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The Korean Enigma

Korea remains an enigma to most Asians. Even if a relatively well-informed Asian is asked to state his impressions of Korea, a whole sense of conflicting and often contradictory thoughts about Korea will come to mind. On the one hand, Koreans are admired for their industrial prowess. On the other, they have surprised Asia with the pop cultural wave of hallyu ("Korean wave"). As Korea succeeded, it tried, like Japan, to join the Western club. But its history is deeply integrated with Asia. This essay will seek to identify the sources of these conflicting impressions and suggest what Korea might do to be better understood and appreciated in Asia.

Korea first burst into the global imagination with its demonstration of industrial prowess. There was nothing inevitable about Korea's success in this area. In 1960, Korea had about the same per capita income as Ghana, with apparently little hope that it could surge forward quickly. In his book, "The Koreans,"Michael Breen describes a conversation with a foreign scholar who recalled his conversations with Korean students as recently as the 1980s. The scholar was always asked where he came from and what he studied, and he would reply that he was studying "Korean Thought."The Korean students would give him a puzzled look and say: "But we have no Thought."2) Against this backdrop, it is remarkable how well Korea has done.

In one of the most astounding stories of economic development in recent times, Korea's GNI (current US$) increased from $8 billion in 1970 to $922 billion in 2005, an increase of almost 115 times. In that period, per capita income increased from $249 to $19,279 (OECD data). Very quickly, Korean jaebol groups became household names all across the world. Names like Samsung and Hyundai were seen in advertisements in key global airports, demonstrating the global brand recognition of Korean products. In a recent auto survey, Hyundai was listed as the highest quality non-premium auto brand in the U.S. market, beating out their Japanese rivals. When I visited Korea in April 2006 as a guest of the Korea Foundation, I was blown away by the Hyundai factory I visited in Ulsan. I had never seen this level of automation in my life (although I have been told that Samsung and LG plants are even more automated).

These stories of industrial prowess gave the world a one-dimensional view of the Korean people: hard-working, industrious, dedicated, and disciplined. These images of strength and discipline were reinforced by the Korean success in hosting the Olympics in 1988 and the World Cup football games in 2002 (in collaboration with Japan). One enduring image that Koreans d in the world's imagination was that of muscularity and strength.

This may explain why it took the world so long to appreciate the softer cultural side of the Korean people. The first global hint of the softer side emerged when Korean cultural exports became as prominent as Korean industrial exports, and everyone heard of the new word, hallyu. It was truly remarkable to see hallyu travel into Japan, as the world had become used to stories of longstanding rivalry and even animosity between the Japanese and Korean people. Even today, the visits by Japan's Prime Minister to a war shrine problems in Korean-Japanese relations. Against this backdrop, the world was astonished to see Japanese housewives go ga-ga over the young Korean singer, Ryu Si Won. This young man must have been exceptionally talented to transcend the apparent divisions between the two countries.

But he was not the only one. He was part of a larger cultural wave from Korea that swept across many Asian shores. Very soon, the image of Korea shifted from jaebol to hallyu. However, hallyu also helped the jaebol. The Seoul-based manufacturer, Daewoo Electronics, hired Korean actor, Jang Dong Gun, as its Vietnam spokesman in 2001. As a consequence, five years later, "Its refrigerator market share in Vietnam went from a blip to a robust 34 percent.3) Beyond Japan and Vietnam, hallyu has also traveled into China. According to Korean government statistics: "In China, South Korean programs broadcast on government TV networks now account for more than all other foreign programs combined, including those from the United States and Japan."4) Significantly, hallyu was apparently even more popular outside Korea than inside Korea.

This Korean cultural wave generated some confusion in the global imagination. On the one hand, the world had developed a strong image of the tough and muscular Korean. On the other, this cultural wave showed that there was an equally notable soft side to the Korean character. This clash of images is one reason why Korea remains an enigma.

But there is another reason. One characteristic that Korea shares with Japan is the aspiration to join Western clubs. Hence, there were celebrations in Korea when they became the second Asian country after Japan to join the OECD, which has been and remains primarily a Western club. Furthermore, with its strong democratic credentials, Korea has also captured the Western imagination. The Korean success story was therefore seen to reinforce the Western tide of history, which has been the dominant wave for several centuries. The West looked at Korea with pride; it reinforced their belief that the West was best.

Yet, the Korean success story also represents the rebirth of an ancient and traditional Asian society. Its cultural roots can be traced back to both Indian and Chinese civilizations. When I visited a museum in Gyeongju, I was astonished to discover the legend of the Indian princess of Ayodhya, Huh Hwang-ok, as narrated in the Samgungnyusa, a Korean text written by the monk Iryeon (1206-1289). This Indian princess became Queen of the ancient Gaya Kingdom of Korea when she married King Kim Suro, around 48 A.D. This story may well be a legend, but legends are an important dimension of historical consciousness.

The sense I got from my all too brief visit to Korea is that Koreans are still exploring their connections with both the Western and Asian cultural worlds. Today, the economic and cultural links with the West are stronger. However, there is also a great yearning to retrace the ancient Korean connections with Asia.

In 2003, my family and I visited Bhutan. On our way there we passed through Calcutta airport. In the waiting lounge, I met a young Korean lady. I asked her where she was going. She said that she wanted to visit the birthplace of Buddha to better understand the roots of Buddhist culture. My brief meeting with her left me with a deep impression. I became convinced that young people like her represented the first wave of what would eventually become millions of tourists from Korea, Japan, and China going to explore the birthplace of Buddha in Lumbini, Nepal, and the ancient center of Buddhist learning in Nalanda, U.P., India. Similarly, Korean Christians will travel in droves to see the birthplace of Christ, when peace is finally achieved in the Middle East.

Before the Western colonial wave came and carved up Asia, there were many old and deep cultural links between many Asian societies. These were interrupted by the Western wave of history (but in the case of Korea, it was colonized by Japan, a fellow Asian power which was aspiring to join the club of Western colonizers in the early 20th century). As Asian societies succeed economically and begin to regain their cultural confidence, many of these old links will be reestablished. There will be many waves of cultural rediscoveries. Japan, for example, could well discover how Korea played a key role as a conduit for Chinese culture, religion, technology, and philosophy. When all this happens, Korea will become less enigmatic to Asians .

1) Kishore Mahbubani is Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, and the author of "Can Asians Think?" and "Beyond the Age of Innocence: Rebuilding Trust between America and the World,5
2) Breen, Michael. 2004. The Koreans. New York: Thomas Dunne Books, 5.
3) Faiola, Anthony. August 31, 2006. "Japanese women catch the 'Korean wave'" The Washington Post. Posted on MSNBC.com, (http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14592938).
4) Ibid

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