For the U.S., annual exports to Korea in goods have grown by nearly 30 percent as of last year and 40 percent in services in 2019a more revealing metric as the pandemic continues to be a major drag on global services trade. This national narrative framed South Korean democracy as a natural extension of the national body and therefore a worthy object of political duty. Indeed, South Korean citizens have repeatedly shown up for their democracy in times of crisis. 2 (2013): 1-16. While the transition to the Biden administration has eased much of the underlying tension in the bilateral economic relationship initiated by the Trump White House, there are still major challenges ahead. With the upcoming presidential election, politicians are eager to appeal to this voter base. Class issue has been the major problem raised in Korean society. Both the ruling Democratic Partys Lee Jae-myung and the conservative People Power Party candidate Yoon Seok-yeol stated they would seek to build on the vaunted 1998 Kim-Obuchi declaration. In fact, Moo-bins engagement is closely related to the perfect match of the same class. South Korea has a free press and a lively civil society. Gender Role Stereotypes of Female Characters. The people of lower social standing suffer great job insecurity, experience gender inequality, and generally struggle against class discrimination. 7. Western dress has supplanted the hanbok almost everywhere, but even urban dwellers commonly still wear it on special occasions such as important family meetings, holidays, weddings, and funerals. How a housing crisis contributes to a population problem. The pandemic devastated many industries, including the music and live entertainment industry. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The best-known mural paintings are those in the Ssangyong Tomb at Yonggang, located in North Korea. While COVID restrictions halted live concerts and world tours for the foreseeable future, K-pop artists found innovative ways to stay engaged with their fans and even expand their global reach. But when it comes to some social issues, the country has been slow to change . According to traditional Korean belief, the spirits of the departed do not leave the earth for several generations; thus, deceased parents and grandparents are still considered part of the family. Fight For My Way: The Collapse of the Cinderella Theme and the Rise of Sassy Girl in South Korea Drama, An Ineffective Spread of Hope to Combat Hell Joseon Fight for My Way, Working Class Koreans Social Relationships and Personal Development Fight for My Way, Inequalities Deteriorate the Korean Economy Fight for My Way, Class Difference and Social Issues in Korean Society Fight for My Way. Tellingly, these demographic gaps match partisan divisions: older generations who experienced crushing post-war poverty are likely to hold more conservative views while people who are in their 40s today and had participated in the pro-democracy movement are more likely to vote for progressive parties. [4] Extremely low in quality or value: worse than second-rate. Beautiful examples are found in old palaces, Buddhist temples, dolmens, and Buddhist pagodas. Chances are high that the ROK will cooperate with Washingtons initiatives in the region. It really gripped the nations attention when, once again, truly tragic stories dominated the news cycle to tell of families ripped apart now for 73 years, Dudden says. This is a major drag on the economy as both public and private sectors underutilize this highly-educated segment of the population. Still, its Gini coefficient, a commonly used measure of how evenly income is distributed across the population, is better than places such as the United States, according to the OECD. See a man playing a Korean puk a double-headed barrel drum, Kim Jong-Un and the maturation of the North Korean nuclear program, Which Country Is Larger By Population? Unlike presidential candidates in prior elections, neither of the two major party candidates this year has experience in the National Assembly and represent outside choices for their parties. Political Polarization South Koreans are becoming more polarized. The vaccination program, in combination with an expansionary fiscal policy, a recovery in private consumption, and a revival in trade, helped to boost the South Korean economy by an estimated 4 percent in 2020. A sizeable 39 percent of respondents still preferred an ethnically homogeneous South Korea. But the films message is a sharp critique of South Koreas modern society, and director Bong Joon-ho turned to many familiar scenes around Seoul to highlight the divide between the citys haves and have-nots. Tellingly, the percentage of respondents unsure about what kind of country South Korea ought to be increased from 2 percent to 13 percent between 2010 and 2020, with the largest increase among younger respondents (see figure 1). According to the International Energy Agency, South Korea emitted 605.78 million tons of carbon dioxide in 2018, while the Union of Concerned Scientists noted that South Korea is the worlds 8th largest emitter of carbon dioxide. With a multitude of social issues like high youth unemployment, extreme poverty, and an alarmingly low birth rate, young Koreans are now calling South Korea "Hell-Joseon" () - or as Se-Woong Koo translates: "an infernal feudal kingdom stuck in the nineteenth century." Since the end of the Korean War, the Korean economy has experienced remarkable transformation. From business to government, we will continue to hear more about the metaverse and related digitalization technologies in Korea in 2022. But with South Koreas demographic crisis ushering in a new era of immigration and interracial marriage, that national story has run its course. Ceramic arts became highly developed, flourishing during the Kory periodwhen Korea produced some of its most notable examples of fine celadon wareand diffusing to Japan. Cho resigned in December and is being prosecuted for falsifying documents regarding family investments and efforts to gain university admissions for his children. Other popular Korean dishes are bibimbap (rice mixed with vegetables, egg, a spicy sauce, and sometimes meat), jjajangmyn (noodles in a black-bean sauce), pulgogi (or bulgogi; marinated meat grilled over charcoal), and samgyetang (a soup of stewed whole chicken stuffed with rice and ginseng), which is eaten as a restorative, particularly during hot weather. Health should therefore be addressed through all types of public policy, namely 'health in all policies', and through multisectoral effort . South Koreas economic inequality is higher than many members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), on par with Britain and Latvia, and has worsened in recent years. Young people have become especially pessimistic amid a highly competitive education system and job market. South Korea has handled the pandemic relatively well with lower infection rates and deaths than most developed countries. One potential wild card in the race is perennial presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, who has begun drawing support from young voters disenchanted with the two main candidates. The "escape the corset" movement took South Korea by storm in 2019, a rejection of the country's standards of beauty and social pressure to conform. For Whom the Bell Tolls: Globalization, Social Class, and South Koreas International Schools. Globalization, Societies and Education, 10, No. Alexis Dudden, a professor of history,traveled to South Korea late in August to meet with colleagues to discuss new developments on the Korean Peninsula since the June 12 meeting between President Donald J. Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore. In contrast, North Korea continues to claim that it has not had a case of COVID-19, but the lockdown required to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in North Korea has come with a heavy price for North Koreas trade with China and the rest of the world. Inequality and Political Trust in Korea. Korea Observer, 44, no. These relational stories provide a blueprint for what, if anything, one owes to the fellow members of a particular nation. Ae-ra: I prepared an introductory opening. Paradoxically, South Korean society is coming out of the crisis in 2021 more fragmented and divided. In the diets of even the most Westernized urban dwellers, traditional Korean cuisine, which emphasizes grainsespecially riceand fresh vegetables, continues to occupy a dominant role even amid the popularity of pizza, hamburgers, sushi, Chinese food, and other foreign dishes. Undoubtedly, she was easily weeded out from the interview. The countrys dramatically declining fertility rate has all but necessitated the import of foreign labor and marriage migrants. She is characterized as an ideal woman who dreams to be a mother and a wife. For instance, rich people are normally judged as competent but cold, whereas the poor are judge as low in both warmth and competence (Fiske et al. To address its ailing demographic outlook, whether through expanded immigration or higher taxes to bolster the country's social safety net, South Korea will need citizens to make various kinds of sacrifices on behalf of the state. To prevent the kind of tribalism that is tearing many democracies apart, South Koreas ethnocentric national story will have to evolve carefully to accommodate greater diversity without alienating native South Koreans in the process. One of the earliest examples of Korean painting is found in the mural paintings in the royal tombs of Kogury. Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees. With that in mind, here are 10 issues related to South Korean politics, U.S.-Korea relations, South Koreas relations in the region, and North Korea to follow that will have an impact on the Korean peninsula in 2022: With Moon Jae-ins single five-year term set to conclude in May, South Koreans will head to the polls in March to elect his successor. She tries to use her passion to persuade the interviewer that she can undertake the job well, but low education and monotonous personal information destined her elimination for the job. July 5, 2023 (Mainichi Japan) International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi, left, speaks at a meeting of . Pyongyang is demanding an end to hostile policies, not an adjustment to the status of the Armistice. Features | Society | East Asia Afghanistan Crisis Reignites South Korea's Refugee Debate As South Korea admits Afghans as "special contributors," the country remains divided over refugees. The closure of the border has resulted in decline of North Korean exports and imports by over 75 percent from 2019. Class Discrimination Regarding Marriage and Relationship. The scandal struck a chord in South Korea where young people, who compete furiously through school and university, are increasingly finding themselves scrambling for a dwindling number of positions in a slack job market, in a system they see as plagued by systemic unfairness and biased in favour of the elite. While specifics of the Biden administrations North Korea policy are expected to be ironed out in the coming months, Bidens extensive experience as U.S. But after years of economic growth that powered the countrys recovery from the 1950-53 Korean War, South Koreans economic future is more uncertain, causing growing concerns for many. [2] The unequal environments of economic inequality likely have important consequences for relationships of the people at the top and bottom of the class hierarchy (Cote 2017: 269). Aram Hur Why Azerbaijan May Find Itself a Victim of Its Own Success, Band-Aid Politics. Others will welcome Chinas involvement in dealing with common challenges such as climate change. Ar-ra: ThenHow about a dance? After the final crisis in 1997, the society appears many problems regarding cross-class social contacts. South Korea: A room with a view. Later in 2017, the GDP of the country then reached a peak of $1530.75 billion, representing 2.47% of the world economy (Trading Economics, 2019). For Korea, goods exports to the U.S. are now up nearly 70 percent from pre-agreement levels. Naver Z Corporations metaverse platform, Zepeto, has been leading the social platforms efforts to develop a virtual space for everything from social gatherings to collaboration with luxury fashion brands.. Other industries such as education, home shopping, arts, culture, and tourism are eying the metaverse as they expand their business and increase virtual engagement with consumers. A local government survey in 2019 revealed that Koreans viewed political affiliation as the source of the most severe social conflict. In order to respond to growing challenges in the region, the Biden administration has shown a continued commitment to the policy of a free and open Indo-Pacific established by his predecessor as a top priority of U.S. foreign policy. Last fall, South Korean President Moon Jae-in pledged that South Korea would work to become carbon neutral by 2050. In the fall, the PRC will have its 20th Party Congress and likely approve President Xis third term. This includes discrimination from Seoul toward other regions, in addition to discrimination from the wealthy to the poor. 29 mins. The outlook is not grim. Contact Us | (860) 486-3530, Economic, Social Issues at Forefront for South Koreans, https://today.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/DUDDEN-ON-KOREA-UPDATED-EDIT.mp3. The law also paved the way for the establishment of over 200 multicultural family centers throughout the country. [5] Refer to common and culture-wide beliefs of gender attributes, role behaviour and occupations. With a closer look at the shifting gender composition of union membership, unions overwhelmingly represent male workers, which leaves female workers vulnerable to unfavourable wage bargains and insecure employment. I can do a cover dance of AOA. The Biden Administration has not rejected the proposal, saying that it takes seriously all suggestions from close allies, including South Korea, but has not endorsed it either. Choi Ae-ra is a strong and sassy girl who works as a department store employee at the information desk but dreams of becoming an announcer. Joanna, Elfving-Hwang. The result of increased unemployment, increased job insecurity and rising poverty and inequality brought by the declining macroeconomic conditions was not only economic misery but also social pain: increased homelessness, rising crime, heightened school dropouts, an accelerating divorce rate, and overwhelming sense of social malaise (Hur 2001: 4). Passion should be proven through your experiences. Song, Jae Jung. Koh, Eunkang. Gender stratification is becoming an increasingly serious issue in South Korea. Gender role stereotype [5]shapes what women or men ought to do through cultural sanctioning and rewarding in a certain society (Johnston and Swanston 2006: 3). Like many people around the world, Lee Ye-rin has spent most . If Pyongyang maintains its border closure until the population has enough vaccines to reach herd immunity, trade numbers will likely look the same in 2021. One clear break with 2020 will be the inauguration of Joe Biden as President in the United States. Does the government aim to protect the national peoples best interests or threaten them? The drama Fight for May Way is a South Korean television series about four individuals Ko Dong-man, Choi Ae-ra, Kim Joo-man and Baek Seol- hee who are considered to be third-rate [4]lives. The Documentary Podcast. Consider their attitudes and humiliation toward Soel-hee: it is more likely that they were judging Soel-hee because of her family background. Social class has then become the main reason to influence the daily life of South Korean people. This produces untold tragedies, including the highest elderly suicide ratesamong OECD countries. The film made history as the first non-English language movie to win the Oscar for best picture on Sunday, prompting South Korean social media to erupt in celebration. Kyle Ferrier is Fellow and Director of Academic Affairs at the Korea Economic Institute of America, Sang Kim is the Director of Public Affairs and Intern Coordinator, Mark Tokola is the Vice President, Juni Kim is the Senior Manager for Operations and Technology, Yong Kwon is the Director of Communications, and Troy Stangarone Senior Director and Fellow. How will Sino-South Korea relations would develop in 2022? For its part, North Korea has said that it would require concrete concessions for it to agree to an End of War Declaration. Moreover, where the U.S. is most interested in working with Korea to shore up supply chainsnotably in high-tech areas where there are also security concerns about Chinahas raised caution flags in Seoul. BTS, the worlds biggest band and TIMEs 2020 Entertainer of the Year, set a Guinness World Records for most viewers for a music concert live stream in June, only to break its own record a few months later. Korean and American critics of the proposal say that it could pave the way for North Korea or China to urge an end to joint military exercises or even a withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Peninsula. The issue could cause some friction if Washington fails to go along with the Declaration. The Koreans per capita income jumped from under US$100 to over US$10,000 in the last fifty years (Park and Mah 2011: 262). Dong-mans manager who blames the faulty machine on Dong-man and forces him do double his initial workload and Ae-ras humiliation from kneeling in front of the thief who made her apologize even though she did nothing wrong, emplicitly the problem of abusive treatment between worker and customer or worker and manager is still serious in South Korea. The working class Korean peoples lives are represented through the discussion of the characters in the drama Fight for My Way(2017). The deaths of singers Sulli and Goo Hara within weeks of each other are putting a spotlight on mental health, cyberbullying and social issues in South Korea. While Joe Biden is poised to walk back much of Trumps foreign policy, the intensified rivalry with Beijing is here to stay. In 2021, the world struggled to produce the vaccines needed to vaccinate much of the global population, with shortages greatest outside of the worlds advanced economies. Social Class, Job Security, and Job Strain in Korea.Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment & Health. Much of this growth is expected to be driven by exports from high-tech industries such as semiconductors and other areas the Moon government is heavily investing in under the auspices of its New Deal. Both leaders will not want to deteriorate current bilateral relations further as their new terms begin. The Declaration had not appeared by the end of the year, so there likely will be pressure from the Blue House to issue it before Moons term ends in 2022. Without knowing when large gatherings will be allowed again, virtual concerts in various forms are likely to continue in 2021. If it is unable to obtain additional vaccines from China or Russia, Pyongyang will face the same conundrum it did in 2020 open its borders to trade and risk the spread of COVID-19 or maintain their closure and deal with the economic consequences? The Moon administration has taken steps to reduce South Koreas dependence on fossil fuels. Can Emerging Technologies Cushion South Koreas Demographic Downturn? Controversy over the Korean Supreme Courts ruling on Japanese compensation for Korean forced wartime labor in October 2018 spiraled into the economic and security spheres, including Japans decision in 2019 to delist South Korea from its preferential trading partner white list and talks over terminating the South Korea-Japan military intelligence sharing agreement. South Koreas ethnocentric narrativebased on the belief that all Koreans are part of the same bloodline (danil minjok)has long served as a positive force for the countrys democracy by undergirding citizens sense of civic duty. Check your email for details on your request. By subscribing, you can help us get the story . Job reports came out, economic indicators came. The drama Fight for My Way is a statement that South Korean society is starkly hierarchical. The success of South Koreas testing-led efforts to control the outbreak of COVID-19 led the country to be a model for others to follow last year, but the number of new cases shot up in mid-November and have yet to come down. The foundations of successful economic development as well as the causes of many economic, social and political challenges can be found in the authoritarian regimes of President Park Chung-hee (1961 - 1979) and President Chun Doo-hwan (1980 - 1988), both former generals. Cosmetic Surgery and Embodying the Moral Self in South Korean Popular Make-over Culture. The Asia-Pacific Journal, 13, no. With little more than year left in office for the Moon administration, 2021 will be an important year for putting South Korea on a sustainable path for reducing its carbon emissions. More concerning is how this is bleeding into the political sphere. In the face of such change, South Koreans are increasingly divided on matters of national identity. BTS won a massive following around the world, and in May 2018 they became the first K-pop artists to reach number one on the U.S. Biden himself called Trumps meetings with Kim a vanity project and one Biden advisor indicated the era of love letters will be over in speaking about the many flattering letters sent between Trump and Kim. Ae-ra: Variety shows? For instance, many so-called multicultural centers for foreign wives are essentially cultural assimilationist training programs, where newcomers are expected to conform to South Korean customs and culture, rather than being appreciated for the diversity they bring. The South Korean economy needs a desperate shot in the arm.. With 40 percent of South Koreas power generated by coal, transitioning to renewable energy will be a key part of reducing South Koreas emissions. Jung, Hae-Sik, Kim Soo-Wan and Ahn, Sang-Hoon. Opposition to feminism has become pervasive enough to shift more typically progressive demographics to the right. In "Parasite", one character fakes a diploma for her brother to get a job as a tutor for a rich family. Now, with another leadership change in Tokyo last October and an upcoming election in South Korea this March, the relationship between the two neighbors could see another dramatic shift in 2022. The Biden team will wish to hear from Seoul how South Korea will choose to involve itself in these new multilateral patterns and conversations. Should Ahn choose to throw his support to one of the two main contenders, he could influence what is expected to be a tight race. Beyond labor shortages and general economic stagnation, the countrys low fertility rate is also poised to saddle a shrinking generation of young people with the burden of providing for an ever-growing elderly population, about half of which falls below the poverty line. They are treated differently with people of different social and money classes. For reasons that are unclear, North Korea declined the 6 million vaccines doses it was allotted from COVAX. Meanwhile, female labor force participation in South Korea is low. While the country has made great technological and economic advancements, it ranks 108 out of 153 on the World Economic Forum Gender Gap report. (Photo Lee Su-Kil-Korea Pool/Getty Images). In Fight for My Way, the difficulty for a low-educated and low social status youth to land a job is revealed in the drama. Of Prince Charming and Male Chauvinist Pigs: Singaporean Female Viewers and the Dream-world of Korean Television Dramas. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 14, no. However, there is slight drop in GDP to $ 901.93 billion in year 2009 due to weak exports resulting from sagging global demand. These are marked by the gathering of families in the ancestral hometown or at the home of the head of the family. Tune into UConn 360 to hear more from Dudden on the economic issues and peace process. North Korea and COVID-19 While there is much speculation regarding the incoming Biden administration's North Korea policy, the dominant issue for the regime in Pyongyang will be COVID-19, not nuclear negotiations with the United States. However, the family connection on the other candidate and the industry manager left her no choice but to give up her dream of becoming an announcer. The most common type is the spicy paechu (Chinese cabbage) kimchi. Voters in their 20s and 30s are expected to be the main swing demographic in the election. During the East Asian Summit in October 2021, President Biden announced an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) to pursue shared objectives around the digital economy, technology, resilient supply chains, decarbonization and clean energy, infrastructure, and worker standards.
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