Ever since I arrived here in Korea my students have been telling me about how terrible the Korean economy is. Leaving aside my lefty tendencies that consider all economies to be terrible (any system that relies upon people buying more and more things they mostly don't need can't be anything but), this claim to economic mediocrity begs the obvious question: what makes it so terrible?
There are a few stock answers they give: the IMF, the FTA, the declining and aging population, the Japanese occupation from 1910 to 1945 but these are offered up as reasons for everything. For sure, the root of all this country's problems lies somehow, in some way with these sources. But based on some anecdotal evidence at my disposal, there's nothing indicating a looming Korean depression. Consider:
- the Korea Times recently reported an economic projection that reckons Korea will be the world's second richest country within thirty to forty years. Granted, this assumes that the nation with the second highest number of people earning $200,000 a year is in actuality the second richest. And odd way to judge wealth to be sure but an impressive fact nonetheless.
- construction of office towers and high rise apartment buildings does not appear to be slowing down. A case could be made that the Korean government is working on a principle of modern day Keynesian economics (ie lavish spending during tough times in order to get the economic ball rolling, if my memories of Social 30 serve me well) but somehow I doubt it. The high powered chaebol's wouldn't be involved in something just to get the engine going.
- the influx of us in no way ubiquitous English teachers continues unabated and doesn't seem to be letting up. Half of Nova Scotia alone seems to teach ESL in Korea.
- the government hopes that every Korean household will have a robot within the next ten years or so (you'd think they were bankrolling these tech companies...oh wait, they are!). They might not be C-3P0 or even Johnny 5 but having a robot vacuum your floor is still pretty cool.
All of this makes me wonder how on Earth the Korean economy could be wallowing in the depths that it supposedly is. Obviously it has nothing to do with the chaebols and government conspiring to make everyone believe that because it isn't growing at the same rate as before then - ipso facto - there's a recession transpiring. No, of course that theory is ludicrous. But what do I know?
