Privilege in Korea

Difference in a Monochrome Nation

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In my previous posts revolving around the idea and effect of 'privilege' (post1, post2, post 3), I've looked at a few treatments of the idea in the modern world. A great deal of this discussion works off the premise of my life in the cultural U.S. But what about a country that is more homogenous? Where race, appearance, education, and general culture are not distinctly categorized beyond an obvious mainstream?

South Korean understandings of privilege are mostly economic. Sure, there are factors that come into play such as appearance, height, disposition, and character, but by and large when Koreans explicitly consider privilege, it is always focused on economic standing.

This is due to the harsh truth that many other aspects of privilege are inextricably tied to wealth in Korea. Educational access is completely dependent on what affluent neighborhood you live in and how much of a foreign tuition you can afford. Social vibrancy is tied to your bank account. What job and professional opportunity also weighed by personal wealth. Especially since South Korea relies so heavily on international resources to grow careers and personal standing, everything becomes pay-to-win.

• A country where Maslow's pyramid doesn't apply as effectively. Source: Dutch Renaissance Press

But if we look at privilege through the lens of discriminatory practices, we see a lot of ways privilege is reinforced by daily talk and accepted prejudices within a ethnically-singular society. It almost seems (in my opinion) that Koreans are overreaching in attempting to exacerbate some difference when there appears to be done. Factors such as what part of the country you or your family is from, your corresponding 'accent' (Jeju, Jeolla-do, Busan, Daegu, North Korea... Remember that the entire Korean peninsula is smaller than California) and your placement in the city you're in (Gangnam vs. Gangbuk in Seoul for instance).

• Living in Gangnam has much greater implications than living in immediate neighborhoods. Source: Wikipedia

What strikes me is on the amount of focus placed on factors that are absolutely out of our control. The distinction of privilege between birth and environmental factors has caused strange migrations and parenting strategies to occur as well.

Exacerbating Privilege

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In the US, a great deal of political and social conversation surrounds the nature of wealth and what mobility between economic tiers entails. In a country where being 'successful' in California vs. New York is apples and oranges with a spectrum of fruity options in between, Americans have developed a never-ending litany of viable “success” options. Korea is the opposite, condensing a singular trajectory of success into a very small country and mainstream attitude.

• Source: Korvia

A great deal of this comes from a long-standing trend to follow success instead of establishing success. As a result, the tiers of living, education, and work are exacerbated by artificial notions and sustained in daily conversation. There is an adoration and even a desire to escape one's current situation and enter a distinct economic tier, leaving everything in your previous life behind. This attitude of having an exit strategy and always looking from brighter horizons actually strains the wealth hierarchy to its limits, even though the differences in reality are much more minimal than in other countries.

It's curious how two people of almost identical ethnicity, similar demeanor and cultural attitude, nothing particular in outward difference, and almost completely overlapping environments can have such a stark difference in mental attitude just by living half a kilometer away from one another.

• Source: Frame Pool

The point of looking at Korea as a case-study is to understand the more mental gymnastics that are done to establish some difference in privilege. Economic factors and varying ethnic treatment definitely do affect one's potential access to opportunity in more diverse countries such as the US and UK, but those differences are mostly delineated through access to resources, not some engrained strategy.

As always, let me know what you think below. Steem on!

*Cover Image sourced from Higher Perspectives