South Korea’s rapid economic growth since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century has made it a global economic powerhouse, but it is also facing the reality that excessive competition, stark disparities between the rich and poor, and intergenerational discord are keeping people from feeling happy.
In the mid-18th century, the Industrial Revolution began in England, an island nation in Europe. It gradually spread around the world, and in less than 300 years, humanity underwent a radical transformation that had never been experienced before. The introduction of machines to replace human muscle power led to a tremendous increase in productivity, and under capitalism, people worked to make money, and the size of the economy expanded dramatically. We also have advanced science and technology to the point where we have the technology to send humans to Mars. Humanity seems to be producing and consuming more than ever before, and living in splendor.
South Korea was a late adopter of this Western-style development. During the Industrial Revolution in Europe, the country missed out on opportunities to engage with the West due to Heungseon Daewon’s policy of rejuvenation. As a result, the country suffered through Japanese colonization and the Korean War, and it wasn’t until the mid-20th century that it began to embrace Western forms of development in earnest. Despite its late start, Korea industrialized faster than any other country and made tremendous economic progress. Immediately after the Korean Armistice in 1953, South Korea was an impoverished agrarian nation with a per capita income of $67, ranking 109th in the world, but as of 2023, its per capita income was $32,661, ranking 31st in the world. South Korea has grown to become the world’s 13th largest economy with a gross national product of $1.709 trillion. In just about 60 years, the country’s per capita income has increased about 500 times and its economy has reached the 13th largest in the world. Countries that were better off than South Korea in 1953 are now often worse off than South Korea, and they look to South Korea’s tremendous economic development over the past 60 years as a role model. As such, South Korea is one of the most rapidly industrialized and developed economies in the world.
On the surface, you might think that South Koreans are happier because their economy has grown and people are better off. However, if you look at the lives of the bottom 99% of workers and their families, who make up the majority of South Korean society, you’ll see that this is not the case.
South Korea’s rapid development has been driven by the enormous workload and fierce competition that South Koreans face. South Koreans work an average of 2,113 hours per year, which ranks second among OECD countries. Koreans are exhausted by their excessive workload and have no time to relax. Despite this, Koreans don’t earn much for working so much. In terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), South Korea’s hourly income ranks 22nd out of 33 OECD countries. Students also compete with their peers from an early age, attending a variety of academies and spending more time studying than playing. Once South Korean students fall behind, it’s hard to make up for it, forcing them to work even harder. Few students in Korea study because they want to, and most do so because it’s what everyone else is doing or because their parents are pushing them to. Students are often compared to other kids who are ahead of the game, which causes them a lot of stress. Adults who are overworked and students who are tired of studying and competing have a hard time finding time to relax. Koreans are not guaranteed enough leisure time, and they don’t have the opportunity to have fun and be happy in their leisure time to rejuvenate their energy to get back to work. It’s no wonder it’s hard to feel happy under these circumstances. As a result, many people feel pessimistic and commit suicide. South Korea’s suicide rate ranks first among OECD countries.
South Korea has an extreme gap between rich and poor. South Korea’s gap between rich and poor ranks second among OECD countries. The top 10 percent of income earners account for half of all income, with most of the wealth going to the chaebol, which grew with the help of past governments’ economic growth policies. South Korea’s economy is the 13th largest in the world, and its GDP is the 27th largest, but the gap between rich and poor is the reason why people don’t really feel the pinch. With the bottom 90% of the population receiving half of all income, South Korea’s 13th largest economy is an illusion for them. The gap between rich and poor is widening by the day. Political nepotism also remains, making chaebols and some politicians even richer. Parents’ wealth is often passed down to their children, which further deepens social inequality. In the past, even if you were poor, there was hope that if you worked hard enough, you could get the job you wanted, but nowadays, your education and job opportunities are often determined by your parents’ wealth. The children of chaebols inherit their parents’ companies and fortunes without much effort, and it is difficult for those born into wealth to catch up with those who have already gotten ahead. This sense of relative deprivation makes them unhappy.
Families are getting smaller in South Korea. In the past, grandparents and parents lived together and relatives often lived in the same village or close by, but now most people live in nuclear families and live far away from their relatives. In the past, most people lived together in agrarian societies, but as the economy developed and industrialized, people moved to different areas to work. The bonds we feel with our loved ones are an important factor in our happiness. No matter how much money you have, how high up you are, or how materially satisfied you are, if you don’t have a family you feel connected to, you won’t be happy. However, as the size of families shrinks, the opportunity to feel connected to many family members is diminishing. And nowadays, families are even smaller. More and more people are living alone and not married, and the birth rate is declining, as workloads make it harder for people to afford marriage and childcare. Building a family with the person you love and raising children you love is a very happy thing, but by giving up on it because we feel overwhelmed by the demands of marriage and parenting, we are losing the opportunity to be happy.
South Korea’s rapid development has led to a growing divide between generations. Korea’s rapid development has created different situations for different generations. Since people’s values are finalized in the 2030s, different generations experience different situations, so their values are bound to be different. And these values will become mainstream in society in the 40s and 50s. My grandfather’s generation is the generation whose values were finalized in the 1950s and 1960s. This generation went through the war and led Korea’s early economic development, practicing frugality. They know the pain of war and have experienced hard work. They also formed the mainstream of society during the time of former President Park Chung-hee, so they often feel nostalgic for the economic development of that era. The father’s generation is the generation whose values were perfected in the 1980s and 1990s. They grew up through dictatorship and democratization movements and witnessed South Korea’s rapid economic development. They are the first generation to receive a formal education, the busiest generation, the most politically engaged, and the mainstream of today’s society. Generation MZ is the generation whose values were formed at the beginning of the 21st century, and they are experiencing the rapid informationization of society. This generation is enjoying advanced technology and acquiring a lot of information quickly, and the way they communicate is very different from other generations. These different generations have different values, which leads to different ideals. Communication problems arise because they are unwilling to listen to each other or do not understand each other well. In particular, the grandfather generation is nostalgic for Park Chung-hee and chose his daughter Park Geun-hye as president. With an incompetent person as president, South Korea is in chaos. The grandfather’s generation had access to limited information during Park’s dictatorship, and even then, it was only positive information about the dictator. On the other hand, my father’s generation and MZ’s generation were exposed to a wide range of information through education, TV, and the internet, and were able to think critically. When Park Geun-hye ran for president, her father’s generation and MZ’s generation were able to critically analyze various information to determine her qualities as president. However, her grandfather’s generation was unable to use the internet and lacked communication with other generations, making it difficult for them to get new information. This led them to be fooled by nostalgic campaigns. These differences in values and lack of communication between the different generations are exacerbating the generational divide and making it difficult for everyone to be happy.
South Korea has experienced one of the most successful and rapid economic developments in the world over the past 60 years, but along the way, Koreans have become stressed, stressed out, and stressed out by the enormous workload and fierce competition. The extreme gap between rich and poor has made life even harder for those with low incomes, creating a sense of relative deprivation. As the size of the family has gradually shrunk, there are fewer opportunities for family members to feel close to each other, and discord between generations that have lived through different eras has intensified. For these reasons, we cannot say that we are happier than in the past. In the World Happiness Ranking report released in March 2023, South Korea’s happiness ranked 35th out of 38 OECD countries. We need to ask ourselves whether the unconditional economic growth has made Koreans unhappier. Having achieved a certain level of economic growth, Korea should now analyze developed countries like Sweden and Norway where people are happy. Instead of blind economic growth, it is time to find a way to make each of us feel more valuable and pursue happiness.
