Lack of globalization?

These days many Koreans are asking themselves why the financial market crisis is hitting their country the most. The Korean Won has been the worst performing Asian currency measured against the US Dollar this year, and the Korean stockmarkets, side by side with Vietnam, have lost over 60% ytd in US Dollar terms. My colleagues asked me why foreigners are shedding Korean stocks en masse and why their country’s credit spread is widening at such a pace – while other Asian countries like China or Japan suffer, but not to the extent Korea does.

Indeed, it seems like global confidence in Korea’s markets is headed south, and these last few days some Koreans might feel offended by the fact that a number of foreign analysts attribute the "Korea discount" to lack of globalization. Deservedly, Korea has consolidated its position as a serious global player in the last few decades, and also deservedly, this country has joined the league of developed countries in the recent FTSE index reclassification.

On the other hand, after having lived in this country for a year, there are some aspects I couldn’t help noticing. Most striking to a foreigner is the frightening homogeneity of this country’s people. My friend, who worked in Japan before she moved to Korea, told me that even Japanese, who are perceived as a very conformist people, are much more diverse than Koreans. My husband, who was on business trip to Japan lately, confirmed that the English language ability of Japanese business people are on average a far cry better than that of Koreans.

You hardly ever find Koreans who want to be different, unconventional or extravagant. Those few Koreans I know who are different, and also want to be different, either lived or still live abroad. In fact, many Koreans who returned to their country after having lived abroad for several years find it very difficult to re-adapt to local customs. Koreans are extremely conformist in the way they behave, dress, speak, dine, socialize and entertain, even in things they like or dislike. Everywhere you can find more or less the same patterns. If you follow them, you fit in, if not, you are considered to be a weirdo.

When we traveled to Hong Kong over Chuseok (mid autumn festival), it struck me that at the Hong Kong immigration, we lined up at a sign saying "Visitors" as opposed to "Residents"; when we got back to Korea, we lined up at a sign saying "Foreigners" as opposed to "Koreans". This small, but distinct difference says a lot about a coutry's attitude towards international issues.

I believe that the lack of diversity is one of the reasons why it is very hard for most Koreans to accept anything that is different from the norm. Even if this country has gone through tremendous change in the last decades and everyone had to adapt quickly to a changing environment, the changes affected everyone in the same way – and no one had to leave the conformist comfort zone.

The protective behavior can be seen in many aspects of Korean life. The car industry, for instance, is more homogeneous than I had ever seen in any other country. At my guess, roughly 90% drive Korean cars, the other 10% go for the European and Japanese luxury brands. The beef import protests earlier this year certainly didn’t help Korea’s global image, either. If someone asks me how global markets perceive Korea, well, is it so astonishing they are being perceived as isolated, protective and not globalized? Is a country truly global that exports large quantities of cars and electronics worldwide, but in return refuses to import beef from the country it exports second most of its goods to?

Of course, some Koreans have discovered in the last few years that their lack of globalization started to have negative effects on their global competitiveness. As if they had just awaken from a bad dream, ambitious parents send their children to study abroad and to English private tutoring classes en masse, some of them giving their shirt off their back. However, what they don’t seem to realize is that speaking English well alone won’t make them genuine global citizens. As long as they won’t accept different, that is more global, customs, manners and demeanors, even the most fluent English speaker will still be caught in the local trap.

After the IMF crisis in 1997, an (enforced) wave of liberalization and opening up to the global markets took place to rescue the country from the worst. Unfortunately, that wave ebbed away at the same pace as it flooded in. As soon as things stabilized, many things were re-localized. Foreign companies who sent foreign managers to run the business repatriated them, giving way to local managers running the business the Korean way. The ones who stayed are often just being tolerated, not integrated.

Another very tangible example of extremely “localized” business is ethnic food in Korea. To match the taste of Koreans, ethnic food is in most cases not authentic, but rather a Korean-something fusion, be it Chinese, Japanese or what they subsume under “Western” food in general. Of course, this phenomenon of localized taste is observed in almost any country in the world. However, I’m terrified by the fact that I was several times recommended a Chinese restaurant by local Koreans, who seriously thought they would serve excellent authentic Chinese food. What I found there was the common “black bean sauce noodles” (짜장면). Although quite delicious, no Chinese has ever seen it in his life except in Korea. The same goes for Japanese food and Western food. Of course, there are exceptions from the rule as everywhere. There are some excellent and authentic ethnic food restaurants around. But the frightening thing about those: Almost never frequented by real local Koreans. Their main clientele: Foreigners and Koreans who lived abroad, a small, very small minority.

Don't get me wrong. Ever since I came here, I love what this country has to offer and am fascinated day by day of the Korean way of life. But when asked about the global perception of this country, these have been my observations. Well, is it really so astonishing that the global perception of Korea is the way it is?