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South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)

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Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)

#31

Post by finikytou »

odysseus wrote: post #19
pcurve wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are probably several factors at play: 1. Countries in colder climate are generally more economically prosperous. South Korea is colder (though hot in summer) than S/E Asian countries. 2. South Koreans have always been overzealous about education. 3. South Korea is ethnically more homogenous than S/E Asian countries. People have been comfortable with idea of putting interests of the large group (i.e. nation) bef…

I'd be interested in any research that backs up your point 1. Russia is not all that economically prosperous. Neither is Mongolia. Singapore and Taiwan are very much so. And Singapore is right on the equator.

russia is one of the wealthiest nation on earth and their economy is one of the strongest in the world because not related to inflated bubbles like tech or healthcare but to raw materials, natural resources, engineering, steel and other hard materials production.

the war was supposed to sink them according to european leaders and yet they are stronger than ever.

Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)

#32

Post by lcnPylGDnU4H9OF »

skrtskrt wrote: post #17

there's a reason that almost every Korean movie or TV show has an underlying theme of extreme economic inequality

Ah, it similarly explains why Gangnam Style was such a big hit compared to that artist's other works. My understanding is that Gangnam is a very affluent area (neighborhood?), especially as compared to some others, and the song was intending to speak out in some way against this inequality.

(I don't remember where I heard this, so take it with a grain of salt; I'm not sure how accurate it is.)

Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)

#33

Post by m0llusk »

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF wrote: post #32
skrtskrt wrote: post #17

there's a reason that almost every Korean movie or TV show has an underlying theme of extreme economic inequality

Ah, it similarly explains why Gangnam Style was such a big hit compared to that artist's other works. My understanding is that Gangnam is a very affluent area (neighborhood?), especially as compared to some others, and the song was intending to speak out in some way against this inequality. (I don't remember where I heard this, so take it with a grain of salt; I'm not sure how accurate it is.)

Most don't recognize the visual references but every scene in that video is from a famous movie, show, or popular music video but remade with garbage blowing instead of snow or whatever. So it ends up being sharp criticism of society as a whole.

Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)

#34

Post by tekla »

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF wrote: post #32
skrtskrt wrote: post #17

there's a reason that almost every Korean movie or TV show has an underlying theme of extreme economic inequality

Ah, it similarly explains why Gangnam Style was such a big hit compared to that artist's other works. My understanding is that Gangnam is a very affluent area (neighborhood?), especially as compared to some others, and the song was intending to speak out in some way against this inequality. (I don't remember where I heard this, so take it with a grain of salt; I'm not sure how accurate it is.)

Sort of?

It mostly refers to people who act/look rich but aren't. Which is why its called "Gangnam Style", buying/doing shit to look affluent like people in Gangnam.

Korea has so much that BS, its extremely obnoxious.

Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)

#35

Post by Bayart »

pcurve wrote: post #15
snapcaster wrote: post #6

Why did this "build" or strategy for lack of a better word work so well for Korea? They mention other countries that have adopted this model but haven't seen the phenomenal success Korea has seen over the past decades. What was the secret sauce?

There are probably several factors at play: 1. Countries in colder climate are generally more economically prosperous. South Korea is colder (though hot in summer) than S/E Asian countries. 2. South Koreans have always been overzealous about education. 3. South Korea is ethnically more homogenous than S/E Asian countries. People have been comfortable with idea of putting interests of the large group (i.e. nation) bef…

Environmental determinism hardly stood the test of time, as far as theories go.

Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)

#36

Post by lmm »

swagasaurus-rex wrote: post #3
PaulHoule wrote: post #2

That article makes me think that corruption is (at best) a zero sum game, but maybe in an export oriented economy the losers could be outside the country.

> The Park government provided these capitalists promotional privileges—particularly cheap credit from state-owned banks and monopoly privileges in local markets—to grow their firms Sounds to me like the losers were Koreans whose businesses were crushed by an unequal playing field. Had there been true competition, who is to say there wouldn't be more thriving and innovative businesses in Korea?

> Had there been true competition, who is to say there wouldn't be more thriving and innovative businesses in Korea?

Given that Korea has outperformed most or all comparable nations, that seems implausible.

Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)

#37

Post by underbrush »

vkou wrote: post #28
underbrush wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

South Korea have a fairly direct threat of invasion that at least somewhat limits how dysfunctional the elites can be without the risk of facing consequences themselves. Taiwan, Finland, Israel and so on.

1. American presence in the DMZ is an immediate no-go when it comes to a plausible 'threat of invasion'. 2. Even if the US were not involved - If you think Russia invading Ukraine is a debacle, don't think too much about what North Korea trying to invade South Korea would look like.

Because South Korea is successful at what it does. If South Korea looked like Thailand it would be a different story. And that is part of why it doesn't.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is actually a good example. Just the other way around. What is happening to Russia is exactly what happens when you neglect your industry and population to the point that you no longer have enough of an advantage in equipment or people willing to fight. Something South Korea can't afford.

Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)

#38

Post by cycrutchfield »

finikytou wrote: post #31
odysseus wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd be interested in any research that backs up your point 1. Russia is not all that economically prosperous. Neither is Mongolia. Singapore and Taiwan are very much so. And Singapore is right on the equator.

russia is one of the wealthiest nation on earth and their economy is one of the strongest in the world because not related to inflated bubbles like tech or healthcare but to raw materials, natural resources, engineering, steel and other hard materials production. the war was supposed to sink them according to european leaders and yet they are stronger than ever.

Grade A copium here

Re: South Korea: the corruption that built its economy (2017)

#39

Post by prottog »

Bayart wrote: post #35
pcurve wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are probably several factors at play: 1. Countries in colder climate are generally more economically prosperous. South Korea is colder (though hot in summer) than S/E Asian countries. 2. South Koreans have always been overzealous about education. 3. South Korea is ethnically more homogenous than S/E Asian countries. People have been comfortable with idea of putting interests of the large group (i.e. nation) bef…

Environmental determinism hardly stood the test of time, as far as theories go.

I'm curious to know more. Sure, they're not well-tested theories and never will be, given their nature, but broadly it seems to track. The powerful forces of climate and geography on a people's culture and the effect of that culture compounded over generations seem at least an adequate explanation between the wealth gap of equatorial countries and those in colder climes.
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