Impressions of South Korea

[Correction: There was a typo regarding remittances to the Philippines, and it now reads as "13% of its annual GDP" rather than its "population". I have also updated the link to the Migration Information Source.]

We're here in Seoul, staying at Ewha Womans University (yes, "womans" is spelt that way officially, apparently it was a grammatical error, but they've maintained it for historical reasons).

Even though we haven't been able to do anything, other than scrambling around for towels, toothbrushes, and pyjamas (see Emma's blog), we've already witnessed Korea's remarkable industrialization.

To appreciate South Korean development, it's interesting to note that in the 1950s, it was grouped with Burma/Myanmar and the Philippines in terms of economic development, while expectations lay with Burma and the Philippines, endowed with the resources to succeed, while Korea was a "basket case".

The long story short is that 50 years later, Burma has joined the ranks of Somalia, Sudan and Zimbabwe on the Failed States Index ¹; and despite notable advances the Philippines suffers from a saturation of corruption and relies on remittances for 13% of its annual GDP², while South Korea has become the poster child of both political and economic development, not only enjoying the status of a fully developed economy in the OECD, but also (unlike Singapore) boasts a vibrant democracy with an active civil society.

It's difficult not to be impressed. South Korea has top marks for math and literacy skills among OECD countries, it is a welfare state providing health care and social insurance to its citizens, it is within the top ten largest economies, and its wealth is relatively distributed.

(In the event that you have concluded from my surname that I am Korean and therefore a Korean nationalist, unfortunately you've been deceived, and I'm just a nerd.)

However, given its extraordinary success, I've always wondered why so many South Koreans emigrate, in fact, the Toronto Star reported Koreans as one of the fastest growing immigration populations in the Greater Toronto Area. If South Korea is so amazing, which it has clearly demonstrated to be, why would Koreans flock overseas? These Koreans have seen their country's transformation within their own lifetime and witnessed Korea's ability to provide a better future for their children.

I've been told that there's more than meets the eye, and I will be reporting on the various reasons as I discover them.

If you have any comments, questions or corrections, you can direct them to rhema@asiapacificreader.org. I will provide links for the facts that were stated shortly.