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David Kilburn |
By David Kilburn
Contributing Writer
As the 1988 Seoul Olympics grew closer, Western interest in Korea
gathered pace. The country was described as a tiger economy that, like
Japan, might one-day challenge Western companies in many fields.
Little was known about South Korea beyond memories of the Korean War
and the myths of M.A.S.H. It was a different world, pre-internet _ fax
machines just passing into common use _ and China was still a closed
mysterious, underdeveloped, country.
Against this background, an American magazine for whom I was an Asia
correspondent sent me to Seoul to discover what was going on and who
were the ``chaebol.ĄŻĄŻ It was my first visit to a country under military
rule and I was not surprised that a whiff of tear gas lingered in the
air.
At the end of one interview, my host asked me an odd question. ``In a
contest between a Korean and a Japanese, who would win?ĄŻĄŻ Tell me, I
ventured. ``If the contest were to pit one Korean against one Japanese,
the Korean would win every time, even with one arm tied behind his
back. But a group of Japanese would always win against a group of
Koreans.ĄŻĄŻ
Why so, I asked. ``A group of Japanese would always reach a consensus
about what to do, allocate tasks, and set to work. Meanwhile the
Koreans would still be arguing furiously about whose plan to follow.ĄŻĄŻ
Amusing, yes, but there is more than a grain of truth in the story. The
combative spirit, fierce sense of independence, and urge to compete
have undoubtedly helped Korea survive the vicissitudes of history,
pinioned between two much larger, acquisitive, and powerful countries.
Fast forward to the present. Korea, now a young democracy has new
challenges in a rapidly changing world. The virtues of the ``Korean
WayĄŻĄŻ go hand in hand with vices that seem especially inimical to
further social or economic progress.
Yes, rulers are now elected democratically, but once in power, it is
easy to see old authoritarian habits lingering on. The divergence
between the rule of law and the enforcement of law, even on things as
basic as driving or construction is deeply worrying.
Winston Churchill famously remarked, ``Many forms of Government have
been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one
pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been
said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those
others that have been tried from time to time.ĄŻĄŻ
By themselves, democratic elections guarantee neither social, nor
economic, nor political progress. The hard work of making it all work
productively comes later, and demands just as much effort from the
governed as from government.
Though important, land values are not the real issues Korea faces
today. For example, creating a vibrant service sector would create new
wealth, just as it has in Europe.
In turn, this would demand increasing deregulation, new investment,
less corruption, and debate about what kind of society Korea wishes to
become.
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