Country Attractiveness of South Korea: Economic Review
The economic growth of the South Korea is often seen as a miracle. Korea has ascended from the annihilation and fiasco of Korean War in the 1950s to currently being 12th largest in GDP. The data from the Statistics Korea show that from 1960 to 2013, GDP per capita jumped from mere $1,417 to $21,562 (Central Intelligence Agency, 2014). This remarkable economic growth contributed to the substantial reduction in Korea’s labour income inequality. The Korean economy experienced improved consumer spending and increased facilities investment.
However, Korea’s outwardly robust economy did not improve the financial condition of the ordinary people and SME which represented Korea’s thriving middle class. Lying beneath the economic success in the nation, Korean households are now facing record level of debts. (Central Intelligence Agency, 2014).
Inflation fell from 4.7% in 2008 to 1.3% in 2013, owing to subdued domestic demand and falling food prices. During 2008-2013 government finances were managed well with the general government net budget surplus increasing from 1.6% of total GDP in 2008 to 2.5% in 2013. Nevertheless, low public debt increased from 30.1% of total GDP in 2008 to 35.9% in 2013, as the government approved a larger budget to increase spending, in order to make up for government revenue shortfalls resulting from a weaker economic landscape. (Euromonitor International, 2014)
During the last decade following the Asian crisis, many Koreans in their mid 30’s, encouraged by government policies and generous credits, have taken loans to buy their homes. Many of them have been struggling to make their mortgage payments, falling into the category of “House Poor” (Kim, 2013).
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Cheese consumption trend of South Korean people
Euromonitor International, 2014. Business Environment: South Korea, s.l.: Euromonitor International.
Inflation and household debt
Kim, J., 2013. The Dynamics of Income Inequality in Korea, Smithfield: Bryant University.
Trend of increasing house loans after Asian financial crisis
Pingali, P., 2004. Westernization of Asian Diets and the transformation of food systems:Implications for research and policy , s.l.: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations .
Westernization of diet with increasing income of countries
Statistics Korea, 2014. Household Income & Expenditure Trends, Seoul: Statistics Korea.
Income Distribution (GINI coefficient)
Youngsook, 2012. Dairy and Products Annual Update - Republic of Korea, s.l.: USDA Foreign Agriculture Service.
Estimated forecast of trend in dairy industry
Michael Pollan, an American author, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism (Michael Pollan), writes in his book In Defense of Food, the dangers of nutritionism and how to escape the Western diet and subsequently most of the chronic diseases the diet imparts. In the chapter “Nutritionism Defined” Pollan defines the term nutritionism. Pollan’s main assertion being how the ideology of nutritionism defines food as the sum of its nutrients, and from this viewpoint Pollan goes on to write how nutritionism divides food into two categories, with each macronutrient divided against each other as either bad or good nutrients, in a bid for focus of our food fears and enthusiasms. Finally, Pollan concludes that with the relentless focus nutritionism places on nutrients and their interplay distinctions between foods become irrelevant and abandoned.
I am used to living a very busy life style, so I never paid close attention to where my food was originating from. Usually when I look at my food it is more to find out its nutritional value rather than its origins. After reading Kelsey Timmerman’s “Where Am I Eating?”, it has opened my eyes to some of the horrors of the food industry. Regardless of what I have learned, changing my eating habits would be very challenging, and I do not believe it is entirely necessary. Yes, there are many negatives in the global food economy, but it is not totally corrupt as Timmerman suggests. I believe it would be very difficult to change because of the many misleading food labels, the United States has become unfamiliar with how to produce for the entirety
The book The No-Nonsense Guide to World Food, by Wayne Roberts introduces us to the concept of “food system”, which has been neglected by many people in today’s fast-changing and fast-developing global food scene. Roberts points out that rather than food system, more people tend to recognize food as a problem or an opportunity. And he believes that instead of considering food as a “problem”, we should think first and foremost about food as an “opportunity”.
As the Western world experiences increasing occurrences of certain diseases, society is focusing not only on finding the source of this phenomena but also on finding a solution to the problem. In his essay “Escape from the Western Diet”, Michael Pollan places the blame on the Western diet, arguing that people need only to change their eating habits in order to prevent many chronic diseases. While the author makes a compelling argument, his usage of logical fallacies, his questionable credibility, and his apparent bias weaken his point; nonetheless, I agree with his overall surmise that the western diet should be improved.
The Western Diet is basically processed food, which is foods that are full with hormones, refined grains, sweet food, and food that is high in saturated fats. This food method that America is following is the reason for the increased rate of obesity in the country and many chronic diseases, due to why many Americans are suffering from. Pollan wants Americans to take control and set goals for themselves and their health. As he states, “A hallmark of the Western diet is food that is fast, cheap, and easy.”(424) This is the reason why people tend to buy it this food. Pollan is right about how the Western diet is affecting the people’s health negatively because of recent studies have shown that most of the food that people consume are processed foods, which gone through a process letting most of its nutritional values. Also, the food is full of unhealthy nutrients that are added to it during the process. An individual cannot have assurance of what he/she is consuming from a fast food place or a cheap prepared meal from grocery store. Western diet needs to be taken away from American’s life. He states “Not Too Much”(pp.426) will be the focus from the foods themselves to the question of how to eat, the manners, mores, and the habits that go with creating a healthy diet, and pleasing culture of eating. This way it will allow Americans to live their life healthier and
Western diet causes many diseases; increases people’s medical need for supplements and vitamins. However one writer disagrees with him and suggests “Eat foods that are less processed” (Denis Burkitt) which is easy to say but hard to apply on. Future more Pollen’s purpose of writing this article was to show how bad the effects of eating Western dieting can be, and to introduce a way to escape and in order to create a healthier country. Pollan also mentions the fact that livestock is being raised on a Western diet too, which means they are raised genetically too which means nothing is healthy like it used to be. In order to strengthen his statement he shows the percent of income spent on food in countries where the diseases percent is smaller to prove indeed “Western diet” is unhealthy, this matters a lot because currently most of the people living in this country are suffering from chronic diseases caused by wrong diet. Michael
Tim, D. (2001, November 9). Food: wake-up call. The Guardian. p. 6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/245750589/4609D000A8BD47FEPQ/2?accountid=45916
Soh, C. S. (2001). South Korea. In C. R. Ember & M. Ember (Eds.), Countries and Their Cultures (
South Korea has a strong $1-trillion economy; it is the third largest market in Asia, behind Japan and China. It also has the 13th largest economy in the world. It is expected that the economy’s current upward trajectory will continue for some time to come. This makes South Korea an attractive market for foreign investment, especially as the world economy, as a whole, continues to improve.
Historically, financial crises have been followed by a wave of governments defaulting on their debt obligations. The global economic history has experienced sovereign debt crisis such as in Latin America during the 80s, in Russia at the end of the 90s and in Argentina in the beginning of the 00s. The European debt crisis is the most significant of its kind that the economic world was seen started from 2010. Financial crises tend to lead to, or exacerbate, sharp economic downturns, low government revenues, widening government deficits, and high levels of debt, pushing many governments into default. Greece is currently facing such a sovereign debt crisis and Europe’s most indebted country despite its surplus in the early 2000s. Greece accumulated high levels of debt during the decade before the crisis, when the capital markets were highly liquid. As the crisis has unfolded, and capital markets have become more illiquid, Greece may no longer be able to roll over its maturing debt obligations. Investment by both the private and the public sectors has ground to a halt. Public sector debt has increased substantially as the state had to rely on official assistance to payroll expenses, fiscal deficit and fund social payments.
From Korean Pop stars to dramas, South Korea has it going on. It seems that there is not one Asian country that has not had the Korean Wave, a Chinese term given to South Korea referring to the exportation of their culture, completely wash over it. What started as an Asian sensation, the Korean Wave is now beginning to spread globally, ranking South Korea as one of the top countries known for its exportation of culture. Between music, television, and video games, South Korea’s economy is rapidly increasing as the world continues to fall in love with its entertainment industry.
MacLennan R, Zhang A. “Cuisine: the concept and its health and nutrition implications-global.”Asia Pacific J Clin Nutr. 13.2(2004):131-135. Print.
In the book, In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan explores the relationship between nutrition and the Western diet, claiming that the answer to healthy eating is simply to “eat food”.
In order for any country to survive in comparison to another developed country they must be able to grow and sustain a healthy and flourishing economy. This paper is designed to give a detailed insight of economic growth and the sectors that influence economic growth. Economic growth in a country is essential to the reduction of poverty, without such reduction; poverty would continue to increase therefore economic growth is inevitable. Through economic growth, it is also an aid in the reduction of the unemployment rate and it also helps to reduce the budget deficit of the government. Economic growth can also encourage better living standards for all it is citizens because with economic growth there are improvements in the public sectors, educational and healthcare facilities. Through economic growth social spending can also be increased without an increase of taxes.
The growing world population is demanding more and different kinds of food. Rapid economic growth in many developing countries has pushed up consumers' purchasing power, generated rising demand for food, and shifted food demand away from traditional staples and toward higher-value foods like meat and milk.