitive. Unfortunately, that unhappiness continues on through adulthood. Once graduated from college, Koreans have to endure extreme competition in the job market. Often there will be hundreds of applicants for a single job, which pays barely more than minimum wage. As a result, Koreans don't really make enough money to move out on their own, so they live with their parents well into adulthood. (As you can imagine, this makes dating pretty difficult, further worsening the birth rate.) Even if an adult wants to move out of their parent's house, they will have to shell out huge deposits for an apartment. We're talking a few thousand dollars just to pay the deposit, not even including the rent itself. Having a job itself is quite difficult in Korea, as the hours are long. Recently, the government removed regulations on the number of hours a full-time employee works. So now jobs can have their employees work up to 69 hours per week, if requested to do so. (Though I have not heard of any companies actually taking advantage of this deregulation yet.) After working for years, Koreans are then forced to retire at the age of 65, to make room for the younger people who are desperate for a job. As a result, there are many people forced to retire who do not yet have enough money saved up to live without a job. So, you will see many old people in extreme poverty, digging through trash for cardboard boxes and aluminum cans to take to the recycling center for a little extra money. All of these reasons are why young people in Korea are so unhappy and they feel no reason to settle down and start a family. You see marriage rates fall every year, and the birth rate has completely collapsed. I don't know what the future holds for Korea, but a huge change is in the coming future. Despite all of the negativity I've talked about, Korea is an extremely beautiful country, the people can be very interesting, and I've extremely enjoyed my time here. I plan to stay here for a long time, and I'm looking forward to being a part of how Korea solves its many problems.

[@recon4531]

Have there been any you know, campaigns advocating for people to have more children.

[@trashboat7172]

All of the positives you've listed will be irrelevant once there are no more Koreans. Who's going to appreciate the beauty of the country? Who's going to be interesting?

[@soutakanaka463]

@@recon4531 They use Hyundai work trucks and connect loud speakers to speak into to advocate to have more babies. It's all over major cities and sometimes in the boonies such as Asan. There's campaigns everywhere but Korean culture is warped due to these companies. Asians are known to be submissive and listen, they need to be like americans.

[@woozyz2769]

It's very odd since parents force the educational ideology onto their children but they don't understand that things are different from back then, their parents had great jobs when South Korea first had its economic boom, they tell you get good grades, go to a good university and get a good job, problem is that the Chaebols don't need human labor like they did when Korea first had its insane economic growth, especially now in the 2020s where AI is taking everyones jobs, the big 5 Korean corporations that own Korea simply don't need more workers and the world gets more and more technologically advanced. The best thing the government did was create more holidays which is what Japan did. Both Japan and Korea have aging populations and high suicidal rates and low birth rates, this is the huge price of becoming technologically advanced so quickly, me and the professors call it the 1st world curse, as 3rd world countries have their own curses which is something completely different and irrelevant. There is a huge difference between western high income nations and eastern high income nations. East and South Asia are built on Confucian culture which explains the insane education culture that many of these Asian nations have, the pioneers of Confucian culture are China and India going back all the way to ancient times. If you want to learn more about Confucian culture it's better to do the research yourself. The economic structure of East Asian high income nations more particularly Japan and South Korea are the same as Western countries, these are of course huge corporations that hold the entire economy hostage. For the West, the US for example has Black Rock, Germany has the Rothschild corporation, since Japan still has a royal family then we all know how much they own, South Korea is obviously Samsung. These are all corporations and families worth $Trillions (except for Samsung) China is different because they are a socialist nation, no one person or family can own an insane amount of the country's economy, the government is in full control unlike South Korea who won't even dare to do anything against their Chaebols. In order for there to be economic growth for any country they must take in investments and develop in education and technology, this is literally the basics, problem with majority of the 3rd world is that they have absolute terrible leadership and don't have anyone with intellect. Another reason for poor countries get poorer is because of western imperialism, the more resources you have the more you are a target of huge western corporations. A third reason is that the IMF are a slick bunch, once you take their terrible deals your country is now even more in debt, it's funny cause the west blames China for setting debt traps when they themselves have been trapping 3rd world countries into insane debt. The 4th an final reason is culture, yes culture, East Asia dominates in tech because of as said above 'Confucian culture' their philosophy, ideals and mannerism have greatly influenced their economic growth. Something I realized is that the more technologically advanced a country is then the more introverted their society is, the less technologically advanced a country is the more extroverted they are, tech can be anything, social media, AI, IT, 3rd world countries lack horrendously in tech, it's crazy.

[@recon4531]

@@soutakanaka463 Ah I see, just curious, would you live in Korea?

[@gutspraygore]

Growing up in Korea from the 70's to the mid 90's I watched them go from oxcarts to a technological marvel. At the beginning, it was all about Hyundai and heavy industry. Then later it was clear that technology was key and LG and Samsung rose to power. If anything, regardless of what they are doing, I would say a defining quality of South Korean culture is they are very motivated. My folks are just coming back from a 3 month trip in Korea. They told me, "The Korea you remember is nothing like it is today." I spent most of my life there and haven't been back in decades. I very much want to see it again.

[@cpK054L]

Having been born in South Korea, with parents that basically fled during the 70's... and having gone to Korea later in my life, that country SHAMES me that I even share blood with a country of ABSOLUTE HEDONISM AND DEGENERACY. After that, North Korea, best KOREA.

[@jyj3242]

The Korean society in this video appears to refer to the Korean society of 7 to 10 years ago. Korean people are less interested in Samsung than in the past, their enthusiasm for medical, dental, and law schools is increasing, and they are also aiming to advance into IT companies and public enterprises. Also, Samsung is not the company with the highest salary

[@LucasFernandez-fk8se]

Is that cause Samsung lost to iPhones? Ik they’re the same price but Samsungs make people look poor. Where as iPhones make people look normal (not wealthy just average)

[@SkyfullofStardust]

I had a friend from South Korea. She had such bad anxiety that she couldn't leave her flat anymore. Generally I can confirm what was said in this video. I tried to help her see the damaging things her society made her believe and showed her all the kindness I could, so maybe she could learn to be kind to herself, but I don't know if I ever helped much. It really is a dystopian place. Simply horrible for most people living there.

[@papasscooperiaworker3649]

What happened to your friend? Your comment's in past tense. You don't have to answer. I'm just wondering if your friend's okay.

[@grahamn311]

Nah it's not as bad as the video portrays. There is a lot of beauty and happiness here as well.

[@a_spen]

​@Graham N exactly. The video makes great points but the dramatic sensationalism... most people I know are happy and enjoying life here, including me, I'm sorry for your friend but she isn't exactly a typical person here

[@aaaaaaaard9586]

​@@a_spen People being able to adapt to a horrible environment doesn't make it okay. My teacher in highschool used to say "kids here are having fun and are happy, don't worry" to the parents while we were trapped there 15 hrs a day 6 days a week, no vacation. Even in prison inmates have fun and find small happiness in their life. That doesn't make it any better. Korea has the most depressed teenagers with the highest suicide rate for good reasons, and denying sh*tty reality doesn really help.

[@a_spen]

@@aaaaaaaard9586 well, I'm sorry for your experiences, but again, not something the average person goes through. My life is comparable to my friends in western countries, a bit of academic pressure but not enough to damage health or make me depressed/overwhelmed/burnt out. I'm just saying that it isn't at all horrible for 'most people'. Definetely possibly a higher percentage than most other countries, but nowhere near a majority.

[@Red-ym8ky]

As a Korean, I am impressed by your insight. You know Korea better than Koreans. Samsung is having an overall impact on Korean society. Even eradicating Samsung's corruption could ruin Korean society.

[@jeremybeau8334]

South Korea is becoming infamous for its racism and xenophobia.

[@journey101211]

Dude you got a japanese flag in your propic

[@journey101211]

It doesn’t mean I disagree with you tho, just saying

[@excalibro8365]

@@journey101211 More like USSR or PRC, you know, "Red"

[@Santtalgi_tart]

As a Korean To be Samsung here, the korea could be a developed country. To ruin the society is poverty not a company 😂

[@Rainbow_Taxi_1A]

As a Korean I think that the true root problem is the [1] too narrow and inflexible definition of success in combination with a [2] Confucianist ideal taken to the extreme. 1. Preferred route to success: be a good student, go to SKY or other higher tier schools, work in a big chaebol or at least a big intl corporation, have a family, live, die. Deviations from this are frowned upon. Startups are seen as uncertain, idol-entertainment career is for the beautiful only.... maybe this is why very stable professions are preferred by many youngsters today: teacher and public servant. It's so fast paced, so aggressive that they prefer a lower stress, tranquil career. 2. 'Excessive' Confucianism: No challenging of the status quo and the current authorities. When this happens in companies, innovation is stifflled unless the staff is 'ordered to innovate' which is a non organic form of innovation. Korea may ba innovative in some product categories but they are horribly medieval in their business processes and organizational practices (I've worked for Korean companies 2 times in my career, first in my early career at entry level position and more recently in a managerial one... I've seen it).

[@okman9684]

Pls tell me more about it. I always thought of a city state like Korea, Singapore or the UAE are ideal for development. But recently i'm looking at them through a pragmatic way and found out that these cites may look glorious and advanced but a normal life for a common citizen is hopeless and depressing here.

[@cpp3221]

Can you tell us more ? It's very interesting

[@republicofkoreaball4349]

There is a reason why some Koreans are coming to the U.S...

[@Asphyx12]

@@okman9684 How the heck you even get UAE!? that place is so sky clear in slavery. Singapore still make sense the corruption is moderate and they can produce high skill workforce. But UAE just relies on Oil.

[@Grason20]

​@@Asphyx12 Dubai is in UAE, and they are excellent at hiding things that they don't want people to know (unless you dig in)

[@imperial4106]

I will be honest... You have just given me an idea for a cyberpunk campaign. I'll be actively writing this down for the next few days

[@DaVinc-hi7hd]

which game ?

[@imperial4106]

@@DaVinc-hi7hd Likely 2e Cyberpunk 2020

[@DaVinc-hi7hd]

@@imperial4106 nice, how many minimum players does it require ? Where do you play it ?

[@imperial4106]

@@DaVinc-hi7hd It has yet to come to fruition as I've been busy working on other things- so, for now, it's shelved

[@DaVinc-hi7hd]

@@imperial4106 okayy

[@369tayaholic5]

South Korea is the most stressful country in the world, not even one of. The superficial, high-pressure, class-clear society leaves you breathless and without any existing moment for relax in your life.

[@euminkong]

In Seoul...go to the country side and farm...

[@colakairwin5998]

@@euminkong how's rural life in korea ? Is it more peaceful and less like overdevelloped ?

[@StickyKeys187]

China should've made the Korean peninsula as one of its provinces.

[@Dan251299]

@@StickyKeys187 how is that better

[@StickyKeys187]

@@Dan251299 jilin province is practically an extension of Korea. Look up the yanbian Korean prefecture.

[@alexanderfake2518]

I lived in korea for 4 and a half years and I can confirm, you didn't even mention the strict hierarchy that makes the most toxic work place I've ever experienced with a little pinch of xenophobia

[@JolteonRacer]

Koreans are the most racist out of all the Asian countries, atleast from my experience, in my own country

[@MiGujack3]

It wouldn't be Asia without xenophobia hahaha

[@Dan-sw8tg]

​@Guidingstar lol you're one of the tools who'd ( according to that silly relativist logic) also say " a jail is a jail, so i don't care if I'm locked up in El Salvador or Sweden"?

[@Dan-sw8tg]

Same in Japan where I lived ( I'm European) but as an outsider you have a lot or fun. As long as you don't work with japanese. 😅 I did, for a year, and they were the most horrible people to work with ever

[@ArchSchizo]

@@Tokomi Xenophobia is a wider net than race, and implies less trivial differences. 100% ethnic Han Chinese doesn't mean much in China if you were raised in LA and struggle with Mandarin. One is about nationality (or region) with no bearing on race, you would be wise not to conflate the two. Xenophobia can be a resistance to your country being changed by people who want it to be more like theirs, racism is ignorance alone. Not saying all gatekeeping is good, but there IS a reason you knock on doors before trying the knob.

[@abeurakadabeura]

I live in Korea and damn... I miss the old times. Now I feel like living in a dystopian world. Most Koreans walk on the street watching their phone, sometimes even movies. They are so obsessed by technology, appearence and money. They are so conditionned to follow society's rules and if you think a bit differently, you will quickly become an outcast. I am so glad I am a foreigner there and not a Korean, so I can get the good things that Korea offer, while keeping some distance from the dystopia those Koreans have to go through.

[@johnosullivan-nq2wd]

Seoul-gyeonggi people are mostly like that, fortunately the rural people have kept a little bit more sanity in them 😢

[@bruvtrippin]

You can’t blame them for being obsessed with money tbh. You can no longer be a normal person with normal money and normal house

[@Wabu_227]

i dont think obsession with technology by people isnt just South Korea's problem, its a issue for most developed countries

[@davidsplooge14]

but isn't that like, just you being extra as hell? You really call people watching a movie on their phones while walking a dystopia. You do know that there are shittier things in life than just some people being shallow, which they always have been.

[@Sakosaga]

Not any different from large cities in the west tbh I think living in different cultures some people, not saying you, don't understand that we can be very similar in scale especially progressed nations like south Korea and Japan, but also still keep some of there traditional values unlike in America where it's a free for all and the traditions we have are pretty much negative unless you look at cow boys and even then, that was a very 50/50 time for us.

[@korenot2913]

As a korean, samsung does dominate many korean system, but if you are saying that kids want to be a samsung worker... some does but most of them are not. Im 200% sure that there's many jobs that are much more popular than samsung employee

[@Chopin-Waltz-No.10-In-BMinor]

20세기에 대우가 있었다면 21세기엔 삼성이 있음

[@defenstrator4660]

It’s also because Japan was the other place where Cyberpunk caught on as a genre. Appleseed, Ghost in the Shell, The Bubblegum Crisis, Armotage the Third, Akira, Battle Angel Akita. So it was a huge influence on the genre. But that was then and this is now.

[@Josh_Quillan]

Those you mention and many early things like Blade Runner and William Gibson's Sprawl trilogy are still classics of the genre to this day, and probably always will be the go-to recommendations for most. That means the Japanese imagery (or Japanese-inspired imagery and/or multiculturalism illustrated by neon Kanji in downtown LA or whatever, for those works that aren't Japanese in origin) moulds the imaginations of those getting into Cyberpunk via the well-known works. I've never really been into Korean media, but by contrast as a big general lover of Cyberpunk stuff, I don't know of any Korean Cyberpunk fiction other than maybe a couple of arguable things like Priest or Snowpiercer.

[@ユニティーちゃん]

The Japanese was and is still a cultural powerhouse it has so much soft-power influence over the world.

[@jcanal0221]

​@@ユニティーちゃんThis. This is the reason why seeing modern cyberpunk media portraying japanese influence in the western world doesn't feel out of place, because that influence is still there on our reality, and it is here to stay

[@ellaamariee]

I went to college with a kid from SK. His parents sent him to America for a "better life". He was obsessed with Samsung and school. Always saying he needed to learn more tech info. The things he said his parents would do for him to get perfect grades were insane, and that parents fight to get their kids into prestigious daycares because they think that will affect their kids' future.

[@travishillsthedarkangelbun504]

Prestigious Daycares wtf?

[@awanderingperson708]

@@travishillsthedarkangelbun504 something something good education early makes way for good education later on (idk my mom told me about it once)

[@cpK054L]

Dystopic as hell! most parents can't even afford to send their kids to keep up with "the times" as my wife said, "if you're kids don't go to prestigious 'hakwon' then the society as a whole will judge you" the stupid thing about Koreans is how they see social perceptions, which in America "I don't give a DAMN" yeah, there might be gun restrictions in that country, doesn't stop them from killing each other with kitchen knives and hammers.

[@parkchimmin7913]

@@travishillsthedarkangelbun504 Yeah… some parents can get superstitious about that.

[@Isiauwuehrifi]

@@travishillsthedarkangelbun504 it’s insane I know… low opportunities and high population does that to ya

[@arx3516]

In Italy too we have an exam at the end of high school. But of course it's not nearly as difficult as this one in Korea, it's regarded more as a rite of passage into adulthood, and students often spend the night before getting drunk as pickles with their classmates, because it could be the last time they could spend time together before taking different paths in their lives. This night is an extremely nostalgic memory for many italians.

[@SenpaiBrando]

yeah, our graduation exam is a joke, nothing remotely compared to what koreans have to face, and yes "Notte Prima degli Esame" is a must

[@deeznoots6241]

Both China and Korea have massive multi-hour long exams since they both are derived from the original Chinese Imperial Service Exam.

[@psy8917]

​@Abhijeet Kundu and how does that make you or your country ANY better? "My country more shit than you🤣🤣🤣" dumb comment.

[@jananiram3041]

You also have to study English, Korean, and History. Please don't embarrass India by bragging about JEE. All over Asia, each country's students have a difficult entrance exam.

[@razieluchiha7580]

Yeah, it doesn’t sound that hard. In Romania we have what we call the capacity exam which is Math, Romanian, History or Geography, Biology or Chemistry.

[@absolutelynot7236]

Sounds like a good reason to enforce anti-trust laws.

[@user-is3yn7xr4c]

I agree. It's absolutely a good reason to enforce anti-trust laws toward the imperialistic white technocrats in Korea.S.

[@user-is3yn7xr4c]

@@absolutelynot7236 This superficial analysis is so pretentious using English prejudicial perception towards a society that he knows very little about its history and its actual non-western cultural practices. That's why the narrator of this video results to use his biased English prejudicial perception and English cultural terminologies such as dystopia, hostage, slave, corrupt, spoiled, etc. because he can't really get an actual understanding of the cause of post-WW2 south korean societies' current situation using korean perception due to obvious reason he can't comprehend korean because he doesn't speak korean. He also forgot to mention the actual cause of the current south korean society's situation, which is manufactured by imperialistic western businessmen who built transnational trading infrastructures and pro-american institutional policies including American factory-model education system that were established by English imperialistic technocrats in south korea since the end of world war 2. And that those chaebols are still being mandated by imperialistic western technocrats, privately. The English imperialistic technocrats are exploiting the south korean government's power over the collective-national-shaming-cultural unconscious instincts of korean locals, that's why the korean locals are not revolting given the fact that their societal situation is no longer as pristinely functioning as their previous actual korean system they had in the past centuries.

[@kss8601]

As a korean, the point about Samsung is bit off the point, student will not say they want to work at Samsung. Instead they would probably say that they want to be a doctor

[@rfkck2919]

Actually

[@user-jl5gf5qb1x]

ㄹㅇㅋㅋ

[@wickkid41]

정확하노

[@ellav5387]

It's funny because many Finns predicted that this would happen with Nokia since the telecom sector was growing so fast. With a population 10 times smaller than South Korea, Finland would basically be completely run by a corporation, but it's hard to say how it really would've played out.

[@colt4531]

Curiously both Korea and Finland have eerily similar governments

[@Unlyricallyrics]

@@colt4531 do they? There's not much corruption in Finland, and the policies of Finnish government most of the time are more left-wing than those of Korea. Compare especially hours worked, vacation days and education.

[@iamnotverycreativesorry]

@@colt4531 Finland's education system is FAR more open and less oppressive than South Korea's.

[@Bell_plejdo568p]

@@Unlyricallyrics wdym by left wing

[@gamesgames2018]

Interesting, I didn't know about this although I live in Finland

[@Fatihkilic075]

Amazing breakdown. I did my exchange at Yonsei Unviersity (Underwood College), and I could see how much students fought for getting good grades. What made it worse is that there was a curved grading. That is, some people would also end up with a lower grade even if they were doing really well (but relatively worse).

[@userpmzjah82]

it happens in any top schools in any country.. they only accept hard working and brilliant students.. so ur point?

[@melkor2024]

As an exchange student to Yonsei, you are exposed to the most talented, hard-working, and competitive Koreans in the country. They do not represent the general population and horrible grades at Yonsei will still guarantee you an elite job in Korea in all sectors and a lifetime of respect just how attending. The benefits of that hard work will directly correspond to the quality of life after graduation. I think your portrayal is an exaggeration of some of the negative aspects of the education system as a whole.

[@GalacticNovaOverlord]

​@@melkor2024 Found the government shill lol

[@lawtraf8008]

@@melkor2024 Are you Korean ?

[@melkor2024]

@@lawtraf8008 yes, ethnically, legally, and culturally

[@Al_L.]

I've met a few groups of Korean people, at an individual level they are fairly shy and even outspoken. But when they are in a group they are by far the most ostracizing people I've ever met. I've seen so many foreign students where I teach being given the silent treatment by the entire group that it is kind of mindblowing how mean they are to any outliers.

[@vincenth.8709]

Koreans OMEGALUL. As expected CHINA NAMBA WAN.

[@user-is3yn7xr4c]

Of course they would be mean toward any outliers. What reaction would you expect from the fact that the Military Industrial Complex of the biggest tentacle of the English Empire (USA government) destroyed North Koreans' properties and keep forcing amoral capitalism against the protesting korean locals in 20th century. If you keep ignoring the historical atrocities committed by foreign military forces including the biggest tentacle of the English Empire (USA government) terrorizing Korean properties in 20th century, you will never understand the actual motivation of those Koreans that you'd seen being mean toward imperialistic foreigners.

[@Dante02d12]

@@user-is3yn7xr4c None of that is the people's fault though.

[@user-is3yn7xr4c]

@@Dante02d12 Oh, so it must have been a bunch of Aliens

[@Dante02d12]

@@user-is3yn7xr4c Since you need me to expand on my very obvious point: The US *CURRENT* POPULATION isn't to blame for the US *PAST* GOVERNMENT decisions. Just like whatever Korean militaries do aren't the civilians' fault. It's like I blamed you because someone from your country stole me. Got it now, bird brain?

[@mateostenberg]

As an artist and music nerd the k-pop industry has always been such an abject horror to me. Most get in when they're little, 5-7, and can be forced to spend their entire childhoods exclusively in and around these management companies. Once they get kicked out, as literally *most* do, they have no real world skills whatsoever. Lots of suicides, lawsuits, eating disorders, fucking death from exhaustion etc.. I know this concept of work over life is a prevalent one in Southeast Asian cultures, but it seems South Korea takes it a step further with the infinite internet cafes and Samsung desk jobs. Where in Japan the concept of 'hikikomori' is agreed as disorderly, it seems in Korea this behavior is actively promoted by society.

[@doug2731]

I've lived in South Korea for a decade. Everything spoken here is true. I would add extremely invasive security apps and ubiquitous CCTV to the list of Cyberpunk Dystopian features. Also, as a hagwon teacher it is heartbreaking seeing the effects of sleep deprivation firsthand daily. Students return home as late as 1am and still have homework to finish. Parents and academic institutions grind these kids' enthusiasm for life into absolute dust by their early teens.

[@trieulieuf9]

Wow. Few weeks ago, I see Faker (Korean esport player) advices his younger play to sleep at least 7 hours a day. I live in Vietnam and I think how insignificant is that advice, because I assume everyone already sleeps that much hours anyway.

[@Mr-pn2eh]

Then move out of south Korea

[@이상호-p3c]

@@Mr-pn2ehThen we gotta give up korean citizenship. Dual citizenship is not allowed in Korea unless you were born in foreign country

[@Soleilasens]

Literally every single health influencer in America advises their following to sleep at least a certain amount of hours a day, what are you talking about@@trieulieuf9

[@pandemoniumx5999]

@@C2F2Cl2Bl SK, CJ,Samsung 자 이 셋중에 어디 고를래? 하면 당연히 삼성인데 무슨 ㅋㅋㅋㅋ 다들 삼성 가고싶어서 안달났지~ 못가서 우는건데.. 일단 한국민 대부분이 삼성에 원서라도 넣어본다

[@le_decard]

Well as a South Korean, you should’ve talk about Kakao Corp, not Samasung. Samsung is just a Tech company. So it’s not like koreans can’t live without it. But Kakao is different. Kakao is a damn large group with KakaoBank, KakaoTalk, KakaoMap, KakaoTaxi, KakaoGames, KakaoEntertainment… banking, chatting, transportation, gaming etc..

[@dklius]

capitalist. you all workers of Korea need organize yourselfs. revolt.

[@JustMe-12345]

As a non korean i honestly thought they would mention kakao... bc its huuuge

[@아침구름-w8x]

We can see Kakao everywhere. It seems like... something wrong.

[@redcraft612]

The Samsung Group owns many companies, Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, Samsung Life Insurance, Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center, and more so it isn't just a tech company but more like Kakao.

[@samjung2]

​@@JustMe-12345I envy NASDAQ. Korea is divided into too many subsidiaries and confusing the stock market.

[@bayleaf3977]

I’m a South Korean who was born in and currently lives in the states, and it makes me terribly sad to see my native country’s state. The culture is so beautiful, and runs deep. It hurts me to see a chain of suffering throughout the country. I hope and pray that work can be done to improve all the issues at hand.

[@Indian_gae_boii]

As an indian, i thought us with our 1.4 billion population had a competitive job/ education market but honestly our educational competition and demand pales in comparison to koreas, i simply find it hard to believe that you will HAVE to study 16 hours a day to simply get into universities, i barely studied anything and have gotten into a decent government college A country with a declining population absolutely does not need such a competitive and stressful education system

[@BrothaJeff]

It’s incredibly competitive in Korea. My brother in law worked at Samsung he moved to Canada so his children don’t have to grow up in such a competitive society.

[@sovietunion7643]

for me this video shows why the united states has stayed so powerful despite its problems, its that most everywhere else doesn't work out well for people trying to innovate. china and south asia often have similar problems as korea, with a very shame based society causing these problems. western europe is having several problem in differing countries, with the biggest problem being the over-reach of beurcracy effecting most of the EU. russia we don't even need to talk about with their problems, and south america is having its own internal problems with corruption. the united states really is appealing to all these groups. they have stability and rule of law that russia doesn't, but they also don't have the overly strict society of china or korea, and has a relatively weak beurcracy compared to the EU or china. this is why we see a brain drain in many places as people want to have a good chance at their field in a fair system without also having to slave away

[@sorenjunkers3834]

They are powerful because of oil and war dummy

[@ryanreviews8566]

I would not say competitive, more sadistic.

[@comradekenobi6908]

​@sovietunion7643 let me guess, you're American? When you say powerful, powerful in what way?

[@poopydoopy3313]

@@comradekenobi6908 money , influence, culture, military

[@user-ps8wp7en5f]

I am a South Korean. It's a perfect video to explain South Korea. But military brokers have largely disappeared since the 2010s. And if Koreans study well, it would be their dream to become a doctor, lawyer, or public servant rather than joining Samsung, Hyundai, or LG. Doctors, lawyers, and civil servants make a lot of money, and civil servants are stable for the rest of their lives without the risk of being fired.

[@theechoholic]

WTH happened with your sound at 4:05 ?

[@dieyoung]

And why are you the only one that mentioned it?

[@spindle7397]

@@dieyoung I know no one else mentioned it haha

[@18yearsago88]

Mike broke

[@maestrofeli4259]

oh jesus I was searching this comment, thought it was my headphones but one half of the video it sounds well the other half sounds bad, I was confused😅😅 thank you

[@nottoday3878]

He used Copyright music so had to edit itseems, check the description

[@Sputnikcosmonot]

Japan being a large part of the cyberpunk universe is a consequence of the time when the IP was created when Japan was the second largest economy.

[@karlosdelacruz3803]

I lived in S. Korea for two years and I can confirm that it is indeed a Hyper-Market (unfamiliar with the term, look it up). This Hyper-Market has come at a great cost to it's people. I love living over seas but S. Korea is the only place where I became incredibly depressed. The adults and children are overworked and the stress of it all overflows into binge drinking into the early hours of the morning (for example). Everything looks EXACTLY the same outside of their two major cities. It's mind numbing, it's a Matrix where many feel trapped and some don't even know why they feel that way.

[@Scooby-bf4bp]

And they all look and dress the same.. That makes sense that squidgames was based there

[@SpinningTurtle66]

I think a lot of this might be due to Korea having grown too quickly. Japan’s economy crashed after the bubble burst, and they had a lot longer of a time to adapt to their new westernised way of life, so it’s worrying to imagine what might happen to Korea who had an even more rapid evolution of its economy

[@user-is3yn7xr4c]

@@SpinningTurtle66 What do you mean "grown too quickly"? This superficial analysis is so pretentious using English prejudicial perception towards a society that he knows very little about its history and its actual non-western cultural practices. That's why the narrator of this video results to use his biased English prejudicial perception and English cultural terminologies such as dystopia, hostage, slave, corrupt, spoiled, etc. because he can't really get an actual understanding of the cause of post-WW2 south korean societies' current situation using korean perception due to obvious reason he can't comprehend korean because he doesn't speak korean. He also forgot to mention the actual cause of the current south korean society's situation, which is manufactured by imperialistic western businessmen who built transnational trading infrastructures and pro-american institutional policies including American factory-model education system that were established by English imperialistic technocrats in south korea since the end of world war 2. And that those chaebols are still being mandated by imperialistic western technocrats, privately. The English imperialistic technocrats are exploiting the south korean government's power over the collective-national-shaming-cultural unconscious instincts of korean locals, that's why the korean locals are not revolting given the fact that their societal situation is no longer as pristinely functioning as their previous actual korean system they had in the past centuries. South korea's economic miracle was primarily because of the advance oriental spiritual disciplines rather than the billion of dollars America gave them. Why would American technocrats gave billion of dollars to a non-western country that has sociatal practices so far from western norms? It's because of what the American technocrats saw. And what the American technocrats saw is the korean locals' advance sophisticated oriental spiritual disciplines in producing superior artistic products (in contrast to western counterpart), which gave them enough social competence in following western ideologies.

[@929Finn]

One thing that really stuck out to me in Korea was the elderly poverty. It's such a huge issue there and is really visible yet noone seems to comment on it.

[@maestromgx]

It's just the side effect of their rapid growth. Worker is more replaceable meaning that company would gladly trade younger and eager worker than keeping the old worker despite their experiences. This force old worker to find another way to earn a living for the rest of their live. But due they only "designed" to work in Samsung, they lack skill in other area of life, meaning they are susceptible to fraud or bad business decision, not to mention lots of this "retired" worker ends up pursuing same avenue meaning they compete against each other. To keep things afloat they resort to debt and sooner or later their saving ends up to paid their debt instead for enjoying live.

[@IWantToStayAtYourHouse]

Im in seoul right now. Spotted 10 homeless elderly people on the way home today. Probs not as bad as the US but still alarming

[@Soleilasens]

Make it a 1000 if you're just gonna lie. Korea has afaik 6th or 7th lowest homeless population per capita in the world.@@IWantToStayAtYourHouse

[@IWantToStayAtYourHouse]

I didnt lie lol. There isn't many homeless people in korea but when I see one usually its an elderly man@@Soleilasens

[@SergyMilitaryRankings]

​@@Soleilasensbutthurt south Korean

[@Edo_Luna_]

Here is Brazil, we also have an annual test that helps you scholarship into multiple, most actually, universities. It is divided into two days, five hours each. I simply couldn't possibly imagine spending 9 hours doing said test, seems insane.

[@RotneybotOfficial]

"How do we increase our birth rates?" "Maybe.... not have a strict work environment?" "B-But the GDP!!"

[@TheKain202]

That's not accurate. The people tend to fck around a lot more when shit hits the fan, and i mean REALLY hits the fan, a big war is always followed by a population boom. Disregarding minor skirmishes and bushfire wars, the entire western world has been at peace for almost 80 years. Every western and eastern country stands below replacement rates. It's not a coincidence that it's the african and middle eastern shitholes and India that are exploding in population. The prosperity led to complacency, why bother with reproducing when there's so much more fun shit to do that doesn't involve sinking time into children.

[@ag4640]

Hahaha

[@mikfhan]

Pretty much :D short term thinking is the public traded company mantra. Huge GDP until the population multiplier goes t1ts up. Instead of longterm bringing the multiplier up by sacrificing GDP for the near future. Investors don't like to pay for something far ahead, they want money now, and lots of it. Canary in the gold mine for US and EU soon after.

[@user-is3yn7xr4c]

@@RotneybotOfficial Yes, the GDP is so paramount for the sake of the maintenance of supply of valuable resources necessary for the survival of NATO's international relationship with East Asian countries. This superficial analysis is so pretentious using English prejudicial perception towards a society that he knows very little about its history and its actual non-western cultural practices. That's why the narrator of this video results to use his biased English prejudicial perception and English cultural terminologies such as dystopia, hostage, slave, corrupt, spoiled, etc. because he can't really get an actual understanding of the cause of post-WW2 south korean societies' current situation using korean perception due to obvious reason he can't comprehend korean because he doesn't speak korean. He also forgot to mention the actual cause of the current south korean society's situation, which is manufactured by imperialistic western businessmen who built transnational trading infrastructures and pro-american institutional policies including American factory-model education system that were established by English imperialistic technocrats in south korea since the end of world war 2. And that those chaebols are still being mandated by imperialistic western technocrats, privately. The English imperialistic technocrats are exploiting the south korean government's power over the collective-national-shaming-cultural unconscious instincts of korean locals, that's why the korean locals are not revolting given the fact that their societal situation is no longer as pristinely functioning as their previous actual korean system they had in the past centuries.

[@stevia99]

South Korea feels a little like the United States’ sister country. Bong Joon Ho on Parasite: “I tried to express a sentiment specific to Korean culture, [but] all the responses from different audiences were pretty much the same. Essentially, we all live in the same country, called Capitalism.”

[@GurongE]

Im the exact Korean that u explained about. Sleep less, study hard to pass the CSAT to go to the great Univ. , failed and did it one more year, finally passed so entered an engineering university to join samsung electronics, and now i am serving in the ROK army due to the conscription system. I can't agree about plastic sergery part, but except that, everything you explained are mostly right. Its a dark side of this country and i feel bad too😢

[@user-xg9fj9fe798]

I am a high school student in Korea, and sometimes when I stop studying for a moment and look at society from afar, I feel like I see a society where everything is so extreme.

[@giangra92]

Korean society is absurd nowadays, but with the skill you get there, your knowledge would be very valuable abroad, where you can start a new life.

[@DalazG]

Some things i noticed from working in Korea. 1. Koreans DON'T WANT children and if they do, maybe 1 and 2 max. They prefer puppies. If you asked a Korean "if everything was perfect, how many kids would you want?" You'd struggle to find anyone wanting more than 1 or 2. 2. The age/ financial hierarchy. There's so many levels of hierarchy that communication is often impossible in formal and even informal scenarios. If you're younger than the person you're speaking with, they'll use impolite language but your should use polite language to speak to them. The same if someone earns more than you. It is built into the language. You cannot tell anyone in a higher position that they're wrong or they'd get offended. 3. Koreans follow in a flock so anyone that tries to do anything different is sidelined a an outcast 4. There's an obsession with physical appearance. Little kids as young as 8 start basing their like for people on how beautiful they consider them. Parents will regularly enter their child into plastic surgery for their nose, eyes or anything in between if they consider them ugly. I dont see a lot of it changing any time soon though

[@donghye1004]

i'm korean and i hate how messed up things have become and am genuinely starting to lose hope as to what the future holds. it's so scary and grossly dystopian how things are, especially with the whole beauty standard thing that genuinely freaks me out.

[@DalazG]

@elaine yeah, i do wonder what will happen in the future regarding the song population though. Seems there's going to be a very disproportionate amount of young that'll be left to support the majority older pensioners. The beauty standard might not change though imo that's set for now

[@dmddo7890]

뭔 부모가 자기딸이 못생겼다고 성형시켜 ㅋㅋㅋ 말같지도 않는 소릴하네 몇십년간 한국살면서 들어보지도 못했고 그런경우가 있다하더라도 흔하지 않는 일인데 일상인거마냥 말하시네;;

[@DccAnh]

​@@DalazG bruh the plastic surgery for men in Korea is barely 4%, wdym "Parents will regularly enter their child into plastic surgery" lol ? stop spewing bullsh!t. for woman it's 20%, quite a lot of that's only 1/5 of the female population, they're still the minority. Everything you just said about Korea literally sound like extreme sterotype lol, there's a hierchy system, but that kind of system exist in all of Asia, not just Korea, I know cause my country have those too, young people speak to people older than them with honorifics to show respect, while older just speak normally, it is in no way impolite like you said lol, this stuff is normal, but westerners don't understand cause your kind have no respect, your kind literally speak to your parent the same way you speak to a random dude on the street lol, you have no right to judge anyone about respect.

[@jjo7662]

@@dmddo7890 꼭 영어강사들이 이래요 ㅋㅋㅋㅋ 잠깐 한국에서 일했다고 한국에 대해서 다 아는 척해요 ㅋㅋㅋ

[@jsj3536]

As a south korea teenager I would like to state that video saying korean students get 3hrs of sleep to get into to prestige uni is quite outdated information. If it was like 2012, students did sleep like that, however, nowadays everyone believes sleep is extremely important and many sleep 7-8hours. I mean Im typing this shit at 3:30AM but yeah we do sleep 7-8 hours a day. Edit: the purpose of korean students studying is to migrate out of this miserable country not getting into major corps like samsung

[@KoPianoBeautiful]

if YOUR purpose is to study to migrate out of your miserable country, then you are clearly living a miserable life. hope you get out of Korea so your problems can be fixed as soon as you migrate!

[@heathenspider]

can u tell me why u don't like ur country. im curious

[@mhmlesbian]

@@heathenspider dystopian capitalist reasons prob

[@nbshftr]

​@@heathenspider nobody should like their country. no place is safe from evil rn

[@BrotherPark-sx3ok]

I'm a son of Korean immigrants and my mom would always tell me how hellish Korea was, I'm getting goosebumps at how it hit all her points and more...

[@dirtysnow6662]

I'm also the son of a Korean immigrant mother, she lived in poverty during the late 60s early 70s, the stories she tells stick with you after only hearing it once.

[@FreshNFitBoys]

It's still hell, both North & South. There's a reason why 7 million Koreans still live overseas.

[@ctrl_x1770]

That's not a very good point of reference. While your mother was still in Korea, the country was in a state of per-industrialization poverty. Improvement or not, South Korea has changed massively over the past few decades. It would be incorrect to assess a country based on outdated information.

[@icrushchildrensdreams4556]

@@ctrl_x1770 most people are quick to make large assumptions and decisions based off emotions "gut feelings" rather than actually thinking about it. OP is likely a child [along with a good 90% of the viewers here] and wont hesitate to join the groupthink and vent on a country they've been given rather skewed information on.

[@pipsapossu1699]

I pity the kid with no legs from iraq. Not south koreans for their harsh school.

[@hudinski975]

I can't get over how Samsung is the exact equivalent to Cyberpunk 2077's Arasaka

[@칠복이-b1n]

Totally agree with the title. I am a person living in Korea. Looking at the smartphone market right now, Apple and Samsung are the only smartphones that consumers can purchase at a nearby Korean Walmart. This problem has become more serious after LG exited the smartphone business. Even speaking additionally about the universities mentioned in the video, it has become more serious as of 2023, and even 10 years ago, the three major so-called S.K.Y universities (Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University) were the most highly rated universities, but a kind of private education Because of inflation, 10-year-olds in 2023 get off the yellow bus as if they were entering a concentration camp to "become a doctor." Children who are forced into their heads with stuff they should have learned only in their late teens at such great expense will grow up to become doctors in “the lucrative field.” Of course, 90 percent of them will fail. This problem is a prominent problem even now, and there are many aspiring doctors in plastic surgery, etc., but if you go down a little to the countryside and look for internal medicine at a hospital, there are many newly purchased dialysis machines, but there is not a single internal surgeon. You can see people who have to drive to the big hospital in the next city because they can't afford it. This can be a very serious problem, especially for the elderly who suffer from fatal complications such as diabetes at an older age. Compared to China and Japan, it is a very serious problem, considering that it is the country where the aging society will come the fastest. It is inevitable for Korean parents to pay several million won per month for education expenses per child. It's getting worse, but for the current generation in their 20s and 30s who have seen parents complaining about financial problems right next to them, marriage and childbirth are inevitable. They live in an era where spending is too much, and they are a poor generation who live through a very long struggle even with a 200,000 won air fryer. But again, in order to grow up as a “human” in South Korea, you must receive private education, which costs a lot of money per month, and those who can't even do that are just consumed as livestock to fill the population. The funny thing is that it is very difficult to get a job, despite entering society at the age of mid to late 20s, spending a lot of money for such a long period of time (in the case of men, they have to go to the military). Even the laws of the Republic of Korea usually enact and still follow the laws of the white list system (only regulated, all regulated are prohibited). That's why, no matter what new startups appear in Korea, most of them suddenly disappear one day, or you can find that the company has moved to the US or Europe. This problem is again linked to the “monopoly of large corporations” problem at the top. It's a very tough environment for something new to grow, and even if it's possible, there are a lot of limitations. In addition, all kinds of peculiar laws unique to Korea (typically, the financial law) and the government, which has no interest in anything new, are interfering with the connection with overseas markets and the expansion of the market. What is certain is that Korea's fertility rate declined rapidly at some point, eventually recording a lower birth rate than that of Japan, which is famous for its low fertility rate. also exist. And behind that, the problem of market freedom, the private education culture that can't be eliminated due to rapid growth, and the incompetent government that has no will to improve and ignores what it doesn't know unconditionally. What's even funny is that it doesn't work anymore to just rule out what you don't know. Drugs began to enter Korea through a new route that was previously unknown, and even 10 years ago, no, even 5 years ago, news related to drugs was such a big problem that it appeared on the front page of the newspaper. But now, I don't know what route the 19-year-old took, but I'm hearing news that the incident occurred after obtaining drugs. A few months ago, someone sold drug-laden drinks as a tasting event on the street where students often gather, and private education institutes are crowded. There was even a case of threatening someone by saying, “Give me your money.” Anyway, that's a long story, but the point is that the current situation in South Korea is quite unstable compared to 10 years ago. Large corporations are shaking the government and the people, and in some “very frequently used” fields, it is already entrenched to the point that products of certain large corporations cannot be obtained, and foreign companies or new startups that can improve this situation are subject to all kinds of laws. And the road is blocked by regulations, and the government is not even taking the posture to improve this, and without even thinking about analyzing the problem, it only shows a rough conclusion with the peculiarities found in the new generation in their 20s and 30s in the 2020s there is. As a bonus, all of the problems mentioned above combine to reduce fertility rates, and even the youngest children who remain are becoming doctors "to make more money." We are only supporting fields where “you can make better money”. Even among students majoring in computer science, there are people who aspire to become doctors “to make more money.” It's not that I aspire to be a doctor "because I want to save people."

[@SQERDOMOONLIGHT]

Korea will need to deregulate their markets, break up the monopoly of the big 4 or the black markets will take over the country. So ironic with their neighbours being communist dictatorship..

[@MiGujack3]

To be fair, few people nowadays become doctors because they want save lives. I know a doctor (now a neurosurgeon!) who simply went "meh this pays ok" and went through all the studying. Once you are in your teens you start to realize it's all about money and not pursuing dreams. However, I do agree SK takes this type of thinking to a whole different level.

[@dommmmmmmelton]

I ain't reading all that

[@칠복이-b1n]

@@dommmmmmmelton you don't need to. i don't even remember what i have wrote, because in korea, when I wrote them, it was 3am, and i was totally doing both, sleeping and writing.

[@dommmmmmmelton]

@@칠복이-b1n haha

[@pilotmanpaul]

Makes me happy I live in a 3rd world country. Even though the Philippines is poor, people are happy. The youth wants to get married and have kids, we greet each other and bow to each other and live comfy lives and the birthrate is still in the green. It might not be perfect, but not much is expected of us.(Might by why were 3rd world) I can stop College now and make my way to a Middle class job as long as I know where to go which is many places.

[@JohnLee-db9zt]

So why so many Filipinos idolize Kpop, Kdrama, k-movies, etc? And do so many visit Korea?😂

[@wanr5701]

​@@JohnLee-db9zt idolising kpop, watching kdrama and kmovies, wanting to visit Korea, does not necessarily mean they want to live there nor want their own country be like one. I am a fan of American music and entertainment, and wants to visit America someday. But I don't want my country to be like America. I also a big fan of Jpop, Jdrama, Jmovies, and tokusatsu, and would love to visit Japan, but that does not mean I want my country to be like Japan. A great place to visit does not mean it is a great place to live nor work. DON'T GET CONFUSED, DON'T GET TWISTED. Someone becoming your fan doesn't necessarily mean they want to be like you.

[@jillthompson6110]

why are there so many Filipinos want to get out of their country, and so many working in other countries, slaving away for little wages to send back to Philippines?

[@slee2695]

@@wanr5701 literally they stand in line trying to get a visa for Korea and have marriage brokers to try to get a Korean visa The women were throwing themselves at me when i lived in Philippines

[@wheresmyeyebrow1608]

Eh it depends South Korea is still way above most of Asia in terms of general HDI - people wouldn't be wanting to move there in droves if it were the oppossite.

[@Mr.JeffreyEchala]

Damn. I genuinely feel sad for the youth in South Korea. I thought that the school system here in the Philippines was broken, now I am reconsidering my judgement.

[@lordhoboofsavior36]

Maybe school system in your country is broken (i dunno about it), but that doesn't stop from other country having a more broken school system.

[@corrumpi85]

​@@lordhoboofsavior36It's not broken, it's working as intended. (More uneducated worker drones for manual labour in here, or have our high english fluency be utilized for call center jobs)

[@peelysl]

@@corrumpi85 Korean students are much more intelligent and knowledgeable than Fillipino students.

[@omhh1986]

These Koreans deserve it haha 😂

[@PrideDefiler]

Trust me, you are still better off being born in Korea than in Philippines based on statistics. Korea is much better functional nation than the Philippines. I am a Brit born in UK, lived in Korea for about 10 years and now live in AU, just in case you take this comment as if I am a Korean.

[@카야-n5j]

As a Korean, Koreans favor those four companies because despite numerous controversies and scandals, they are valued much higher capitalically and morally than other small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups. Koreans tend to be very capitalist, so they prefer places with good capital trust. And the reason why they compete and work hard is that ironically, only when they have a lot of capital can they get out of competition and hard work.

[@alanstargalaxy6516]

Buenas Relaciones publicas

[@venuskyia]

I grew up in Korea until I was around 7 before moving to the west for a better more relaxed education. Even from primary school we were pushed hard, told that everything comes to you by trying. If you failed, it was because you didn't try hard enough. I have a friend who has just started high school. She does tutoring till 12 am, goes home and studies till 3 am, and wakes up at 6. My mother who scored a perfect score in the suneung and got into the top university to study veterinary science told me she didn't want me to live the life she did because she never enjoyed her youthful years and was propelled straight into a cycle of work and hardship

[@all_is_one]

big lol from a german at 1a.m.

[@훈이-g6e]

오전 12시까지 과외하고 새벽 3시까지 보통 공부하지 않나?

[@robertbranscum6883]

the idea of only sleeping 3 hours a day is dumb as fuck. No way that happens you would not retain shit. the people sleeping 6 hours a day would crush the ones sleeping 3. They would acctually retain what they study. cramming for 1-2 nights before a test but it will be all gone in a week. that why you only cram just before a test.

[@daniphrog]

This is so crazy to me and such videos make me appreciate my homeland more and more. Our economy is not the best and many people dream of immigrating to more developed countries, but when you learn more about those it gets clear that powerful economy is not necessarily a promise of a better life Also surprised to find out it’s the first video on your channel, looking forward to more content like this!

[@WhistleAndSnap]

Where do you live, if I may ask?

[@ItIsTheLordWhoKeepsme]

Where you from? South America?

[@mad_scientist5597]

I think I feel the same way. One of my friends keeps talking about how the economy is not so good here and if you want to make money, you need to go elsewhere and it's not just him who says it. I don't work yet and I'm too young to say anyway, so I don't know what constitutes the best place to live. But my feeling is not that of a need to go somewhere with better economy. I live in the Czech Republic but I have a feeling the country OP is from is less developed.

[@Deid]

you have more opportunities in bigger countries but the cold reality is that all countries suck in some way. even the ones with the best economies and nicer general living conditions are horrible in other ways. there is no place in the world to escape to for a guarantee of a better life

[@casscass304]

what is your home country

[@samplum4150]

I work in a Korean kindergarten, some of the kids keep studying even until 10pm. A normal day goes like this: 9am - 3pm school 3pm - 5pm after-school studying 5pm - 7pm swimming 7pm - 8pm homework 8pm - 10pm extra studying 1 hour of fun then sleep. Repeat 5 days a week and on weekends they are busy travelling places, doing extra curricular like maths or taekwondo and Monday comes around before these literal 6 year olds can rest.

[@tomface55]

The swimming part (or anything athletic) is actually fantastic. But, school after school... Not so much.

[@tc3884]

6 year olds doing more work for preschool then me studying at a university. Damn.

[@Agent-ie3uv]

@@tc3884 probably you enrolled on fake university 🤣

[@jaredjx]

Genuinely terrifying and sad

[@aiiiia9971]

Poor little ones. No time to play

[@user-ko8xo8lc3u]

South Korea is a cyberpunk dystopia if you mean monopolized by giant corporations. Koreans often refer to themselves as the Samsung Republic, but I think cyberpunk symbolizes a future gone wrong due to the misuse of technological culture, so it's not really cyberpunk, it's just a country with a lot of problems. Still, it's an interesting perspective. As much as Japan used to be referenced in videogames and movies from a mysterious, cyberpunk perspective, I get the feeling that Korea is replacing that appearance these days. Sure, it doesn't give us as much color as Japan, but I like that feeling.

[@17Trees33]

as a korean, no koreans refer to Korea as samsung republic haha, and as much as this video tricks you into thinking not everybody here is depressed and wants to work at Samsung

[@앤토-m8u]

@@17Trees33 삼성 공화국 맞지 삼성 무너지면 한국도 망하는데 ㅋㅋ

[@transcendentalaesthetic]

I lived in South Korea and taught English as a second language. My apartment building was owned by Samsung (a nearby complex was owned by LG). My washer/dryer was made by Samsung. The elevator that I used to get to the floor of my Hagwang (English cram school) was made by Samsung. Some of the Korean teachers at the school were leasing cars made by Samsung. And I lived in Chil-Gok, a massive “suburb” of Daegu which is the city which hosts the Samsung Lions baseball team.

[@LeBronyaJames]

South Korea should just be renamed as Samsung Republic

[@OjingeoChaemuchim]

Samsung and other construction companies build apartments but they sells it right after they finish. Also, Samsung does not manufacture cars. Samsung Automobiles exists until 2000, then sold to Renault. Also you may have used some products by SSG and CJ. They are the companies run by same families as Samsung.

[@OoO-m1m9g]

NOTICE: This is based on my highschool life and kids around me. This may not be true for every single kids in korea, but I am pretty sure that still a lot of kids live their life like this I want to talk about a little bit more about the video as a Korean. I am a 11th grade Highschooler in korea, so I will talk about Education and Students dream occupations. First, every kids goal is not going into Samsung, Hyundae, LG, SK. Majority of the students, especially kids with super high grades, set their goals to become a Doctor or a Lawer. Second, Not every korean students spend like 12 hours day. This is only for Highschoolers (10th grade ~ 12th grade). Kids between grade 1 ~ 8 does not study that much. Elementery schools have class about 6 hours, Middle schools for about 8 hours, and we have an extra class, hagwon, which is in the video. So kids between grade 1 ~ 8 study about 6 ~ 9 hours. But the Highschoolers, on the other hand are different. Grade 10 and 11 goes to school in 7 am and finishes at 10 pm. But 12th grade students go to school at 7 am and finish at 12 am (So thats 15 hours in school) and they go to Hagwon, which takes about 2 hours, so that makes 15 hours for grade 10 and 11, 17 hours for grade 12. Looking at this, that high suacide rate makes sense. It might be little wrong because this is based on my Highschool life. Third, we learn more than just Korean, English, Math, History. Subjects in korea is super complex, there are more than 30 subjects, and you choose between them. In math, we have Probability and statistics, calculus, and Geometry. In science, we have Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Earth Science. These are the top major subjects in korea. For me, I learn Korean grammer, English 1, Calculus, Geometry, Physics, Biology, Earth science, Basic social studies, History, Japanese, Chinese. Education in Korea in LITERALLY INSANE, and me, 11th grade highschooler, cant even understand the purpose of all this education. I hope this comment helped you with understanding korea a bit more

[@nb94840]

wtf, how do you handle all this??? I would kill myself instantly(or escape to north korea) if i was here. Like, in your country elementary schoolers study the same amount of time as highscoolers in my country. For me study for 6 hours is already pretty stressfull, but for 17 hours💀💀💀... Btw, do you have homework here? Because if you have it will be way worse than was said here. Nevertheless i hope you will be okay and not kill yourself before end of school

[@hall_of_fame_]

진짜 공부를 17시간동안 쳐 하는 학생이 얼마나 될까? 8시에 등교해서 오후 10~11시까지 야간자율학습을 한다고 해도 15시간인데 님은 야간자율학습 하고 새벽까지 학원 다니세요? 10시 이후 학원은 불법인데요? 심지어 이제 야간자율학습은 의무가 아닌 사항으로 채택한 고등학교가 대다수에요

[@hall_of_fame_]

​​@@nb94840 he exaggarated the facts and 17hrs is still impossible to do every-day here too The average would be 8~9hrs at school and mostly 4 additional hrs if needed And it should be Maximum 13~14hrs

[@OoO-m1m9g]

@@hall_of_fame_ 네 다닙니다! 대한민국 입시가 얼마나 미친건지 잘 모르시는 것 같네요 10시 이후에도 과외는 가능해서 과외의 형태로 모두 다닙니다!

[@OoO-m1m9g]

@@nb94840 of course we dont study 17 hours full. Including break time and other stuff, I usually spend about 14 ~ 15 hours average a day But I am 11 th grade, and 12th grade in korea does way more than this

[@JessieYun]

Native South Korean here. This is also the reason why K-dramas and movies like Squid Game, Parasite, SKY Castle exist -- because it really projects the real situations that South Koreans go through today. Sad but true. Not all country is perfect, but this kind of problem is too deep to go unnoticed. Definitely an improvement is necessary. Great video.

[@ukeyaoitrash2618]

In that case, it did lead to a very fun series though 🎉 I loved squid game and all the cosplay of it ❤

[@Dante02d12]

This was _fascinating._ I'd love to see videos like that about other countries.

[@user-is3yn7xr4c]

@@Dante02d12 This superficial analysis is so pretentious using English prejudicial perception towards a society that he knows very little about its history and its actual non-western cultural practices. That's why the narrator of this video results to use his biased English prejudicial perception and English cultural terminologies such as dystopia, hostage, slave, corrupt, spoiled, etc. because he can't really get an actual understanding of the cause of post-WW2 south korean societies' current situation using korean perception due to obvious reason he can't comprehend korean because he doesn't speak korean. He also forgot to mention the actual cause of the current south korean society's situation, which is manufactured by imperialistic western businessmen who built transnational trading infrastructures and pro-american institutional policies including American factory-model education system that were established by English imperialistic technocrats in south korea since the end of world war 2. And that those chaebols are still being mandated by imperialistic western technocrats, privately. The English imperialistic technocrats are exploiting the south korean government's power over the collective-national-shaming-cultural unconscious instincts of korean locals, that's why the korean locals are not revolting given the fact that their societal situation is no longer as pristinely functioning as their previous actual korean system they had in the past centuries.

[@Dante02d12]

@@user-is3yn7xr4c This is all very interesting to read too, thanks! ... But SK has one of the highest suicide rates among developed countries, that's an objective fact. I can only assume that it is _at least_ a problematic society.

[@user-is3yn7xr4c]

@@Dante02d12 South Korea and Japan's high suicide rate is because of the oriental religions' view toward the act of suicide is actually doesn't have the same equal level of totalitarian dogmatic eternal burning in hell as Christianity's *unforgivable sin* in terms of sociatal tabooness in western societies.

[@user-is3yn7xr4c]

@@Dante02d12 South Korea and Japan's high suicide rate is because of the oriental religions' view toward the act of suicide is actually doesn't have the same equal level of totalitarian dogmatic eternal burning in hell as Christianity's *unforgivable sin* in terms of sociatal tabooness in western societies.

[@user-is3yn7xr4c]

@@Dante02d12 South Korea and Japan's high suicide rate is because of the oriental religions' view toward the act of suicide is actually doesn't have the same equal level of totalitarian dogmatic eternal burning in hell as Christianity's *unforgivable sin* sin terms of sociatal tabooness in western societies.