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Compressed Modernization & Developmentalist Mentalités of South Korea

Compressed Modernization & Developmentalist Mentalités of South Korea. Kang Myungkoo. What is compressed modernization?. Rapid economic growth Rapid modernization (urbanization, industrialization, democratization, formation of civil society, etc)

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Compressed Modernization & Developmentalist Mentalités of South Korea

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  1. Compressed Modernization& Developmentalist Mentalitésof South Korea Kang Myungkoo

  2. What is compressed modernization? • Rapid economic growth • Rapid modernization (urbanization, industrialization, democratization, formation of civil society, etc) • From the state to everyday life, Korean society and people have experienced drastic changes.

  3. Compressed modernization(2) • From poverty to affluence • From authoritarian state to democratic consolidation • Expansion of civil society • Drastic urbanization

  4. Why developmentalist mentalitae? • Korean people share common ways of life, ways of thinking, ways of behavior or structure of feelings, called developmentalist mentalitae. • What is it? • Strong desire of being rich without asking why I want to be rich, what kind of life I want to live through • Final results legitimize process. • Efficiency tells everything. Top-down, authoriatarian decision-making process is prevalent. • Lack of civic virtues • Always be ready for struggling to win the game

  5. Where does the developmentalist mentalitae come from? • Colonial rule and Korean war • Authoritarian state • Uncertainty of living • Competition as a matter of life and death • Experience of poverty and affluence in one generation

  6. Rapid Economic Growth

  7. Rapid Growth

  8. Rapid Growth International Monetary Fund, International Financial Statistics

  9. Behind the Scenes -Economic growth was accomplished mostly through governmental favors given to conglomerates, or chaebol. -Government favoritism: government actively suppressed any group that might disadvantage conglomerates, such as new competitors or labor unions -Result: rampant nepotism, authoritarian business culture, lack of public ethics, economic polarization

  10. Key Components WithinKorean Mentalitae • Favoritism • Materialistic Value System • Nationalism (“our” country—“uri”) • Closed-minded familism

  11. Favoritism • Favoritism: A display of partiality toward a favored person or group. Examples: Nepotism and cronyism Us (uri 우리) VS Them mentality • A person’s bloodline, hometown, school, & church can greatly affect his/her public and private life. • Examples: employment, career, business, socio-economic class, marriage, friends • Result: Corruption

  12. The Chaebol: A Family Business

  13. The Chaebol: A Family Business

  14. Corruption Perceptions Index 2010

  15. The High Price of Corruption Wawoo Apartment, 1969 Seong-soo Bridge, 1994 Sampoong Department Store, 1995

  16. Materialistic Value System • Materialistic person: a person who is markedly more concerned with material things (such as money and possessions) rather than spiritual, emotional, intellectual, or cultural values. • Contributing factors: rapid industrialization, high competition, homogeneity, weak social safety net • Objectifying and commodifying every aspects of life, including the body, academic prowess, marriage partners, success

  17. Reuters/Ipsos Poll 2010Koreans are the most materialistic people?

  18. The Most Overworked People

  19. World Happiness Index

  20. Stressed-out

  21. Korean Nationalism:The Red Devils

  22. Korean Nationalism:Dokdo

  23. Korean Nationalism:Multicultural Family

  24. The Family in Korean Dramas:Secret Garden

  25. The Family in Korean Dramas:My Name is Kim Sam-soon

  26. Conclusion • Developmentalist mentalités combined with consumerism, Confucianism, and the cold war state have molded and defined the mental and physical structure of every aspect of Korean life. • Corrupt systems, scanty social safety nets, the absence of civil moral virtues, and the survival-driven high-stress competitiveness are a few of the negative aspects of Developmentalist mentalités. • However, it is difficult to transcend developmentalist mentalités, being deeply rooted within the very existence of Korea. The developmentalist mentalités is deeply rooted as a default perspective of the world within the government, enterprises, public organizations and family sectors. • Ironically, Koreans’ obsession with “uri (us, we)” bind us to benefiting the in-group and ostracizing the rest, disabling a society were all of “us” can lead better lives.

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