TV tip - A torn paradise: 3sat documentary about South Korea
South Korea holds a great fascination for many people in the western world. Electronics companies such as LG and Samsung have conquered the markets. K-pop music, the Oscar-winning film "Parasite" and series such as "Squid Game" are international successes.
The documentary "South Korea - The Future is Now" by Maria-Christina Degen takes the TV audience into a nation full of contradictions on Wednesday (6.12.) at 9.05 pm. A country whose performance ranks 13th among the largest economies. And at the same time a country with the lowest birth rate in the world.
The Seoul metropolitan area, where around half of all 52 million South Koreans live, has become a popular destination for young professionals from all over the world. Lauren Guardia also turned her back on her home country, Switzerland, a few years ago and turned her dream into reality: The 35-year-old works at NCsoft, one of the three largest companies for computer games.
"Today, it's more accepted for people to do creative jobs," says Lauren Guardia, who writes game texts for her employer, looking back. "For example, everyone used to want to be a doctor or a lawyer. But today, a lot of people study art or other creative things. You need that in a games company. Otherwise there is no game."
Guardia's colleague Suzy recently had a child, but will probably not have any more offspring for various reasons: "I always dreamed of having a family," the author recalls. "I actually wanted lots of children. But in Korea you have to be rich to have lots of children. The whole education costs so much. If you work somewhere else, you're usually not as flexible with your working hours. It's really hard to raise a child."
Well-educated women are increasingly competing with men for the most attractive jobs. Sometimes men already feel displaced and disadvantaged because of compulsory military service. But women in particular have a hard time in everyday working life. South Korea has the largest gender pay gap among industrialized countries. Women earn over 30 percent less.
At the same time, the statutory working week of 52 hours is often exceeded. Korea is characterized by the centuries-old tradition of Confucianism, which advocates wealth and education as high values, but at the same time underpins male supremacy.
Nevertheless, the dynamic capital is attracting more and more foreigners with career ambitions. This is because creative industries are booming in this part of Asia. For some, South Korea is an opportunity, for others, the pressure is destroying them. South Korea has the highest suicide rate among industrialized countries. "A country where children are unhappy is bound to have an unhappy future," says Nury Kim, one of the country's harshest critics. Turbo capitalism and competition are driving society towards hopelessness, the Germanist believes. The consequences are trends such as the feminist "4 No's": no dating, no sex, no marriage, no children.
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Source: www.stern.de
