South Korea Unhappiness Article

8/2/2019 South Korea Unhappiness Article

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South Korea's economic reforms a recipe for unhappiness

South Korea's sadness should serve as a warning to European countries that are embarkingon major cuts to welfare

o Ha-Joon Chango guardian.co.uk, Sunday 1 April 2012 20.30 BST

Britain's deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, with Samsung Tesco CEO Lee Seung-han, triesout a virtual store at a subway station in Seoul.Photograph: Bobby Yip/Reuters

My native South Korea is quite a star performer. With per capita income of around $20,000(level with Portugal), it is not one of the richest countries, but we are talking about a countrywhose income was less than half that of Ghana's until the early 1960s. With an annual percapita income growth rate of just under 4%, it is one of the fastest-growing OECD economies.(1)

Once associated with exploited sweatshop labour, churning out cheap transistor radios andtrainers, the country now possesses the only thing that stands between the iPhone and worlddomination (the Samsung Galaxy). It is also a world leader in industries such as shipbuilding,steel and automobiles. (2)

The country is, per capita, the third most innovative in the world, after Japan and Taiwan,when measured by the number of patents awarded by the US patent office. It has one of theworld's highest university attendance rates, and schoolchildren who rank in the top five innearly all standardised international tests. (3)

So, when things seem to be going so swimmingly, why are Koreans clamouring for bigchanges before the general election next week? Because they are desperately unhappy.(4)

According to a recent World Values Survey, Koreans are the second unhappiest people (afterHungary) among the citizens of the 32 OECD countries studied. Worse, its children are theunhappiest in the rich world, according to a survey of 23 OECD countries done by YonseiUniversity in Seoul. In 2009 the country topped the international league table for suicides,with 28.4 suicides per 100,000 people. Japan was a distant second with 19.7. But Koreansnever used to be this unhappy. Until 1995 its suicide rate was, at about 10 per 100,000

people, just below the OECD average. Since then it has almost tripled.(5)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/hajoonchanghttp://www.guardian.co.uk/http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110504000759http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/hajoonchanghttp://www.guardian.co.uk/http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110504000759http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/hajoonchang


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The answer to the Korean puzzle can be found in the economic reform implemented after thecountry's 1997 financial crisis. Similar to the UK-US, the stock market was fully opened toforeign investors, putting the larger, stock-market listed companies under pressure frominternational shareholders, making them increase short-term profits by minimising

investments. The ability of smaller companies to invest was greatly reduced due to a lack ofcredit availability. Less regulation allowed banks to rush into more lucrative consumer loanmarkets, reducing the amount of loans to business. (6)

The resulting fall in investments has led to a substantial fall in economic growth from 6%-7%(in per capita terms) per year to under 4%. With lower growth, few well-paid jobs are created.When combined with the relaxation of labour laws after 1997, this has given employers anupper hand over their workers. Many employees were sacked and re-hired as "agency"workers, doing the same jobs at lower wages. The proportion of the workforce without apermanent contract rose from an already high 50% to 60%, the highest in the OECD.(7)

Not that having a permanent contract gives you much protection these days. Most of thecompanies that used to provide "lifetime employment" for their workers have ended thepractice, with older staff put under pressure to make way for younger, cheaper workers.(8)

And all of this is going on in the absence of a decent welfare state the country has thesecond smallest in the OECD, after Mexico (measured by welfare spending as a share ofGDP). Given this, people live in constant fear of unemployment, forced retirement, and majorillnesses, which expose them to a life of extreme poverty. (9)

This "fear factor" also partly explains the country's excessive educational zeal. Pupils study

hard, thinking that better educational qualification may give them protection in anunforgiving labour market. But since everyone is studying hard, they have to run faster tostay in the same place. The result is the combination of long study hours (double that ofFinnish children, who do equally well in international tests), and enormous mental stress.(10)

Moreover, increased job insecurity has driven the best Korean students into "secure"professions, like medicine and law, leaving science and engineering deprived of top talents. Ifthis trend continues, the country's ability to innovate will be damaged. (11)

The sad tale of my country should serve as a salutary warning to Britain and other Europeancountries that are embarking on major cuts to welfare. They believe that such cuts will reducebudget deficits and make their economies more productive by making people compete morevigorously. However, the Korean story shows that insecurity actually makes people less, notmore, productive, and also desperately unhappy. Surely, that is not what they want.(12)


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Key Words

Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text. The paragraph numbersare given to help you.

star performer salutary deprived innovative insecurityexploited sweatshop churn out going swimmingly clamourlucrative upper hand sacked zeal vigorously

1. You have the ____________________ if you have an advantage over someone else; if youare above them in terms of power or intelligence. (para 7)

2. A _______________________ is a factory with awful working conditions for its workers; itproduces goods extremely cheaply, and workers sweat a lot. (para 2)

3. When things are __________________________________________ everything is going well inyour life. (para 4)

4. To ________________________ means a loud persistent outcry, as from a large number ofpeople. (para 4)

5. To ______________________________ means to produce something at a fast rate, andusually mechanically. Example: JYP really _____________________ pop-stars in hisentertainment company. (para 2)

6. _________________________ means doing something with a lot of energy or force; oftenenthusiastically. (para 10)

7. When you dont feel safe or confident you are experiencing __________________________.(para 11)

8. When something is _____________________________, it means that it earns a lot of moneyfor the company or person who is doing it. (para 6)

9. _______________________ (in the case of people) means they are taken advantage of orused by others. (para 2)

10. You are __________________________ if you are forward thinking; if you show new ideas,methods etc. (para 3)

11. To be ________________________ means the same as to be fired; to lose ones job. (para7)

12. You are a ___________________________________ if you are the best player in a team; a topindividual in a group. (para 1)

13. A _____________________________ piece of advice is advice intended to improve yoursituation in some respect; perhaps in health. (para 12)

14. _____________________ means having a feeling of strong eagerness (usually in favor of aperson or cause). (para 10)

15. If you are ______________________ of something it means you are lacking in it. (It usuallymeans healthful environment, money etc.) Most high school students in Korea are___________________ of sleep. (para 11)


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Find the information

Look in the text and find this information as quickly as possible.

1. The annual growth rate in GDP in Korea. (para 1) _____________________________2. Korea is the ________-most innovative country in the world. (para 3)3. Growth has fallen from 6-7% per annum to ______ . (para 7)4. Korea has the second smallest ___________________ after Mexico. (para 9)5. The fear factor means that Korean students study __________ as many hours as

Finnish students. (para 10)

Comprehension CheckAre these statements true (T) or false (F) according to the text?

1. South Koreas per capita income used to be half that of Portugals.2. South Korea used to be associated with cheap, sweatshop products but is now linked

with high-tech electronic devices such as mobile phones.3. According to a World Values Survey Korea is the least happy nation in the world.4. The fear factor can partly explain the excessive educational zeal according to the

author.5. Korea is now deprived of people entering the professions of law and medicine.6. The author believes that budget cuts will ultimately make people happier.7. Koreans have always been unhappy according to the author.

Find the wordFind the following words and phrases in the text.

1. A nine letter word that means the same as per person or per head. (para 1)_________________

2. A 7-letter verb; similar meaning as have. (para 2) _________________3. A 10-letter noun meaning exercise of control or influence over someone or something, or the state of being

so controlled. (para 2) ________________________4. A 6-letter noun meaning roughly the same as money. If you are in ______________ you have more money

than you need. (para 6) _______________5. An 11-letter word meaning of considerable importance, size, or worth. Like great. (para 7)

___________________________6. Same spelling as a kind of flower but here it is the past tense of the verb rise. (para 8)

________________________7. A two-word phrase meaning a system in which the government promises to protect the health and well-being

of its citizens, esp. those in financial or social need. (para 9) ________________________8. An 11-letter adjective meaning harsh/ hostile; also meaning not willing to forgive or excuse people's faults or

wrongdoings. (para 10) ____________________________9. An adjective meaning producing or able to produce large amounts of goods, crops, or other commodities.

(para 12) _________________________________

Discussion

1. What do you think about the article?

2. The author says that if the UK made cuts to the welfare state it would lead to people becoming less happy.

Whats your opinion?

3. Whats the cause of the high rate of suicide in Korea, in your opinion?


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Group WorkThe article mentions the education system a number of times in the article. Your group has been promoted to theEducation Ministry- your job is to reform the education system in Korea. Use this page to make your plan of action.

You can use:First, Second, Then, After that, FinallyThis would/ should.. / We-Schools ought to/ should


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PlanStudents in groups brainstorm and share the uses of newspapers.Hand a pic to each group and have them share with class and try to predict what the story will be about.Cut up article into sections A, B, C, D- individual students are given one section to read and paraphrasethemselves.Sit with other A, B, C, D students and make the meaning of their section clear. Feedback with entireclass section by section. Move back into regular groups.Hand out article. First students work on KEY WORDS section. Check answers.Find information, Comprehension check, find the word and finally discussion.Groups work on proposals for changes to education system.

Word Building

Adjective Noun

1.

Match words on each column to make collocations

Suicide Swimmingly Inequality

Bananas Debt A road- trip

A major studyCommitGoReduceEmbark on


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AMy native South Korea is quite a star performer. With per capita income of around$20,000 (level with Portugal), it is not one of the richest countries, but we are talkingabout a country whose income was less than half that of Ghana's until the early1960s. With an annual per capita income growth rate of just under 4%, it is one of thefastest-growing OECD economies.

Once associated with exploited sweatshop labour, churning out cheap transistorradios and trainers, the country now possesses the only thing that stands betweenthe iPhone and world domination (the Samsung Galaxy). It is also a world leader inindustries such as shipbuilding, steel and automobiles.

The country is, per capita, the third most innovative in the world, after Japan andTaiwan, when measured by the number of patents awarded by the US patent office. Ithas one of the world's highest university attendance rates, and schoolchildren whorank in the top five in nearly all standardised international tests.

BSo, when things seem to be going so swimmingly, why are Koreans clamouring for bigchanges before the general election next week? Because they are desperatelyunhappy.

According to a recent World Values Survey, Koreans are the second unhappiest people(after Hungary) among the citizens of the 32 OECD countries studied. Worse, itschildren are the unhappiest in the rich world, according to a survey of 23 OECDcountries done by Yonsei University in Seoul. In 2009 the country topped theinternational league table for suicides, with 28.4 suicides per 100,000 people. Japan

was a distant second with 19.7. But Koreans never used to be this unhappy. Until1995 its suicide rate was, at about 10 per 100,000 people, just below the OECDaverage. Since then it has almost tripled.

The answer to the Korean puzzle can be found in the economic reform implementedafter the country's 1997 financial crisis. Similar to the UK-US, the stock market wasfully opened to foreign investors, putting the larger, stock-market listed companiesunder pressure from international shareholders, making them increase short-termprofits by minimising investments. The ability of smaller companies to invest wasgreatly reduced due to a lack of credit availability. Less regulation allowed banks torush into more lucrative consumer loan markets, reducing the amount of loans to

business.
http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110504000759http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20110504000759


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CThe resulting fall in investments has led to a substantial fall in economic growth from6%-7% (in per capita terms) per year to under 4%. With lower growth, few well-paidjobs are created. When combined with the relaxation of labour laws after 1997, thishas given employers an upper hand over their workers. Many employees were sackedand re-hired as "agency" workers, doing the same jobs at lower wages. Theproportion of the workforce without a permanent contract rose from an already high50% to 60%, the highest in the OECD.

Not that having a permanent contract gives you much protection these days. Most ofthe companies that used to provide "lifetime employment" for their workers haveended the practice, with older staff put under pressure to make way for younger,cheaper workers.

And all of this is going on in the absence of a decent welfare state the country hasthe second smallest in the OECD, after Mexico (measured by welfare spending as ashare of GDP). Given this, people live in constant fear of unemployment, forced

retirement, and major illnesses, which expose them to a life of extreme poverty.

DThis "fear factor" also partly explains the country's excessive educational zeal. Pupilsstudy hard, thinking that better educational qualification may give them protection inan unforgiving labour market. But since everyone is studying hard, they have to run

faster to stay in the same place. The result is the combination of long study hours(double that of Finnish children, who do equally well in international tests), andenormous mental stress.

Moreover, increased job insecurity has driven the best Korean students into "secure"professions, like medicine and law, leaving science and engineering deprived of toptalents. If this trend continues, the country's ability to innovate will be damaged.

The sad tale of my country should serve as a salutary warning to Britain and otherEuropean countries that are embarking on major cuts to welfare. They believe thatsuch cuts will reduce budget deficits and make their economies more productive by

making people compete more vigorously. However, the Korean story shows thatinsecurity actually makes people less, not more, productive, and also desperately


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unhappy. Surely, that is not what they want.

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South Korea Unhappiness Article