Reflections from eight Weeks in Korea – Part 1: The State of Korean Society

An Essay with Photos (all my own)

Our Statistics of cultural and culinary Immersion

After 16 museums, 7 concerts, 3 palaces, 2 temples, 450km of walking, and numerous encounters with cool Koreans, we gained some meaningful insights. And despite enjoying so many Korean delicacies, we lost a few pounds!

Koreans’ surprising Reactions to Kim Jong Un’s recent Rocket Games

We visited Paju just 30km north of Seoul. There, the banks of the Han River are secured like a fortress. After all, North Korea is just across the river. Koreans recommended visiting the DMZ – Demilitarized Zone. No need, I replied, because I was a conscript in the German army and witnessed the brutal border between the two Germanys. Germany reunited after 29 years of Iron Curtain, whereas the two Koreas are already separated for almost 70 years – having drifted apart even more than the two Germanys had. Unification (Koreans don’t call it re-unification like the Germans) will be very difficult and would have to be done with common sense and in gradual steps. Nobody ever thought it would happen in Germany, so it just might in Korea and would mean a new future for North Koreans especially.

Here are four surprising responses when we asked friends about how they felt about Kim Jong Un’s rocket games: An American who has lived several years in Korea believes he’s just trying to get attention and move higher on the global radar. A startup entrepreneur stated that if she would let herself get distracted by his war games, she could no longer focus on her business. A third friend said that Kim just wants money. A Canadian who has lived in Korea over 10 years thinks that Kim’s war games have always been repetitive and weren’t posing a real threat. We had a sense that Koreans just continued with their daily lives.

Well, for us it was different. Why are the Japanese tolerating ballistic missiles flying across Japan, triggering bomb alarms in some parts? Like in the Ukraine, inadvertent escalation is a clear and present danger. My wife and I are post-war kids and our perception of risk is different. If only for that one reason, we are happy to be back in Canada.

Why Korean Women don’t want Kids

The birthrate in Korea is the lowest of all industrialized countries, currently at 0.8.

One young woman we met stated that Korean women are not facing a glass ceiling, but an iron ceiling. That has two reasons:

First, management in most companies is still largely under the control of older men. Koreans call the worst of them “Kkondae” (꼰대, which loosely translates as “condescending older person”, the kind often found in middle or upper management positions). Together with the fact that Korean society is very hierarchical and collectivism is still more important than (western) individualism, women have less opportunity for advancement and equal pay.

Second, Korean woman who decide to have kids are still being sidelined – re-entry into working live is difficult at best. An effective child care system is lacking. While many women are no longer tolerating “barefoot in the kitchen and pregnant”, Korean men still have to catch up on domestic chores.

While positive change is happening, a rapidly aging population with sub-par social security is threatening the fabric of Korean society and its future prosperity. What makes it worse is that many elderly have seen the young leaving rural areas and not returning. The government has launched a program to entice young people back to small rural towns – and over 30,000 have already done so. Korean agriculture is mostly happening on small parcels, requiring lots of manual labour. Korea imports 60 to 70% of all food.

More young Women are choosing Entrepreneurship

We met a few very cool female entrepreneurs who have successfully grown their business through the initial painful stages. I asked one of them about how many hours she works, and she replied that she had reduced her hours from 100 to 70 a week. I also asked her who supported her during difficult times. She replied “at first, nobody; then I learned to support myself emotionally, and now I have a cool support network of like-minded people”. The startup scene in Seoul is booming, with lots of support from government (visit Seoul Startup Hub).

This 12 Year-old Teenager is attending 12 academies

Really! You can see all the yellow buses in front of public schools, waiting to shuttle students from academy to academy after school ends. For this particular 12 year-old, it’s passing ships at night: Leave before her parents, and return late at night for a few hours of sleep. No family time. A huge portion of parents’ income goes into such private academies (학원). Academies range from cram-school, math, sciences, languages all the way to sports and arts. Stress levels for youth between 11 and 15 are the highest among all OECD countries. All this is aimed at getting ahead in this very competitive society. Does it pay off? The reality is that while about 80% of young Koreans have at least a college degree (the highest of all industrialized countries), many end up working as baristas, delivery drivers or in other low-paying jobs. Many in their mid-thirties are still living with their parents, not least because housing is scarce and expensive.

Work Life Balance (Warabal or 워라밸) – what is that?

Working hours in Korea are much longer than in the West. Only recently a legal limit of 52 hours per week was introduced, but many companies still work around it. Taking more than a week’s holiday is being frowned upon. No time for hobbies; little time for family. When we tried to arrange get togethers with our Korean friends, we noticed how little time they have. One young man told me that his goal is “happy dinner time with my family”.

All the above are reasons why many young Koreans choose to emigrate.

And then comes what Westerners call “Retirement”

Many Koreans are not prepared for retirement – it strikes them as a phase in life with little purpose after decades of continuous rat race. We’ve invited many Koreans friends to visit us in the Yukon, but even after retirement only a few go on extended travel, and many have difficulty to fill their life with purpose.

Korean seniors are physically much fitter than their Western counterparts. They exercise in open-air gyms, go for long walks and obesity is almost non-existent.

How will Korea’s Future look?

Koreans are resilient. Until the 50s, they were poor. The economic miracle they have achieved since is similar to Germany’s after WW2. Democracy has become stable. Whereas people in Western countries take affluence and beneficial working conditions for granted, Koreans are not (yet) spoiled. They work hard and are socially conservative. Combined with their world-class innovation, Koreans are well equipped to master the challenges they are undoubtedly facing.

Navigating between China (Korea’s biggest trading partner), North Korea’s constant threats, and Korea’s alliance with the US is a true challenge.

Koreans, it’s time to relax a bit! Taking more time for self and family would in fact support productivity and prosperity! Plus the potential market for seniors’ hobbies is huge!

A young Korean friend of ours co-owns a food processing business in which he works 60 hours a week. He said: “I don’t want to look back one day and regret that I haven’t travelled.”

Korea is an extremely interesting country, with all its contradictions, dynamics, beauty and kindness. To be released soon:
Part 2: Cultural and culinary Immersion – Korean Style
Part 3: The Curiosities of Korean daily Life