Korean Contours: Circling Back, Shaping The Future

"Believe in the holy contour of life."

Jack Kerouac 

The contours of Korea have carried me across and beyond four decades. Like the twin loops of a figure eight, I have twice come full circle in Korea. At the time of my arrival in November of 1973, Gerald Ford was being voted in by the U.S. Senate to replace Richard Nixon. That month the headlines were featuring the infamous Watergate Scandal. As I prepared to depart Korea in 2017 completing another cycle there, Korea was reeling from its own presidential scandal.

The Korea of 1973 was a developing country, with a per capita income equal to that of the country that shares its peninsula, North Korea. Today, Korea's economy is the 13th strongest in the world, ranked between Australia and Spain, and ahead of The Netherlands (17), Turkey (18), and Saudi Arabia (19). As an observer, it is hard to believe how significantly this country has transformed itself in such a relatively short period of time.

I have attempted to capture reflections of these changes in both words and pictures in my more than ninety posts here on the Korean Bookends blog. But headlines and statistics aside, the contours of Korea will remain with me forever. 

An old woman leans on a piece of styrofoam to make
her way in downtown Daegu 

A Seoul sculpture reflects the youthful "hurry-hurry" culture of modern Korea

Red peppers drying in the September sun

Hand-made steamed buns offered up in an old shop in Seoul

The shapes of things to come: a new mall in southeastern Seoul

Daegu East Station makes room for the city's newest mall

New arts complex in Seoul

"I'm Korean:" Young Seoul artist leaves his imprint

Wooden stairs at Yeungnam University in Gyeongsan

Recently, I've made plans to return to Korea to complete yet another circle. I will be joining a group of former volunteers 
-teachers and health professionals-folks, who decades ago came to work with, and assist, Korean citizens. In rediscovering the past, we often sharpen our sense of the present and the future. In doing so, writer Jack Kerouac noted, perhaps we can find the holy contours of life.

"Korea 3.0": Korea's Economic Future is Linked to Changes in Its Education & Business Sectors

If Apple founder Steve Jobs applied for a job in today's Korean job market, would he be able to find employment? In a word, "No," according to a human resources professional in a leading Korean company. The now famous business entrepreneur was a college drop-out. He couldn't have presented credentials from one of Korea's top three universities, or any Korean college for that matter.  That fact alone would have "deep-sixed" his application to the employment wastebasket.

Would Steve Jobs be able to find employment in Korea's current
job market?

Today, Korea's economy and social structure are facing rising income inequality and high levels of relative poverty. A significant portion of the labor force occupies precarious jobs, earn relatively low wages, and remain stuck in tenuous economic straits that often derail them for their entire careers. Gazing at these troubling conditions, only 14% of Korean companies believe that their existing education system is suitable for fostering the creative talent they need to sustain their companies. According to a recent OECD report, the current Korean education system must be balanced with greater attention to fostering creativity and entrepreneurial skills-widely seen as the essential ingredients of a thriving business climate, if Korea's economy is to regain its once globally recognized vitality.

Korea's university classrooms have far too long been spaces devoid of discussion. There is however a significant bright spot in this otherwise disconcerting landscape. A teaching and learning approach, vastly different from the traditional lecture model that is so widely entrenched in Korean academia, is taking root in a handful of Korean universities. One of the leaders in this effort is KAIST University in Daejon, a school increasingly seen as perhaps the best university in Korea. The program, known as Education 3.0, is being offered in 100 ongoing classes, classes that require professors not to give lectures during their classes.

KAIST students engage in a group discussion under its Education 3.0 program. (KAIST)

Teachers must shift from their traditional role as content experts in the classroom and become more like facilitators or symphony conductors. Students read content and view relevant media prior to class meetings and use class time for discussions, problem-solving, teamwork and projects. Many classrooms have been redesigned to support such engagement with round tables and glass walls suitable for posting ideas, solving problems and encouraging teamwork. This approach to education teaches students the kinds of skills we now know are essential for building a more creative and entrepreneurial economy. This represents nothing less than a transformative shift in Korean education. 

This approach to training and learning has long since been popular in both U.S. universities and corporate environments. Witness The Evergreen State College, part of Washington State's university system. According to its website, "The Evergreen State College has earned a national reputation for innovative teaching and academic excellence." Furthermore, its highly interactive classes encourage students "to experience a better way of learning with processes that explore the many sides of a theme or topic." Corporations too have invested in training that targets the kinds of skill development that increases productivity for both current and future jobs of their employees.

The Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington

Confucian philosophy based on the importance of family and social structure continues to hold sway in South Korean businesses. This means acquiescence to the boss at all costs, perhaps best (or worst) exemplified when employees stay late at work because leaving before their higher ups depart is often seen as betrayal to the boss and the organization. Employees feel the frustration of this work norm and organizations see lower productivity on their bottom line.

While Korea's tradition and culture helped power it to prosperity, sticking to old ways in both its classrooms and corporations is unlikely to help it moving forward. Korea must change and create new models in its education and business sectors. A "Korea 3.0" will not be easy, but it will be necessary if Korea is to return to its heady days of economic leadership. The DNA for Korea's future economy will rely less on which universities its youth graduate from, and more on what skills they've learned along the way.

Keeping the Door Open

Unlike the United States, Korea has to import every ounce of its fossil fuel needs. During this past winter there was a national initiative requiring all universities to turn off their heating from 10 AM through 1 PM to reduce fuel consumption and save the country precious dollars.

Other than a rare sighting in the fanciest of department stores, you will not see a dryer in this country. Do the math--that’s hundreds of thousands of apartment units in which the builders provide a washing machine--but no dryer. Instead, you’ll find drying racks attached to the ceilings of apartment balconies that pull up and down with a cord, like venetian blinds.

Apartments, apartments everywhere, but not a dryer to be had

Why pray-tell, are dryers extinct in Korea? Any Korean will tell you: they use far too much power, especially for a country counting fossil fuel pennies (more on this later). This may, at first, surprise the average non-Korean reader. Dryers alone, excluding their own purchase price, account for 12% of the total electrical use in a typical household. That’s $200 a year. According to Mr. Electricity, “Dryers are unnecessary in the first place since you can just hang your clothes up to dry. There’s a 100% savings to be realized here.” Koreans may be on to something. Maybe.

Our dryer

One of my favorite roles as an English professor here is sitting down one-on-one with students. My university has a great program which matches interested students and faculty in sit down weekly sessions to discuss almost anything in pursuit of the quest of helping students improve their English. I love these meetings. I tell my one-on-one students to come prepared to talk about any topic they’re interested in. Last year, Honey wanted to talk about why she failed her driving test. Chris wanted to discuss the forthcoming Korean presidential elections. John, an economics major, wanted to talk about farming techniques that might help the Korean economy. “Fine.” I said. “But when we're finished, please allow me to ask you a few economic questions." He looked at me both curiously and expectantly.  

Soon we were discussing a major paradox for me. "Why, during the coldest winter months, do many Korean institutions keep their front doors wide open? And why, in Korea, do you find many windows in hallways, and even rooms, open when it’s freezing outside?"

There are a number of possible interpretations here. For example, many are based on the old Korean belief that opening doors and windows allows germs to be whisked out of the home. But why then shut down the country’s heating systems for weeks on end, morning until afternoon to save money, while doors and windows are open everywhere?

John came back to our next session agreeing that there might be a huge cost-savings opportunity for Korea here. I made some notes and gave John a few suggestions for improving his English—the real purpose of our sessions.

It is of course one thing for a university to ask the staff to turn their computers off at the end of the workday as part of an energy savings initiative. It is quite another to attempt to change the wider-culture hell bent on keeping their country germ-free. But you’ll find me, nevertheless, closing every open door and window in Korea. Really Steve?

Back to my Saturday morning. The washing machine buzzes. It’s time to hang my clothes on the drying rack. As I release the cord and lower the rack, I’m reminded that living and being in another culture is a privilege—especially if you keep the door open.