Ingyu Oh, Visiting Professor, International and Area Studies, U.C. Berkeley
| DATE: | Friday, September 9, 2005 |
|---|---|
| TIME: | 4:15 PM |
| PLACE: | IEAS Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th Floor |
| FORMAT: | Colloquium |
| SPONSORS: | Center for Korean Studies |
Interaction between foreign and domestic cultural mindsets can result in dramatic economic changes. One example is intercultural learning, which can change the cultural mindset of investors' decision-making, in regard to employee training or specific investments. Modern Korean learning has traditionally been motivated by the pushing, rather than the pulling, factor, partly because of colonialism and the rapid economic catch-up periods forced upon the country by military dictators in the past. This traditional pattern was then reinforced by medium to high specific investments, which were either imposed by the government or necessitated by economic factors, such as boosting employee motivation. During the developmental phase most poor Korean young people learned advanced skills and knowledge while they were employed, through on the job training, on-factory campuses, and/or educational referrals. We cannot rule out the impact of intercultural learning with Japanese institutions on specific investments in Korea, during this period. After the Asian financial crisis, however, Korean society experienced heightened intercultural learning with the U.S. and the West, auguring a rapidly decreasing level of specific investments in major workplaces that hire young people. This study explores what has been changed over the years and what will be the new resulting implication for the Korean economy, as the learning pattern among young Koreans changes. This study finds that the changing learning pattern among young Koreans will reduce costs involved in new employee training, which is borne by corporations, although the so-called "exit" option (or job hopping) will become increasingly common. Furthermore, poor young people will have less opportunity for social mobility, due in part to the fact that these young people cannot get any long term employee contracts from corporations, not to mention tenure.
Free and open to the public. Sponsored through a grant from the Korea Foundation.
