The key factor driving Korea’s national economic development is
Leadership of national leaders and environmental/social conditions,
In addition to these, it is a unique characteristic of Koreans (K-DNA)
Assuming that the sense of victimization or resentment that a person can overcome is ‘100’, the sense of victimization or resentment has been accumulated and hardened as a form of han (恨, grudge) in the hearts of Korean ancestors for many generations and the han takes up about 40 to 50 out of that 100 nominal value from the time they were born. So, the sense of victimization or resentment Koreans can overcome is only about 50 to 60. It’s my logic that even when faced with a situation that may seem insignificant to a third person, it causes resonance with the accumulated han exceeding the level of self-restraint, resulting for many Koreans to make an extreme choice. This is the reason why Koreans have the highest suicide rate among OECD countries, unlike people from peninsular countries such as Turkey, Spain, and Italy, who have explosive similar emotional tendencies.
The key factors driving Korea’s national economic development today are the leadership of national leaders, environmental/social conditions, and the unique characteristics of Koreans (K-DNA). Characteristics of Koreans, such as excellent devising capability, fluidity and peripheral characters, scholarly spirit and patriotism, sincerity and diligence, spirit of public first and private second, democratic equality, passion for learning, adaptability to environmental changes, high sociability, and Hongik-Ingan (humanitarian ideal) contribute to national economic development. I believe that these are the unique characteristics (K-DNA) of Koreans that have led to Korea’s prosperity today.