Just how global are South Koreans?



Have you ever noticed a group of young teenagers, in Nike or North Face tracksuits, watching breaking news on a laptop? This scene takes place in Starbucks cafes in Tokyo, New York, London, Zurich, Toronto -- and Seoul. Young Koreans are now embracing the world`s largest coffee retailer, which has been labeled as the new symbol of globalization. Starbucks is not the only brand enjoying brisk sales: luxury lines like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Rolex, Fendi and Ferragamo became exceeding popular with Koreans in 2007. Does acceptance of international products show that Koreans are becoming global? Ranked the 29th most global economy out of 62 countries in 2006 by the A.T. Kearney Globalization Index, Koreans` affinity to fashionable global brands is most visible in young, 20-something shoppers.
However, an AC Nielsen global online survey on consumer attitudes toward globalization showed that one-fifth of Koreans did not agree that global companies allow consumers to gain access to the same quality of goods and services available to anyone else in the world. This validates a Pew Research Center report on global attitudes that showed that only 54 percent of Koreans think that foreign companies have a positive impact on their country. This attitude reflects a concern that globalization may threaten the viability of Korean-made products.
Author Gi-Wook Shin, a sociology professor at Stanford University and author of an article titled "The Paradox of Korean Globalization," stressed that Koreans` strong nationalist tendencies do not contradict globalization. On the contrary, this nationalism is a strong feature of Korean globalization. According to Shin, Koreans view globalization as a means to achieve a competitive edge for the nation. As an example, Shin cites the Korean attitude towards the English language. He pointed out that Koreans would support making English their second official language since it could enhance their national interests but they would not support it as an official language replacing Korean. Further, Shin noted that nationalism and globalization can coexist in Korea.
The Korean government adopted a "Segyehwa," or globalization, policy in late 1994. As part of segyehwa, the government encouraged greater competition, privatization, and deregulation within the booming Korean economy. To develop a competent workforce able to think and work globally, the government has recently announced that it may shorten the length of compulsory military duty for young men who volunteer for foreign aid services.
To gain an empirical basis of Korean attitudes toward globalization, the author conducted a study involving college students. In this study, attitudes toward globalization were classified into two major groups: 1) attitudes toward economic globalization; and 2) attitudes toward cultural globalization. Economic globalization referred to the trade, investment and labor flows that integrated countries into the world economy. On the other hand, cultural globalization referred to the continuous flow of ideas, information, commitment and values across the world, mediated via mobile individuals, symbols and electronic simulations.
Attempts to measure attitudes on economic globalization included questions on the effect of globalization on standards of living, the local economy and the world economy. There were also questions on whether South Korea should promote international trade, foreign investments, World Trade Organization membership and restrictions on imports. Attempts to measure cultural globalization included questions on foreign travel, news media, foreign stores and foreign popular culture. The survey instrument, which used a five-point Likert scale, used questions from the U.S.-based Program on International Policy Attitudes study.
The study`s results showed that the respondents held favorable attitudes toward both economic and cultural globalization. In terms of economic globalization, they were most enthusiastic about their belief that globalization is good for the economy and that Korea should promote international trade. This is justifiable since the local economy relies heavily on foreign trade. Authors York Bradshaw, Young-Jeong Kim and Bruce London, who wrote a study titled "Transnational Economic Linkages, the State and Dependent Development in South Korea," describe the South Korean economy as a form of "dependent development" which relies heavily on international trade, especially exports, a strong national state, and local business. They argued that this contrasts with Latin American dependent development, which places a heavy emphasis on direct foreign investment.
The respondents were most fearful about the effects of globalization on the environment. In this regard, male and female respondents demonstrated statistically significant attitudes: Women were more cautious about the effects of globalization on the environment compared to their male counterparts. This finding validates previous studies that show that women tend to be less enthusiastic toward globalization compared to men. It has been observed that globalization may reinforce gender inequality especially in times of economic downturn. Thus, women are the first to be laid off in a global economy.
The 1997 financial crisis led some local firms to close their operations. While both men and women were laid off, the women were encouraged to resign first since they had husbands, fathers and brothers to rely on. Women were called on to donate or sell their jewelry to help ease the financial crisis. This may explain why women are more skeptical about globalization.
When asked if they support Korea`s membership of the World Trade Organization, most respondents said they did. This shows that they do not oppose the trade body despite its adverse rulings on the local shipbuilding and semiconductor industries.
The students surveyed had favorable attitudes toward cultural globalization. They were most enthusiastic about traveling around the world. This confirms the national trend for foreign travel. With the deregulation of outbound travel in 1989, and the national obsession for globalization, overseas travel increased at an annual average growth rate of 21.3 percent prior to the Asian economic downturn, based on government records. Koreans rate the United States their No. 1 choice for their first trip abroad. In 1994, Koreans became the third-largest national group, behind Japan and Hong Kong, in the number of incoming tourists to the United States.
Koreans also like to travel to other Asian countries. The number of Korean tourists to Japan exceeded the number of Japanese tourists to Korea for the first time in about 40 years in 2007. Some 1.96 million South Koreans were estimated to have visited Japan between January and September 2007, an increase of 24.9 percent from 2006.
Korea is one of Thailand`s most rapidly growing tourist markets. Thailand has become the third most popular destination for Korean tourists, following China and Japan. After the Japanese, Korean tourists number the second-highest in China.
Korean tourist numbers in the Philippines were the highest as of 2007. Government records show that there has been a 51 percent increase in Korean tourist arrivals, from 378,602 in 2003 to 572,133 in 2006. Likewise, Korean tourist numbers are the highest in Vietnam as of 2007 based on records from the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, which show that 422,000 Koreans visited Vietnam last year, a 29.4 percent on-year increase.
Data from the Korea National Tourism Organization show that over 13 million Koreans traveled to foreign countries in 2007. As the number of Koreans traveling overseas exceeded the expenditure of foreigners who visited Korea in 2007, the country`s tourism deficit hit a record high of $10.1 billion.
The students surveyed were enthusiastic about foreign cultures and pop culture. American TV shows such as "Sex in the City" and "Prison Break" and Japanese dramas like "Nodame Cantabile" are popular. Young Koreans are also becoming interested in imported things such as rock and roll, pop music, McDonalds, Pizza Hut, the Back Street Boys, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
Exposure to foreign cultures has become easier with the popularity of Korean films, TV dramas and pop music. This phenomenon, known as the Korean Wave, has exposed Koreans to foreign cultures in their own country. The Korean Wave contributed to the increase of incoming tourists to Korea, from 2.8 million in 2003 to 3.7 million in 2004. The bulk of these tourists were Korean Wave-loving Asian women.
Most students surveyed were glad to have more foreign stores opening. This is in sharp contrast to the reception of foreign products years ago: When Coca Cola started selling in 1951 and McDonalds opened its first location in 1988, there was lukewarm reception. Now, global brands enjoy patronage from Koreans, especially the youth.
In terms of cultural globalization, gender seems to have no impact on the responses of students who were surveyed. They also find cultural globalization an easier concept to embrace than economic globalization.
This implies that young Koreans belong to the "global teenager" market, which consists of 500 million consumers in Europe, North and South America and industrialized Asian nations. An article in the Economist explains that these "global teenagers" share the same intense exposure to MTV, movies, travel, the internet and global advertising such that their similarities are greater than their differences.
The article reveals that a global study of teenagers` rooms in 25 industrialized countries indicated that it was difficult to tell whether the rooms were in Los Angeles, Mexico City, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Sydney, Seoul or Paris because the rooms had a common gallery of products. Teens are estimated to spend an average of $100 billion annually on global brands such as Sony video games, Tommy Hilfiger shirts, Levi`s blue jeans, Nike athletic shoes, Swatch watches and Procter and Gamble Clearasil facial medicine. The "global teenager" market appreciates fashionable clothes, popular music, international food and coffee such as Starbucks.
Howard Schultz, Starbucks` chief global strategist, was right in setting up stores in Korea. This is one market where the youth are as global as their peers in other parts of the world.
By Luz T. Suplico


2008.04.30

The world is getting smaller as the years go by. Countries should take advantage of whatever they can for as long as they can. Economic and Cultural globalization will come with good and bad aspects. Starbucks-bad (though I do occasionally buy a shakened passion fruit tazo sweetened lemonade ice tea).

I just wonder if there is a real possibility for English to replace a national language in this day and age or was the question addressed to people more hypothetical.

I also like the idea that it is hard to tell the difference across the world when looking at a teenager's bedroom. I say keep you individual cultural and ideas. Find the person of your dreams (within or outside your race) and teach him/her and your kids all of what you would want them to know.

__________________

I just can't help myself. Risk it all with me.