I'm just in the process of picking a topic for my next video. Got a suggestion for what "Dark side of..." you would like to see? Let me know!

So ironically South Korea isn’t as efficient as they want to be because they value the aesthetics of hard work(long impractical hours), rather than modernizing their concept of efficiency.

I am a Korean girl born in the early 80's in South Korea. My grandparents lived under Japanese occupation, and they went through the Korean War with their children. And when their children grew up, they made the Miracle on the Han River (Korean Miracle in the video). They are my parents, and when I was born, South Korea had grown economically enough to host the Seoul Olympics in 1988. My parents did their best to educate me, and I studied hard like any other Korean child. I believed it would bring me a bright future, and that's how I learned it. I even had a master's degree, but I have been struggle with getting a job for over a year. In the end I got one at a small company. I had to work all night and have dinner while drinking unwanted alcohol (Hoesik). I was not happy and eventually I quit my job. However, the reaction around me was not warm. I was told that I am too spoiled and fragile to deal with stress because i grew up with abundance. They said "Who doesn't get stressed?". Undoubtedly, It is grateful thing to have a place to work for the generation of my grandparents and parents who went through the Japanese colonization and the Korean War. Over the next few years, I repeatedly joined and left a couple of companies, and during that time my self-esteem and self-confidence went down. In the meantime I had to watch two of my close cousins ​​commit suicide. Not necessarily, but honestly, I couldn't help but think that they might not have done if they hadn't lived in Korea. Sorry! my comment becomes unintentionally long. But watching this video, I completely got the feeling that I was watching myself and my family and just wanted to let people know that it's pretty accurate from Korean's perspective as well. Thank you Dom for making a great video! 👍 ______________________________________ Thank you so much for the comments and heartfelt messages on my story. To be honest, I didn't expect this much. It means a lot to me. To tell you a little bit more of my story, I have been mentally and physically exhausted from cultural or social pressure since then. I decided to travel to other countries and stay in Australia for a year with the money I saved from the work. Koreans around me advised me that It was not the time to run away. I admit it. It was avoidance. But I think it was the right prescription for me rather than taking the medical pills. I had an opportunity to look into myself in Korean society more objectively through myself living in a different country of various cultures and races. It helped me think that I was not totally wrong. It slowly but gradually recovered my self-esteem and confidence. I found myself feeling at ease in a society where embraces and acknowledges the existence of diversity. Currently, I have been studying Spanish and teaching Korean in Colombia for 5 years. Yes, I still feel uncertainty and anxiety when I think about the future. I still have doubts about myself. Living in a foreign country as a foreigner is never easy. Living and travelling are two different things as many of you know. However, at least these are the choices I have made and I am willing to be responsible for it. Korean friends and family say that Korea is the best place to live for Koreans. Just for me, keeping a distance myself from the society has worked and given me an opportunity to find myself easier. Please do not generalize every Korean with my story. We are all different. I watched the video and relate to it, and based on my story, I simply wanted to let people know that this is really happening. Many of my students in Colombia have a dream about Korea in the Hallyu(Korean wave). As a Korean teacher who loves them, I have always been thinking how to show another side of South Korea, then I think I can fulfil the mission with this video so they can plan their dream more realistically and better than mine. Thanks again to all of you with warm words! 감사합니다! 🥰

Thank you so much for pointing an important issue in Korea. I'm born and rasied in South Korea . As you mentioned, education fever is very severe in Korea and it drove me crazy. I always had to get high grade and teachers always like students who got HD. I was so exhausted with Korean Education and ends up escaping. I am studying abroad now but I'm still thinking like 'oh I have to get high mark', 'I am not enough' somthing like that. Unforgettable competitive mind is keep bothering me :((( Now I know the reason. This is the side-effect of rapid economy development! This is very well-made video. I hope all the students in Korea will watch this video..

That's the same problem in India. Economy is growing but so is the lack of good job opportunities. We have very high number of unemployed college graduates. The growth in riches are just getting concentrated at the top with very little opportunities for general common people. There is so much anxiety and uncertainty about the future and financial security in a lot of people.

Reminds me of my time working in Japan - everyone spent long hours in the office because face time was paramount. They weren't necessarily being productive but no one dared leave before the manager left. But then it was time to have dinner and drinks with your boss after work. Get home by midnight. Be back at the office at 7am and do it over again. It was insane.

This shows us that governments should not only prioritize economic situations, but also the human one (happiness, family, rest, recreation, etc.).

This was a similar situation I witnessed in Singapore, the senior citizens stressed coz of high cost of living, the working professional always in a hurry, the students stressed about academic performance. For all the progress they have made, if your citizens are not happy with their lives, it's really not worth it 😢 Your basic needs should be affordable for all citizens, food, clothing, housing and medical care. People just need to share more to show they care🤗

I have a lot of South Korean friends. I also once worked for a South Korean boss. I have always wondered why so many South Koreans migrate to the USA, given South Korea's economic success. I did not know about the economic crisis it was facing. Thank you, Dom. I prey that one day, South Korea gets back on its feet.

Almost every “economic miracle” loses its luster if you look closely. Media used to focus on the commanding heights, declaring a country prosperous and booming based on a few statistics. Despite the internet’s bad aspects, videos such as this one let us learn about a place in a much deeper and more complete way. Thanks for an enlightening look!

As a Korean national, I cannot help but agree to 100%. People are trying to change things, but so far without any success. I'm proud of what my country has so far achieved, but i'm worried about what is to become of it.

Im a typical Korean man. What I learned from childhood till today is 'Do everything to death', 'Laziness is crime '. It has been so stressful and pressing. But I didn't realize it because everyone around me was doing something. When I was in US, I finally realized how much stress and pressure I have got for my whole life. I don't think most Koreans are happy in the overly competitive society. However, I understand Koreans, because there is literally no natural resources in korea and being lazy means death. I just hope we Koreans could enjoy our lives more peacefully. Development without happiness has no meaning, I think.

I tried my best to escape my home country, Korea, after my college education and finally established in US. Currently, I make my living as a scientist with (english) disability but I am satisfied with my decision. Current situation in Korea seems to be worse than I was young. I’m still thinking if anyone sees no hope in Korea, escape the country and find a new opportunity. Koreans can do what ever they want outside home country because of their hard working culture. You don’t need to waste your life in despair.

Well done video. I moved to Korea in 1988 to study at a Korean University (Yonsei) and see the Olympics. Korea was the happiest place on earth at this time. Koreans felt so proud to be able to host the Olympics & the world to come and see Korea. Well, I ended up staying longer than I planned. I was in and out of Korea for 20 years. I lived the Han Miracle. Somehow I quickly picked up Korean and could hold a basic conversation after 6 months and after 3 years Koreans wouldn't know I was a foreigner if I spoke over the phone. So I was able to gain a very deep insight into Korean culture and what was happening in Korea and the rapid changes. At one point Koreans started coming to me for advice - on things Korean. Many of my friends considered me Korean. And I had a wide variety of friends from Chaebol billionaire to high school drop out. I ended up moving quickly up the corporate ladder and was making a lot of money. The tax office said I was in the top 5% of income earners. But I didn't feel rich. Why? Housing. In Korea, it is hard to get married if you do not have an apartment. And they are expensive. I lived in Seoul and in the mid 2000s a proper apartment would be USD 3 million +. AND you had to have 50% down to get a mortgage. So I was in the top 5% and I saved more than 1/2 my salary and there was no way for me to buy an apartment. The prices were going up faster than the 1/2 of salary I saved - so no way to catch up. And this is one of the biggest issues in Korea. And this has caused the marriage rate to fall dramatically as well as the birth rate. Koreans save too much and that money has to go somewhere - so real estate in unattainable unless your parents buy an apartment for you. You can be the best student in your high school, get into the best university, graduate top of your class and get a job at the best company - and no way in hell you are going to buy a proper apartment without money from your parents. Which leads to the real reason Korea is struggling... Demographics. Korea is one of the fasted aging societies on earth. That leads to a feeling of being richer as few kids are born and few resources going to making kids. So more for everyone else. But that also leads to a booming economy yet mass unemployment - and soon no workers and higher taxes. I watched Korea go from a traditional society where people had 4 to 8 children where many people were in rural areas to mass migration to the cities and family sizes started to go to 3 or 4 and then 1 or 2 kids per family. The other observation was that society changed too fast. The city migration happened in less than one generation. And income rose rapidly in just 30 years. Korean customs could not adapt fast enough. Some of my older friends were married by 중매결혼 (Chungmei Marriage) where your parents met with your future spouses parents and they decided you would marry their child. You didn't meet your future spouse UNTIL the wedding day. And friends my age were always getting "set up" with prospective spouses (소개팅) - and were not allowed to marry someone their parents did not approve of. The prospect had to have the right background, education (and sometimes religion), financial status, etc. This custom had been in place for survival of the family when Korea was poor - but was not needed in modern society with high incomes. But Korean society would not let go of the custom. I had one friend whose parents did not want him to marry his girlfriend she was Christian and they were Buddhist. They both had great careers and money wasn't an issue. So they finally eloped (as adults) abroad and got married. When I got married I realized I couldn't stay in Korea. It was just too hard. I owned an apartment in the heart of Seoul but it wasn't big enough for a family. And Korean society was just too hard. And I worked way too many hours. And the drinking culture was taking its toll. So within a year of getting married, we left Korea and had the first child a year after that. I learned a lot from Korea. The elders taught me to "be small." I became very competitive. I learned to have no fear and try to do things that seemed impossible. I also learned that many other Koreans learned - leaving Korea is better. I still have a place in Korea and I visit Korea every 3 or 4 years (my stuff has been stuck in a time warp for 16 years). I still do projects for some Korean companies on occasion but do not enjoy it as much as I used to. And I am confident I made the right decision to leave my life in Korea. My colleagues were stunned when I said I was leaving because I was the one who had "made it." I was on first name basis with several Chaebol CEOs, was on TV, etc. But to me, I was just another guy struggling like hell everyday.

We can all agree that the obsession over competition is very common in Asian Countries. The overly competitive process of acquiring a "seat" in a particular college or university is something even Indians have to go through. I can say with no doubt that if a reform has to happen in South Korean governmental policies, their skilled labour can also be put to good use. Which is what is happening in India, albeit slowly and gradually.

A message to all the South Koreans, purely from a business point of view: I believe Koreans are very well placed internationally & wields an immense soft power. So Koreans, right now, should focus on small businesses to sell products and services. People will spend money on Korean products, not necessarily from giant brands...but on homegrown brands with a nice story. So when the Korean government sees that these homegrown brands are succeeding and bringing in the forex currency, they will be supported. It's a great way to boom further.

Hello! Thanks for your videos, great choice of subject, great way to expose them ;) Maybe just the ending can be improved by just adding a little more time, with music getting lower and lower for example.. So the end is clean and makes you feel like you have followed a "story" kind of!

My South Korean born and raised parents moved to the USA in the 1980s, where my siblings and I were born & raised, and now subsequently all have full time jobs that allow us to be financially independent. My mother’s family, who was very wealthy, didn’t understand why she would leave her comfortable situation to begin all over in a foreign country. Watching this video makes me very thankful for her sacrifices and it’s very sobering to imagine what life would be like if I was born and raised in South Korea. My cousin’s family just paid a company thousands of dollars for him to find an internship in the USA, and he doesn’t want to return.

I work in a company in Sweden with a lot of colleagues from all over the world. But one of the biggest minorities is the Korean. Almost every single one of my Korean colleagues when asked why they came to work in Sweden, replied that they did it for their kids. Because "... I don't want my children to not have a childhood." Great video, and God bless the Koreans. Truly a great people, kind and smart.

This isn’t just Korea. Most Asian countries value work over happiness. Which is the least productive thing to do. I’m French and even tho we’re sometimes referred as lazy people, the reality is that France is the sixth most productive country at work in 2022. To me there’s no secret behind that, we’ve tons of paid vacations and national holidays. Workers have lots of rights and we work only 35 hours a week. So when we come back to work on Monday after a relaxed weekend with our friends and family we’re fresh and ready to be efficient at work. I think our Latin neighbours have kind of the same systems

Loving this one thanks for sharing very information blessed love to all knowledge is power hopefully everyone pays attention keep up the good work 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿🇯🇲🇯🇲🇯🇲

This is really unacceptable that The chaebol companies are make up almost 85℅ of countries gdp but only contribute about 10% of jobs ... This is ridiculous ..

Korea is a very competitive society ; they are under pressure , not having any space for happiness.

I think this sort of phenomenon is not just limited to South Korea. A lot of other countries are also having a hard time creating a healthy balance between the demand for jobs and the supply of the labour force. Needless to mention, the demand for manual labour has been decreasing quite significantly over the years with the massive improvements in technological innovations; however, the global population is on the rise and the number of educated people have skyrocketed. It was inevitable, and it's such a bummer especially for the youngsters.

This is excellent stuff, you get straight to the point without too much unnecessary blabla. I learnt a lot from your video. Well done.

I wonder if the chaebols of South Korea were inspired at all by the zaibatsu of Imperial Japan? Especially given that Korea had been occupied by Japan for 35 years (and a lot of the early South Korean leadership had collaborated with this occupation)...

This is such nice output!!!! Thank you so much.

Really enjoyed this thanks! Very interesting! Enjoyed looking at you too! ;)

you have to take into account the fact that korea has changed a lot in such a short space of time...almost in an unnatural way...of course there's bound to be problems and issues..but i think covid has brought a turning point for korea as well...times are changing and young people are expressing their views, and although it will always take some time, if you ask any koreans 'would you go back to 80s or 90s' most of them will say no...long working hours, stress, and other stuff has always been there unfortunately...the young people of korea will hopefully bring another hopeful future...

This isn't isolated to Korea, Japan has been in this trap forever. And now China is also stepping in albeit a totally different ideology and political-economical system. Part of that is due the pathway they had gone thru to either break away from extreme poverty, or in Japan's situation, a literal fallout after the war: they all centered "hard work" to the point it gets extremely toxic, the culture is heavy on peer pressure and looking down blue collar jobs, combining with gender disparities. Too add salt to the wound, capitals managed to find their ways infiltrate/brainwash people to turn them essentially into hardworking machines. Thru the decades, a very complex but distorted system of social classes were formed and is very hard to trickle down, very few people find happiness in it yet couldn't get out.

After high school I went to Korean to learn Korean and eventually get a degree at a Korean University. However the longer I stayed the more I realised the really intense work ethic that's present everywhere. I decided against getting my degree in Korea and went back home after finishing the language course. That being said I think Korea has a really rich culture and I enjoyed learning about it and experiencing it a lot!

Great explanation - thanks.

As a Korean this is Very well-explained. Impressive. Did u live in Korea for long time? But there's one thing wrong. Samsung doesn't account for 20% GDP of SK. GDP and annual sales is a different term. Overall very impressive. Well spoken. 👍

Did you like the video? Make sure to subscribe, cause I got a lot more videos explaining different super interesting issues around the world coming up!

Thank you it's a great vid!😮

This is hell. Working smartly is more important than working hard

True. I was a student in Korea till 2019. When I was in elementary school, a grade 6 kid killed himself due to stress. Never wanna study there again.

Super interesting video! I have been living in Seoul for almost 3 years, and I agree with everything here. I currently teach 5 year-olds who can all read and write English. They are already feeling pressure from parents to get into the "good schools." If they don't, it's seen as shameful to their wealthy families. Also, we get to leave at 4 30 PM but Korean staff MUST stay until 6 PM. It's a crazy competitive society with a lot of great things, but also a dark side.

Fantastic vidos, Dom!

Man, the quality of your videos and the amount of subcribers you have do not match. This is worth like x20 the amount of subcribers you have rn! Keep making awesome and interesting vids!

Living in SEA, a country without miracle. Dark Side of Korea seem too bright for my eye😓

The constant quest for perfection can make one's life utterly meaningless. People living in Confucian economic heavens like China, Japan, Singapore and this one must learn this the hard way. Here in the Philippines we might be dirt poor but at least we are not breathless, are more freer than the others, and one of the most happiest folk in the world. Most of us content on the simplicity of lifestyle in contrast to the constant quest for affluence and wealth which, for others, could not be brought with once death comes. Material wealth does not always buy happiness, at times they even bring sorrow and mischief.

You are so right about the situation in Korea. Well explained!

Well done! Very interesting and well explained ( as I got from the comments).

Hi, as a Korean I want to point out that some of the video footage you used for the video shows southeast Asians and Chinese. Also, we have many new billionaires who made their own success without the chaebol family connections now. The reason that Samsung was able to succeed more than other Korean corporations was because the founder Lee Byung-chul invested in the semiconductor business in the 70s despite the government pressuring Samsung not to gamble with the nation's money. Many chaebol families failed in their business in the 90s during the economic crisis. The few chaebol families that still perform well today should be considered as their own fortune.

I use to live in Korea (I'm American) and I've never seen a more unhappy group of people in my life. And I'm not exaggerating.

This was a great video!

I did a report on this in Uni, before moving to SK the first time. 🙃. Loved the video

Read the book, “South Korea: The Price of Efficiency and Success”. Basically, the book shares the similar view and analyses.

Holy shit man, koreans and all are learning till 10 pm and I just read the book of the subject an hour before the test. They got such motivation and determination.

This video is great and really speaks to me on how much Korea is changing, hopefully for the better. I immigrated from America to Korea 8.5 years ago and even in this short time have seen the country change much faster than I could have ever expected. When COVID happened it pushed things even further especially in relation to work. Many of our friends and family now don't have to worry about after work meetings. If they do happen it is only a few times a year now instead of monthly or biweekly. My husbands company went from once a month to now once every 3 months and it is no longer mandatory for those with families. I have even gone with him a few times as well as our toddler. There is also a push for more online or at least partial online jobs, something that I myself do as a part time job. Another thing that you hit great on is the education and a college degree becoming not so important anymore. My husband never had the chance of going to college while I finished a 6 year Bachelors degree. In the end we both have mostly the same opportunities and even some companies now have "blind" interviews that don't show the educational level of the interviewee. Especially in men their skills, work experiences, and certifications (like EXCEL and such) is starting to matter more than a degree. I do wonder if this will continue as Korea is shifting to more of an AI integrated country. I have also seen that parents are starting to offer to pay less for private tutoring as some have told me, when concerning learning English, that online resources are just as good these days and for cheaper. Some even argue that due to AI studying languages is no longer needed... I strongly disagree but that's just my opinion. All in all, as a country that develops and changes at a remarkable pace, I'm curious to see where it will go and how even now will compare to just 10 and 20 years in the future. A huge encouragement is the focus that the government is starting to take on families by reducing work hours and trying to solve the housing cost as well as aid for families with children. I hope that this is all a step in the right direction. As a family we are considered low income and that is by choice because we choose to work only 6-8 hours a day, no weekends, so that we still have time with our toddler. We stand together that family time is precious and money can come later. I believe despite what society might say, that we are making the right decision.

summarised modern and contemporary korean culture in just 10 minutes, awesome video well researched

I'm a Korean American who emigrated in 1970, when SK was poorer than dirt, to find a better life in the US. We came with little more than the clothes on our backs. Nobody expected to see the SK economic miracle, and it has been quite impressive. Suffice it to say, today, living in America and in my early 50s, I work remotely in a semi-retired fashion, have multiple homes, earn a 1% income and I do not have a competitive bone in my body. I kind of half-assed it through college and my working life, yet, I am better off than the vast majority of Koreans (and Americans too, for that matter). My parents, both in their 80s, retired from their dry cleaning business 25 years ago and are also millionaires in their own right. They could easily go back to SK anytime and enjoy the riches of modern day Korea, and before the pandemic, they used to go back once per year. But they know intimately about the many disadvantages of living in South Korea today and choose to stay in America. Yes, America has its flaws too, but, in general, it's a beautiful, relatively stress-free life. I thank my lucky stars every day that I am here in the States and not over there.

going to meet a Korean student of mine today. I have taught her when she was 8-10 years old, but we kept in contact over the years. She is now going to America to study at an Ive League school. I will for sure be talking about this with her.

Such an accurate analysis!

Thats why its so important to be mindful of history (our own and others around us) and on what foundations we continue to build on or grow through. Even if we remember our roots and what we’re grounded in it doesn’t help enough unless the whole bigger picture is always in sight or being considered

Working hard but not working smart is the main problem. Sorrow from Bangladesh 😕

I'm Korean and have lived in the US for 10 years. The most striking difference I felt was Korea's obsession with looks over substance.

another great video

Just find this channel recently and watched this video after "The Dark Side of Japan". Frankly I found this to be like travelling back in time where South Korea went through quite similar situation as Japan during / slightly after their economic boom. For South Koreans, the dark side of Japan video can be perceived as a warning about where the country could end up if it doesn't reform some of the fundamental aspects of working culture.

I am from Thailand & want to say S. Korea has done fantastic in area of Creative Cultural Exports such as movies, tv series, & music … BTS & Blackpink … drawing world attention to S. Korea. Yes they have a tough disciplined system, but produces world-class results 🇹🇭🤝🇰🇷

South Korea has a high suicide rate, but not the highest in the world - it ranks as nr. 12 (but such statistics are notoriously unreliable, of course). Interestingly, Scandinavian welfare states like Finland and Sweden are also have rather high suicide rates - about the same as Japan. This is a complex issue.

Thanks!

Awesome stuff

It would have been nice to explain the government roadblocks for small businesses, which must exist. In the US, large companies also become super efficient instead of hiring more workers, but small businesses have traditionally taken up the slack. Though government & non profit jobs have temporarily come to the fore, that can't last.

The GDP vs jobs thing and the mismatch in the labor market really helped explain what I had been wondering. Like, South Korea seems to dominate economically in so many sectors - semiconducters, cars, shipbuilding, steel, shipping, construction, machinery, electronics, appliances, entertainment but at the same time I would run into Koreans in the US looking for opportunity (rather than lets say "adventure" that typical expats often say) or hear about how hard it is for graduates to find a job and it just didn't make sense to me. I think I have also heard that they have less "high respect" jobs in the internal (non-tradable) sector compared to the US at least which also helps explain the imbalance (even though I have also heard about private education and plastic surgery so who knows). If anyone from South Korea is reading this - is there a push in society now like in the US to get a "skilled trade" job vs. a white collar job? I'm not sure how "tracked" the education system is so that would probably have a big influence, but in the US where there really isn't any tracking, there is a big push for high school students to get an apprenticeship or go to community college to learn a trade instead of going to college to get a degree in like communications. (Politicians and the media always use gender studies or art history when making this push, but A) - I only know a very small amount of people with these or similar majors, B) - most people I know that have them actually are doing well or went to graduate school, C) - I would imagine based on my limited knowledge that these types of majors are even less common than in the US).

6:57 It's quite common in Turkey too, though I don't know the magnitude of rates in South Korea, nobody in developed parts of Turkey will wholeheartedly say that there's no problem in job market for college grads. We grew up with knowing college won't be such a huge deal since it won't get you anything meaningful so you had to postgraduate degree if you wanted to be something in life. To be clear I'm not comparing who gets harder in life, I'm just saying that it's not that unheard of if you look closely. Thank you for the video and reading my comment.

How do you measure competitiveness among countries ?

Looks lime you Struck Gold with this video. Looming forward to more.

Wait,720 subs?!!!!This is an amazing piece of content and I pray that you’ll find success ✊

I was an ESL teacher at a hagwon (private english academy) FOR YEARS, and i felt bad for a lot of my students cuz the need to be successful was so huge (because of the parents). I would say about 90% of the students i had were there cuz their parents made em come. A lot of my students went to like 3 or 4 differnt after school things.They had almost no time to be a kid. Was sad most times.

This same problem is happening to some degree in the USA. Companies immigrate highly degreed workers from abroad who will accept lower wages (at first) to get situated in the USA. They then fall into problems when their productivity is not meeting the needs of the company. They end up in unrelated lower paying jobs barely making it.

You can make such video on USA and it wouldn't look more rosy. South Korea at the same time has a very good standard of living. good salaries, a lot of opportunities, low crime rate, good healthcare, low drug use, they care about their citizens, good infrastructure, great food, not that expensive, fruits though are expensive. Also it has good relationships with many countries and it's passport is pretty powerful. The problem is not that there are no jobs, but that it's societal. People expect from you to get an office white collar job. Blue color job looks down upon. So if they could change that idea, and make that a blue collar job is a respectful job, people wouldn't feel that pressure and shame of working in a factory, in construction or on a farm. They should educate kids that getting any job is great. If you make good money to support yourself then its awesome, you are doing great. There was a show called Dirty Jobs. I listened to a podcast with the host of this show, he wanted to show to the people that you can have a very dirty job and make tons of money, and sometimes it's not about money. So we should, I guess, stop prioritizing jobs requiring high education since it's hurting young people.

Three secrets mentioned in video: chaebol (support of oligopoly), college education, extreme work culture

"its a culture that values working hard versus working smart." is pretty much the accurate summary of what korea is in a nutshell. people are hitting their limits.

Where did you source this information?

"The company comes first, before family, personal life, your free time or anything else" And you wonder why it is one of the unhappiest nations on earth...

One of the best UKposts recommendation 👍

First off the mindset of looking down on blue collar jobs must be changed. That's detrimental to any society. Blue collar workers are always more important than people tend to realise. Their jobs are often better paid in developed countries than what people assume because it's hard to find workers.

not only in Korea this is happening. I remember when I was a fresh grad how difficult it was to find a well-paying job. Even after graduating and passing the board exam, so I ended up taking a job, entirely not related to my degree because good jobs are really hard to come by.

Yeah this is some legit good content. I'll subscribe now because I know you'll boom in coming months!

It's fascinating to see the difference in attitudes towards university and jobs between Westerners and East Asians. Westerners nowadays see university as an annoyance and treat education as something that starts once you leave university (blame the prevalence of idealogues on campus for that; even Ivy League hasn't escaped it). It's also common to hear Westerners say that their work colleagues are not their friends, and there's no way they're mixing their work and private life together.

In the Netherlands the work ethics are very different. I see a lot of young people working part-time simply to have more time for hobbies. I'm 41 yrs of age and work as a Testengineer 5 days per week but I don't feel much pressure, there is a lot of freedom in working here and working from home is accepted by the society. Housing prices and rents have gone up here as well.

Hey, how about making a video talking about the dark side of your own country

Due to the rapid growth during the mid-20th century, the perspective on seeing the world is way more different than other countries based on the generations, at least I guess. While the boomer era, when the average GDP growth was over double-digits, people had faith that as long as I dedicated to the company and my job, I would guarantee sufficient income and a rosy future. But nowadays, those hopes are gone because the economy is slowing down rapidly. As a south korean born in late 90s, a lot of my friends have told me that getting a job is freaking hard compared to the past. But people who experienced boomer times tend to not admit the reality but blame us for not putting "enough" work to achieve something(Well, it's not the one-size-fits-all cases, but my personal tendency is tilting to it). So the conflict between generations keeps skyrocketing, which I worry about seriously. Hope one day this crisis goes well.

I have been in Korea for the past five years, the country is doing well a lot of excitement, and isn't like a 500 years of economic dominance history like western countries do, but enthusiastically learning and growing. There is a lot of new policies that government implemented maximum of 52 hours per week work. School grading system has got changed and minimum salary is significant increasing.

What is the background music in this video? Last 3-4 mins.. Loved the piano music

Thankyou so much for this information As now Kpop , kdrama boomed in every part of the world People now forgetting the dark side of this industry... we know that korea is developed but Behind that success there is another world which is hidden from the rest of world Now People want to work , go to south korea just because of kpop and kdrama First they should know what they see isn't real !!

Loved this video fantastic KOREA FIGHTING

6:59 I’d beg to differ This is highly common to Saudi Arabia Especially to female graduated because of the huge number of graduates compared to male, and even then both suffer from finding jobs and end up been jobless after graduates This is issue have risen since 2017 or 2018 And to this day this problem still persist So this problem isn’t exclusive to South Korea or unheard of anywhere else

as a korean myself this is true long hours of study and then working life is not efficient. we barely had time for family and friends. 😢

Here in Morocco we got the same issue, people with university degrees face unemploymebt more then their less educated peers. I guess it's a phenomena that can be seen in many developing countries

I am half Korean and currently living in Korea, and this video pretty much explains the biggest issue Korean society has to face this day. Economically successful, societally disastrous.

I am Korean and an important thing to consider is, the why. I think it's more correct to say, Koreans are not satisfied still, even though we've accomplished a lot and are in competition with our neighbors, specifically Japan and China. We are taught, and I do agree with this, to be highly competitive or else the whole country will suffer

South Korea also has the fifth highest rate of alcoholics among developed nations.

As a Korean, I'll tell you why you shouldn't give up on competition, education, and having a lot of working hours. (I'm writing using a translator, so I don't know if it will be delivered well.) On the subject of 'why the West rules the world', Harvard professor and scholar Niall Ferguson gave several answers in his book 'Civilization'. He says that working hours, competition, and zealous education were the factors that allowed the West to outperform the East after the Industrial Revolution. And he points out that the West today ignores these values. Among them, I like the part he called 'competition'. Korea is now enjoying its heyday and occupies a high position in almost every field. Recently, it has even achieved close to 35 billion dollars in arms sales to Poland. This was accomplished by winning the competition with countries that were military powers in the past, such as France and Germany. Niall Ferguson recently warned of the rise of Asia and the decline of the West. And the most important thing he emphasized was that the West should follow the zealous educational method of Asians. There is no doubt that this has now put Korea on the ranks of success. I don't think this trend should be changed. Korea's education method has proven that it has strengths in creative fields such as culture and technology. It is a prejudice that Korean education only memorizes. Korea is surrounded by powerful powers such as China, Japan and Russia, and they threaten us. To prepare for this, you should always try your best to build up your strength. Ironically, the reason Koreans value material things is their love for their family. It is because we have learned from close history that we cannot protect our family and our country without strength. Unlike other countries, Korea is a country with a prosperous manufacturing industry, so it is important to maintain sufficient working hours. Niall Ferguson also expressed concern in the book about the reduction in working hours in the West. He warned that if such a trend continues, it will be overtaken by Asia. I think he is right. Now is truly an era of survival of the fittest, and the world is in a mess. In times of crisis, Korea is well-prepared and I think it should continue to be so. Without this competition, strict education, and many hours of work in Korean society, we would not be in the position we are in today. Korea is the only country that has grown to stand shoulder to shoulder with them today, even though it did not enjoy the benefits of colonial rule like the imperialist countries of the past, such as Britain, France, Germany, and Japan.

When a society that has been agrarian, feudal, and generally at the whim of the greater powers around it at different points in history, suddenly is ushered into a highly-educated, cash-rich, modern mode of living; you best believe the forthcoming generations are going to want to raise the bar even higher to further distance themselves from their humble points of origin. At all costs, be it not having children in order to carry these generational burdens on your own. I used to have a good friend whose mother was Korean, and migrated to the states in the late 1960s; she had moved to rural Texas and kind of remained, though somewhat Americanized, rather true to the Korean she was when she left; young Koreans simply do not share the same values at all with their grandparents. I have worked and traveled to S. Korea numerous times and am from a country that experienced something similar-ish (Italy), but never have I witnessed such a stark contrast between generations as I have with Koreans , especially in terms of the frugality, parsimony, practicality, historicity, and discretion that the previous generations tended to practice. Like Italy in the 1970s; young Koreans both excelled in, and became stupefied by, the ways of modern capitalist society, to the point they’d forego having children and commodify everything, where it is for sale and has a price tag, but nothing ever truly belongs to anyone.

South Korea truly deserves the status of economic powerhouse considering the fact that the Korean war destroyed almost every thing on their land. By starting from scratch and hardworking with lots of smart people, South Korea now became one of the richest country with the giant company like Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Kia and Lotte. They also have amazing pop culture like Kpop, huge entertainment and film industry. Parasite and Squid game are good example to show the softpower of their country. South Korea’s massive development in just a 50 years is absolutely phenomenal.

Well said! Typical example of new money. Nothing, I mean, nothing in the country is even near to the expectation of outsiders! Long long way to go!

Holy shit. This was so eye-opening. I never take what anyone says at face value, but a lot of what you talked about in this video makes sense.