What’s
in a number? Can we really learn much about Korea’s current situation from
facts and figures, or is it a case of “lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
Lists are all the rage nowadays,
and Notes From Korea has never been one to miss a bandwagon.
With that in mind, we take a look at some of the numbers that have defined
Korea in the past year.
10,000,000 –
2012 was the first year that Korea’s incoming tourist numbers topped this mark.
Korea has long struggle to make a mark on Asia’s tourism scene, crowded out by
China’s history, Thailand’s beaches, and Japan’s culture, but with the help of
Hallyu, China’s increasing mobile middle class, Korea is starting to make a
name for itself as a place to visit.
7,937 –
Sun umbrellas at Haenudae Beach. I feel there is nothing I can say about this
that isn’t already well demonstrated by the picture.
79.30 –
South Korea’s life expectancy, putting it in a healthy 41st in
the global rankings. It’s a stat that surprises some who view the nation as
lacking in elderly care. South Korean still lags far behind Japan, which may
perturb some, but Korea can take heart that it is ahead of the USA and well
ahead of China.
38 –
Many, many people think the FIFA world rankings are not worth the paper they
are printed on (and definitely not worth the screen you’re probably reading
them on), but in a broad sense they do reflect the state of Korean soccer;
pretty good, not great. Korea has worryingly slipped to third place in Asia,
but Australia sit only one place ahead in the global rankings, and Japan 10 in
front of that. South Korea are still one of the powers of Asian football, but
have yet to build on the potential they showed in late ’90s when ranked 17th.
34 –
Korea’s economic freedom ranking, surprisingly low for a nation often accused
of rampant capitalism. The Heritage Foundation (one of the publishers of the
report) explains that “corruption continues to undermine the foundations of
economic freedom, eroding equity and trust in government. South Korea’s
long-term economic dynamism will be shaped by the outcome of ongoing debates
about the proper scope of government in the free market and welfare policies.”
Will this change with Lee Myung-Bak now out of power? There is likely to be
less corruption, but incoming Park Geun-Hye has also hinted that she will be
tougher on big business.
6 –
Broadband subscriptions ranking. Korea for a long time was known as the home of
fast internet and in many ways still leads the way, but other nations have
caught up and surpassed it (in purely numerical terms at least.) Taken as a
percentage of population Korea fairs better, coming in 4th, and only
behind countries with much smaller populations. The fall from top of the table
in 2007 merely shows others are following Korea’s lead, and it’s not an area
Korea needs to be concerned over.
4 –
Korea’s ranking in International Patents applications and approvals. This
excellent position can perhaps put paid to the idea that Korea (and Koreans)
are not creative. The type of patents applied for
show that although it is an economy still reliant on heavy-industry, modern
tech is of growing importance with 9% of patents coming in the Audio-Visual
tech sector, just behind Semi-conductors with 10%.
2 –
The country’s education ranking. South Korea was understandably celebratory at
being named an education superpower, but the ranking hides many problems in the
system, ranging from uncontrolled spending to separated families, and
unfortunately is undoubtedly entwined with the next entry on the list ……
1 –
Suicides in OECD nations. By some margin South Korea is at the top of the 2012
updated figures for per capita suicides. The problem has been spoken of,
analyzed, and debated often, but many of the reason are deeply rooted in Korean
society and there has been a reluctance to tackle the issue head on. However,
with Park Geun-Hye promising (albeit vaguely) to put happiness at the forefront
of her time in power, will these numbers start to decline?
What numbers best reflect Korea
for you? Let us know and the article will be updated throughout the week.
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