Money Is Top Life Goal for Young Koreans

[ashiva.livejournal.com]

Young people who experienced the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s when they grew up tend to feel that money is a more important life goal than for any other generation, a straw poll suggests.

In the poll of some 200 people nationwide by an advertising agency, 78.5 percent between 25 and 31, who experienced the financial crisis when they were in middle or high school, named money as an important life goal. Many of them remember their parents or their acquaintances suffering economic difficulties.

Sixty percent of them also agreed that wealth means success, and 68 percent agreed that the higher their material living standard is, the happier people are.

But among people between 41 and 49, who witnessed the democratization process when they were in college, the proportions were only 50.7 percent and 65.6

Source: The Chosun Ilbo

Comments

[-ochre.livejournal.com]

apart from the statistics, this is nothing new i guess.

[zeus.livejournal.com]

Probably not just Koreans..

[xcherryblossomx.livejournal.com]

MTE

[kimishim.livejournal.com]

That's not a very healthy way to go through life

[kishikiari.livejournal.com]

I agree

[hitsujiga.livejournal.com]

i wish people would recognize that possessions don't equal happiness and property can be a nuisance. making money to be able to live without too much worries is a necessity but making a lot of money just to be happy and carefree won't work.

[untrueo.livejournal.com]

IA. As with any country, you get mixed messages from the media and your idols. People have to learn these lessons as they grow up. Hopefully sooner then later.

[spread.livejournal.com]

Fuck happiness.
Happiness don't pay the bills.

[kiwilovekiwi.livejournal.com]

*nods*

[umbrella-smile.livejournal.com]

People who say money doesn't buy happiness are people with money.

[modestgoddess79.livejournal.com]

A+

[tofucakes.livejournal.com]

me too tbh

money doesn't give you happiness, but it creates the conditions that make it vastly more likely to occur lol

[joan-nuh.livejournal.com]

this

[ss501pixie.livejournal.com]

You don't really need money to be happy you just have to be thankful for what you already have

[kishikiari.livejournal.com]

lol and if you don't have nothing because you don't have money?

[k0dama.livejournal.com]

I'm not surprised that the generation that lived through the whole
IMF fiasco thinks money is the most important thing in life.

The 90s were all fun and games until Daewoo went belly up and a large cascade effect later, there was record number of people unemployed. Some of those unemployed people became homeless or unable to face their "failure" in society, committed suicide.. sometimes with their family.

Maybe the US also had a similar reaction to/after The Great Depression.

[kiwilovekiwi.livejournal.com]

I'm feeling the same way. The economy here in the US is still shitty. Better than before but still shitty.

[luvey.livejournal.com]

is this why Hyuk is cheap? he's hording it.

[lydzi.livejournal.com]

I don't know... I don't earn much but I love what I do. I wouldn't exchange it for a work I didn't like even if paid the triple. I guess I don't have very expensive tastes and I don't really care about possessions either so that's help.
As long as Ican manage, I'm fine.

Wealth certainly doesn't mean success. Anyone thinking like that is clearly wrong with his priorities as far as I'm concerned.

[boxingclever.livejournal.com]

i agree with this entire comment. took the words right out of my mouth.

[sundrunk.livejournal.com]

while money doesn't equal happiness. it's pretty fucking important.

not having enough money is a source of stress, constant bickering with family etcetc

just because you're young don't be delusional thinking that "as long as you are happy and doing what you love. money doesn't matter". no. it's not that simple.

[taecish.livejournal.com]

I would answer the same

[xaoiholic.livejournal.com]

*Money is top life goal for young people all over the world


fixed

[boxingclever.livejournal.com]

when i was teaching teenagers in korea and questions would come like, "what do you look for in a boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife?" the predominant answer was ALWAYS money. looks and money. he's gotta be handsome and rich. so i would say, what if he's handsome and smart and kind and nice... but not rich? the majority of my students weren't impressed with that scenario. the emphasis was really on material wealth and i found it quite sad.

[headswillroll88.livejournal.com]

That is sad.

Having a lot of money wouldn't make me happy tbh. It would be nice and I'm sure it would make a lot of things easier for me but that's about it. Also, people don't think about how you actually acquire this money makes all the difference. I couldn't be "happy" with money that I made by doing things that was disrespectful to myself or others.

[sk8terac.livejournal.com]

I'm not surprised though since the majority of the previous generations have been relatively poorer than what we have now. My parents and my grandparents are always talking about how hard they worked etc. And with the inflation it's harder for young people to get very far, in Hong Kong the property prices are no jokes.

[newlines.livejournal.com]

obviously, money is important to live. but i wouldnt give up what i love doing just to make more money and be miserable doing a shit job.

i mean, ive never been dirt poor, and im not asking to do work i love for free, but you know... there has to be a balance somewhere.

[weerainbow.livejournal.com]

There's nothing wrong with hoping to have enough money to do what you want to do but if money itself is your goal I can't imagine any person with that mentality ever being satisfied in life :(

[neonstix.livejournal.com]

lol the gif.

[donutism.livejournal.com]

Korean's seem a lot more materialistic than other nations though. They are much more obsessed with designer bags and other materialistic things, putting money and looks over personality.

[taylorniw.livejournal.com]

These people obviously did not choose to become idols.

[qrizta.livejournal.com]

this probably is the top life goal for most people.

"Sixty percent of them also agreed that wealth means success, and 68 percent agreed that the higher their material living standard is, the happier people are."
but this is just sad.