American Economics Thread
- Thread starter Bernard
- Start date
It's interesting to see that Japanese and American gen z hold neutral views of China, while in SK the situation is inverted: older generations are more neutral on China, while younger Koreans celebrate the Nanjing "Grand Festival" every year.
It's because in the US and Japan, the benefits of trade and other exchanges with China are highly visible and outweigh their nationalist talking points, which incidentally are moving further and further from reality.
Whereas in SK, their national champions are being decimated by the double whammy of Chinese trade policy and highly competitive Chinese companies. Deep down they know that their entire cultural identity is descended from China, and their eventual re-dependence an inevitability. Hence a desperate, last hurrah of sorts before quietly acknowledging the natural order of things again.
Is Japan also not suffering the safe fate at the hands of Chinese companies? The way things are going, Japan is going to hand over its entire automobile industry to BYD and co on a silver platter in the next 5 years.
Japan has developed it's own distinct cultural identity despite being a Chinese culture derivative; however there's nothing really separating SK from being 'basically Chinese', similar to Vietnam.
I believe this is where the fear comes from, and fear + cope = hate.
Well US Gen Z have the least purchasing power of any generation thanks to being the youngest and also getting screwed by the inflation/job/housing markets so its not surprising that they would be pragmatic about how they spend consumer dollars. Boomers have the most assets and highest income (if still working) on average so its no surprise they can afford to flex the flag, whether they actually follow up on it is another matter.
While Korean companies are certainly getting hit by Chinese competition, it would be naive to think they won't adapt. Don't assume that just because you have the bigger market you will automatically steamroll the competition, people have been making that mistake about Israel for years and they are even smaller then Korea, yet they are home to one of the most high-tech and competitive roster of companies out there.
Last point, unrelated to economics that chauvinistic attitude toward Korean culture is totally uncalled for, regardless of any shared heritage they have evolved into their own culture that they are proud of, and as someone who travels alot and has many Korean friends, they are very good at marketing and branding given how many foreigners try to immerse themselves in the culture. While Koreans may be tied to China for the sake of general prosperity, if you demean/disrespect their culture you can bet on many unfavorable views and a desire to keep a reasonable distance despite your flexing of wealth.
This attitude is a reaction to their current national character.
There was not much issue with SK before the Yoon administration. There was some joking around the various times marginal Korean internet identities tried to claim Chinese culture as their own, but generally speaking views were largely positive.
It is only with the last few years shift to anti China nationalism that Koreans started becoming the butt of jokes in the mainstream.
South Korea is well known for their martial prowess of their butts getting curbstomped by the North Koreans then by the Chinese volunteer force during the Korean War. Transitioned into flexing and exercising their martial prowess in Vietnam that extol the virtue of abuse and criminality against the Vietminh forces and civilians alike, copying the barbarity of their new white colonial masters, the U.S.A. having their own versions of My Lai massacre. When that was not enough, the ROK troops opened up a can of civilian killing actually worse than what the PLA troops are accused to have been alleged of doing back in 1989 Tiananmen Square. It's only the protection and culpability of America and her bootlicking western vassals that South Korean atrocities are covered up and filtered out unlike the incessant rinse, repeat, replay of the "non-existent massacre" the pedos of the west keeps using against China.
The anger of your friends and the S.Koreans could be better utilized on actually making babies since their population is already suffering the most acute of decline that by 2071 their population is destined to shrink to an excellent size of 38 million. The guys need to do some manly thing other than making themselves too pretty by spending even more hours looking on the mirror admiring themselves and ignoring their women in the process.
They're called the Indians of East Asia for a reason, and I don't use that term lightly
China would not stupid enough to hold that much extra $US in secret. Most likely in some other major currencies.